GOC TRIES TO DEFINE RULES OF THE GAME FOR

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000100 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PREF PREL PTER VZ CO SUBJECT: GOC TRIES TO DEFINE RULES OF THE GAME FOR HUMANITARIAN COMMISSIONS TO RECOVER FARC-HELD HOSTAGES REF: BOGOTA 54 ¶1. Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo said on January 8 that the GOC would only accept future international "humanitarian missions" to free Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)-held hostages if commission members agreed to three GOC conditions: respect the GOC, be discreet, and maintain permanent communication. Restrepo reiterated previous GOC guarantees to allow a possible international mission to move forward (including Venezuelan participation) to recover hostages Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo. He also voiced the GOC's full confidence in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and their protocols to recover the hostages. Finally, Restrepo said the GOC remained in communication with the Venezuelan Government regarding a possible mission. ¶2. Restrepo's announcement followed a statement by Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo on January 5 that the GOC would not accept new international humanitarian commissions similar to the failed year-end commission organized by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (reftel) to recover Rojas, her son Emmanuel, and Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo. Araujo said the commission's lack of knowledge of the Colombian situation, criticism of the GOC, and defense of the FARC caused the GOC to review its policy. Araujo cited Venezuelan demands that the GOC explain how the Emmanuel case developed, saying, "the Venezuelans should ask for explanations from the FARC, since they are the ones who deceived them." ¶3. Sergio Caramagna, head of the Organization of American States' Mission in Support of the Peace Process in Colombia (OAS-MAPP),told the media that the events of the failed Chavez mission "spoke for themselves in a very eloquent manner," and justified the GOC's decision to refine its policy towards authorizing the commissions. Caramagna's statements followed a GOC appeal to the international community to respect Colombia's democratic institutions. Brownfield