Colombian Green Politician and Ex-Presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt, was kidnapped by Colombian FARC-Guerrilla in February 2002. Since then she has been on hunger strike three times, and is said to be in very bad health conditions since her last hunger strike.
The Colombian government of President Álvaro Uribe has until now refused to enter negotiations with the FARC-guerrilla who want an agreement on a demilitarised zone before starting negotiations about exchanging rebels in government prisons against kidnapped politicians, police and military.
Political violence in Colombia – a sad fact in the South American country for more than 5 decades – will only be stopped if real negotiations will be held, if the civilian population is no more under constant threat of displacement, if the perpetrators of violence – from all sides – can no longer profit from impunity and if all hostages, including Ingrid Betancourt, will be freed.
Therefore the Council of the European Green Party urges
- member parties to support the campaign for the immediate release of Ingrid Betancourt
- member parties and respective Green groups in national parliaments as well as the Green Group in the European Parliament to strengthen their commitment to negotiations to end political violence in Colombia
- European governments and the European Union to speak out clearly
against Human Rights’ Violations in Colombia,
in favour of concluding humanitarian agreements which will protect the civilian population against displacement and all forms of violence, according to the prescriptions of international humanitarian right
in favour of concluding a humanitarian agreement on the exchange of hostages
in favour of releasing all political hostages
in favour of a negotiated peace agreement
against the Plan Colombia which – devised mainly by the US-government – does not aim at a peace agreement but only fuels the conflict
against the reintegration programme of President Uribe which in its present shape will perpetuate impunity
More resolutions
on Refugee Camps in countries outside the European Union
08.Adopt_.Refugee camps outside EU.pdf