On December 10, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe proposed freedom and monetary rewards for members of guerrilla organizations who deliver hostages under their control to the government. The Colombia Support Network (CSN) has long and severely criticized hostage-taking as a violation of human rights and of international humanitarian law. We believe that those who commit these crimes should be tried for them and punished if found guilty, not exonerated in advance. It is vitally important that the truth of how the kidnappings occurred and who was responsible for them be established and reparations ordered for the victims. We join Amnesty International’s call for the investigation and trial of hostage-takers.
Colombia Support Network