The International Committee of the Red Cross is waiting to meet with the Colombian government to proceed with preparations for the release of ten hostages being held by FARC, a spokeswoman said Monday.
The international aid organization already met with hostage mediators Colombians for Peace to discuss the pending release, a spokeswoman for the ICRC in Colombia told Colombia Reports.
Besides meeting with Colombians for Peace, the Red Cross plans on meeting this week with the Colombia Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, spokeswoman Maria Christina Rivera said.
One of the primary goals is to sign a cooperation agreement with the minister, which will outline the conditions for the release, such as a military ceasefire in the area.
Rivera said she could not give a time frame for when the transfer of the ten policemen and soldiers, some of whom have been held for more than 12 years, will take place.
“It’s impossible to speak about a date,” the spokeswoman said, “because you never know about the conditions on the ground.”
The coordination with the Colombian government and other organizations will allow the release to happen soon, Rivera added.
“This is a really complex process and it will take time,” she said. “We are having all these meetings to coordinate all the logistics so that when the FARC announces a date we are prepared.”
The FARC, Colombia’s largest and oldest insurgency, announced Sunday that they will release all captive members of the security forces and have renounced the kidnapping of civilians in order to finance their insurgency against the state.
