Former Franco-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt called on the FARC guerrilla group to free all the prisoners it is holding in the jungles of Colombia.
“I want to talk to the FARC and tell them that we are disgusted. I want to talk to the FARC to say to them that enough is enough and that we want them to open the door,” she said late Thursday.
Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate who was held for more than six years by the FARC, made the remarks after being awarded a prize for courage from Radio Canada and Reporters Without Borders.
Betancourt was freed July 2, 2008 along with 14 other hostages in an operation carried out by the Colombian military with US support.
She called on the region’s leaders to do more to win the release of the hostages still in rebel hands.
An estimated 3,000 people are being held hostage by armed groups in Colombia, including 350 to 700 by the FARC, which is demanding the release of 500 of its members being held in Colombia and the United States.
The FARC has been at war with Colombian state since 1964. It is estimated to have between 7,000 and 10,000 combatants. (AFP)
