ICRC REP ON INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 011783 SIPDIS FOR WHA/AND AND PRM/ECA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2015 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PINS CO FARC SUBJECT: ICRC REP ON INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL FOR GOC-FARC TALKS REF: BOGOTA 11611 Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 1.4 (b&d) ¶1. (C) RefCoord met with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Head of Delegation Juan Pedro Schaerer December ¶19. Schaerer (protect) expressed disappointment that the GoC immediately made public its acceptance of an international commission's plan on December 13 (see reftel) to conduct hostage exchange talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC),shortly after the FARC received it. He viewed the action as yielding very short term political gains for something which could have waited a week. Schaerer was somewhat surprised at the GoC announcement because the November ICRC visit to the proposed humanitarian exchange zone with international commission members was low key and never leaked to the press. Schaerer also lamented the lack of a substantive agenda for the proposed talks. He added that all of the preparations were logistical and did not address the key issues to be discussed. He was not optimistic that the FARC would accept the plan. ¶2. (C) When asked if recent FARC attacks in Catatumbo and San Marino were the FARC's response to the GoC proposal, Schaerer said he believed they were a response to Uribe's likely reelection. He added that these attacks were not planned in a few days. Schaerer emphasized that the FARC is now under pressure -- traditionally not a situation which lends itself to predictable behavior on their part. ¶3. (U) Text of ICRC Statement on GoC Proposed Humanitarian Agreement Begin Text Following the proposal presented by the governments of France, Spain and Switzerland to the Colombian government and the FARC-EP on 13 December 2005, the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Colombia reiterates its willingness to support the search for ways of freeing the hostages, military personnel and police officers. It does so primarily in the interests of the victims concerned. The ICRC's delegation in Colombia has been facilitating the work of an exploratory technical commission in the Cordillera Central region. The aim of this mission was to seek a workable formula for a meeting between representatives of the Colombian government and of FARC-EP, at which they could draw up a humanitarian agreement. The ICRC is satisfied with the proposal the three countries have put forward. The organization confirms that if the parties ask it to do so, it is prepared to provide its services as suggested in the proposal. The ICRC also welcomes the Colombian government's decision, while believing that initiatives of this nature should be taken with due discretion and caution. The ICRC's role in the issue should become clearer once the parties have accepted the proposal. End Text WOOD