Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on Sunday in Bogota and other world capitals seeking the release of captives still held by leftist rebels in the Colombian jungle.
Crowds gathered in 1,000 towns and cities all across Colombia on the country’s national day, demanding the liberation of hundreds of hostages still held by Marxist rebels following last month’s dramatic rescue of French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 others.
In Paris, Betancourt led chants of “No more hostages!” as she addressed a crowd of several thousand people who came to watch artists perform in a square across the river Seine from the Eiffel Tower.
Colombian star Juanes, Spain’s Miguel Bose and French artists Renan Luce and Michel Delpech were among the singers playing at the concert.
At Betancourt’s side was the socialist Bertrand Delanoe, who told the crowd: “Our duty is to continue fighting for the liberation of all hostages in Colombia.”
Madrid and other European cities saw smaller rallies in support of the hostages, but the main events were to be held in Latin America, with the highlight expected to be a concert in Colombia by pop star Shakira.
In Honduras, hundreds of Colombians marched down central Tegucigalpa carrying “No More Kidnappings” banners, while Internet search engine Google, which opened a new office in Bogota recently, put a white peace dove and a Colombian flag on its logo.
In Washington, thousands of people gathered outside the White House asking for the hostages’ release and US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez called on Congress to pass a pending free trade agreement with Colombia, in view of its national day.
Organizers said pro-hostage rallies were held in cities across the world: 30 in Latin America, 22 in Europe, six in Asia, 27 in the US, four in Canada and two in Australia.
Betancourt was rescued on July 2 by Colombian armed forces who said they had tricked her captors into handing her over along with three Americans and 11 other Colombian hostages.
Betancourt, 46, was abducted in 2002 by rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) while campaigning for the Colombian presidency.
After being reunited with her children, who live in Paris, she returned to France where her ordeal in the Colombian jungle had turned her into a cause celebre.
The rebel group continues to hold about 700 hostages. Up to 2,000 more are believed to be held by the National Liberation Army, another rebel group. Sunday’s rallies were calling for their immediate release.
The marches coincide with independence day celebrations in the southern town of Leticia, attended by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his guests, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva and Peruvian President Alan Garcia.
Shakira, Colombia’s famous pop icon, sang the national anthem before she was to launch into a concert in support of hostage liberation.
A French-Algerian man went on trial in France on Monday for burning to death his wife in 2021, a case that shocked the public and sparked heavy criticism of police for failing to take adequate measures to protect her. Mounir Boutaa, now 48, stalked his Algerian-born wife Chahinez Daoud following their separation, and even bought a van he parked outside her house near Bordeaux in southwestern France, which he used to watch her without being detected. On May 4, 2021, he attacked her in the street, shot her in both legs, poured gasoline on her and set her on fire. A neighbor hearing
DEATH CONSTANTLY LOOMING: Decades of detention took a major toll on Iwao Hakamada’s mental health, his lawyers describing him as ‘living in a world of fantasy’ A Japanese man wrongly convicted of murder who was the world’s longest-serving death row inmate has been awarded US$1.44 million in compensation, an official said yesterday. The payout represents ￥12,500 (US$83) for each day of the more than four decades that Iwao Hakamada spent in detention, most of it on death row when each day could have been his last. It is a record for compensation of this kind, Japanese media said. The former boxer, now 89, was exonerated last year of a 1966 quadruple murder after a tireless campaign by his sister and others. The case sparked scrutiny of the justice system in
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
‘HUMAN NEGLIGENCE’: The fire is believed to have been caused by someone who was visiting an ancestral grave and accidentally started the blaze, the acting president said Deadly wildfires in South Korea worsened overnight, officials said yesterday, as dry, windy weather hampered efforts to contain one of the nation’s worst-ever fire outbreaks. More than a dozen different blazes broke out over the weekend, with Acting South Korean Interior and Safety Minister Ko Ki-dong reporting thousands of hectares burned and four people killed. “The wildfires have so far affected about 14,694 hectares, with damage continuing to grow,” Ko said. The extent of damage would make the fires collectively the third-largest in South Korea’s history. The largest was an April 2000 blaze that scorched 23,913 hectares across the east coast. More than 3,000
RSS