AP News, June 30th, 2007
Leftist Colombian rebels said Friday they will hand over the bodies of 11 hostages _ purportedly killed in a botched rescue attempt _ only when fighting in the area calms down.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said Thursday the 11 state lawmakers where killed in a J110une 18 shootout after an "unidentified military group" attacked a rebel camp. The lawmakers had been held hostage by the guerrillas for more than five years.
"In coordination with the central command, we will do all we can for a quick handover of the remains to those grieving," FARC spokesman Raul Reyes said in a letter addressed a widow of one of the lawmakers. But, he added, the handover "depends on a letup in the fighting in the zone where the events happened."
Reyes gave no more details on the deaths and said that for "security reasons" he would not say where the hostages were killed. The letter, also addressed to former presidential candidate Alvaro Leyva, was sent to Caracol radio.
President Alvaro Uribe, whose father was killed two decades ago in a FARC kidnapping attempt, accused the rebels of killing their captives in cold blood. He said there were no significant military operations on that date in the zone where the hostages are thought to have been held.
Uribe also called for an international forensic commission to examine the bodies when they are recovered.
The government has been haggling with the FARC over a proposed exchange of hostages for jailed rebels. The FARC holds about 50 prominent hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors.
On Friday the president repeated his rejection of a key FARC demand for a 310 square mile demilitarized zone in southwest Colombia.
