FARC DELAYS HOSTAGE RECOVERY MISSION AS

UNCLAS BOGOTA 008723 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PTER PREF VZ CO SUBJECT: FARC DELAYS HOSTAGE RECOVERY MISSION AS INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION WAITS REF: BOGOTA 8694 ¶1. The Venezuelan-led, international mission to recover three hostages -- Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel, and Consuelo Gonzales de Perdomo -- held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) remains on hold as the GOV awaits transfer point coordinates from the FARC (reftel). President Uribe visited international representatives waiting in the Meta Department capital of Villavicencio on December 31 to reiterate GOC support for the mission and explain GOC guarantees allowing it to move ahead. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro arrived in Villavicencio at 0800 EST, December 31, prompting speculation that the recovery stage of the mission would get underway. The media also hinted, however, that Maduro's mission may have been to convince international representatives (including former-President Nestor Kirchner, Brazilian presidential advisor Marco Aurelio Garcia--and American filmmaker Oliver Stone) to remain in Villavicencio to wait for the mission to commence. ¶2. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Chief in Colombia Barbara Hintermann publicly urged quick action from the FARC, but the imminent launch of the recovery mission remains in doubt. The GOV's intermediary with the FARC, Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, is reportedly not yet in Villavicencio with the needed coordinates. Participants continued to voice optimism that the mission will eventually proceed, and urged patience with the FARC's delays--which they called understandable based on security concerns. ¶3. In Caracas, President Hugo Chavez criticized GOC military operations for delaying the hostage release. Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo said the GOC denied the delay was due to military operations, and reiterated the GOC commitment to make the operation work. The mission, when it launches, will likely need to begin early in the day to avoid ICRC restrictions on nighttime operations. ICRC officials also noted that the September mission to recover the remains of the eleven Valle deputies murdered by the FARC took much longer than expected to complete. Meanwhile, the ICRC continues to object to GOV plans to allow Oliver Stone to film the hostage recovery. Nichols