CARLOS GONZALEZ
BOGOTA, Colombia — The Associated Press Published on Saturday, Jun. 21, 2008 8:40PM EDT Last updated on Monday, Mar. 30, 2009 3:58PM EDT
Colombian rebels released a proof-of-life video Saturday of a 44-year-old regional lawmaker who was kidnapped six years ago in the western city of Cali.
The video of Sigifredo Lopez was delivered to a commission that includes the Roman Catholic Church, Cali's mayor and the public ombudsman's office, according to Mr. Lopez's wife, Patricia Nieto.
It's the first proof-of-life documentation of a hostage that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has provided since February.
That's when the group released four Colombian politicians with the help of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
“He calls for the kidnapped not to be forgotten and reiterates that it's necessary to keep working to secure a prisoner swap,” Ms. Nieto told The Associated Press.
The FARC wants President Alvaro Uribe to demilitarize a New York City-size swath of southwestern Colombia to facilitate talks that could lead to the release of all its hostages.
They include three U.S. military contractors seized in February, 2003, and Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French-Colombian citizen who was running for president when rebels kidnapped her in 2002.
Mr. Uribe and the rebels have failed to agree on conditions.
The 44-year-old Mr. Lopez was the only one of 12 regional deputies kidnapped in April of 2002 to survive an attack almost exactly a year ago in which the rest were killed.
Citing documents found in a slain rebel's computer, the government says the FARC killed the deputies by mistake when another rebel unit approached without warning.
The FARC has claimed the hostages died in an attack by an unidentified armed group.
Mr. Lopez was being punished and had been separated from the rest at the time, the documents reportedly say.
Ms. Nieto said her husband looked “stable” and said he regretted the deaths of his fellow deputies.
It was unclear when the video was recorded, and the national government had no immediate comment.
Mr. Uribe's government has put the FARC on the defensive, driving it deeper into the jungle and killing or capturing several top commanders.
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