FM TAIANA OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO COLOMBIAN HOSTAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000043

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER CJAN SNAR ASEC KJUS VZ CO AR
SUBJECT: FM TAIANA OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO COLOMBIAN HOSTAGE
RELEASE

REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 0013

B. BUENOS AIRES 0006

C. 07 BUENOS AIRES 2391 AND PREVIOUS

D. 07 BOGOTA 8723

E. 07 CARACAS 2410

Classified By: AMBASSADOR E. ANTHONY WAYNE FOR
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary. During a January 10 meeting with
Ambassador Wayne, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana offered his
assessment of the release of FARC hostages in Colombia. He
expressed appreciation for the USG's public statement
praising the release of the hostages. Taiana also praised
Colombian President Uribe, saying he acted in good faith,
despite Hugo Chavez's failed first attempt to secure the
hostages, release in December 2007. Taiana maintained that
the committee of international observers (which included
himself and former President and First Gentleman Nestor
Kirchner) helped to secure the hostages' ultimate release.
He also speculated that the FARC's unilateral hostage release
demonstrates that it is not necessary for the GOC to give in
to the FARC's demands to relinquish control over two
municipalities in order to free hostages.


2. (C) Also on January 10, President Cristina Fernandez de
Kirchner (CFK) publicly praised the humanitarian mission that
sought the hostages, release and criticized Argentina's
leading dailies, La Nacion and Clarin, for ridiculing
Argentina's role in the operation. Both papers seem to have
been chastened, at least temporarily, by CFK's remarks,
leaving the continued criticism to papers with smaller
circulation, which noted that the hostage release took place
without Argentina, Kirchner, and the media spectacle Chavez
orchestrated in December. End Summary.


3. (C) On January 10, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana offered
his assessment of the release of FARC hostages in Colombia
during a meeting with Ambassador Wayne. The meeting covered
a variety of topics including the current state of bilateral
relations in the aftermath of the Miami arrests in the
valijagate scandal, Kosovo, the Damascus Declaration National
Council, and U.S. companies' concerns over Argentina's
investment climate (reported septels.) Taiana was
accompanied by Under Secretary for Bilateral Relations
Vicente Espeche Gil.

-------------- -
Uribe Acted in Good Faith Despite Reservations
-------------- -


4. (C) Taiana began by recounting his earlier phone
conversation with Colombia Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos
Restrepo, who called to thank Argentina for its help in
securing the hostages' release. Taiana also expressed
appreciation for, and handed the Ambassador a copy of, the
USG's public statement praising the FARC's release of the
hostages. Praising Colombian President Uribe and Restrepo,
Taiana stated that both had acted in good faith, despite
rational concerns over the "very Caribbean" Hugo Chavez's
previous failed attempt to secure the release. Taiana called
the FARC "tricksters" (trampozos),and that a combination of
sheer luck and pressure enabled this latest effort to
succeed.


5. (C) Taiana stated that it was obvious now that the FARC
had called off the previous hostage release because they no
longer held the boy, Emmanuel Rojas, in captivity. He also
suggested that Colombian military operations in
FARC-controlled areas may have contributed to the delayed
hostage release. He maintained that the committee of
international observers that had participated in the first
attempt to release the hostages helped to secure the
hostages' ultimate release. He also speculated that the
FARC's unilateral hostage release demonstrates that it is not
necessary for the GOC to give in to the FARC's demands to
relinquish control over two municipalities in order to free
hostages.

-------------- --
Yolanda Betancourt Fears Colombian Military Rescue Operation
-------------- --


6. (C) Referring to the botched June 2007 military attempt
to rescue 12 Congressmen held hostage by the FARC which
resulted in the deaths of 11, Taiana asserted that neither
he, nor President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, believe in
military attempts to free hostages. He recalled a recent
conversation he had with Yolanda Betancourt when he was in
Colombia as part of a group of international observers
invited to serve as guarantors of the hostage release in
December. Betancourt, the mother of Colombian hostage Ingrid

Betancourt, had confided to him that her biggest fear was
that Uribe would authorize a military operation to rescue her
daughter that may ultimately result in her death. (Note:
Taiana knows Yolanda Betancourt from their days when both
were Ambassadors to Guatemala in the 1990s.) Taana stated
that CFK is very committed to freeing Ingrid Betancourt and
will continue to work toward that end.

-------------- --
GOC has Never Asserted Full Territorial Control
-------------- --

7. (C) Taiana told the Ambassador that he has visited
Colombia a dozen times as a member of human rights
observation missions. He asserted that the Colombian
government has never been able to fully assert control over
its territory, and that the rivalry between its three largest
cities, Bogota, Medellin, and Cali, has in the past paralyzed
the government's ability to develop institutions that respect
the command of the national government.

-------------- --------------
CFK Praises Humanitarian Mission, Criticizes Press
-------------- --------------


8. (SBU) On January 10, CFK publicly praised the
humanitarian mission that sought the hostages, release and
criticized (without naming) the two principal analysts of
Argentina's leading dailies, La Nacion and Clarin.
Responding to an earlier editorial from Clarin asserting that
CFK had "paid a high political cost for her non-critical
relationship with Chavez," she stated that when it comes to
humanitarian actions and the defense of human rights,
Argentina would act, "without measuring the political costs."
She stressed that "the mission was worth it" and reiterated
her administration's commitment to working towards the
release of Ingrid Betancourt and all other hostages. She
added that for those "militants who do not like President
Chavez's policies," it is "ultimately up to the people of
Venezuela to evaluate in free and democratic elections in
their own country....(W)e, however, recognize (Chavez) as a
friend of Argentina's."

-------------- --------------
Taiana Stresses International Mission's Role in Release
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) The press also quoted FM Taiana as saying that the
hostages' release proved that the gathering of international
observers in the first failed attempt in December was "not
futile" because it raised the stakes to a point "where the
parties could not back out." Taiana also asserted that the
mission had helped to raise the international profile of the
issue. While admitting that "it is not easy to understand
the FARC's logic,8 Taiana told the press that the actual
release of the two hostages must be used as an opportunity
"to create the political space to negotiate for the release
of all other hostages."

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


10. (C) Taiana seemed genuinely pleased with the outcome of
the Colombian hostage situation. After the local press had
ridiculed President and First Gentleman Nestor Kirchner's
participation in the failed December attempt to secure the
hostages' release (see ref A),Taiana seemed eager to portray
the January release as a success for the international
observer mission. La Nacion and Clarin seem to have been
chastened, at least temporarily, by CFK's remarks yesterday,
leaving the continued criticism to papers with smaller
circulation, such as Ambito Financiero which noted that the
hostage release took place without Argentina, Kirchner, and
the media spectacle Chavez orchestrated in December.


11. (C) At the end of the meeting, Taiana told the
Ambassador that he was "exhausted" from this and other
activity, but foresaw no break until March. He said that he
would soon be traveling to Spain for the Alliance of
Civilizations Conference and noted that CFK would not be
attending. Despite media speculation to the contrary, he
explained that CFK never had plans to travel to Spain in the
first few months of her tenure.
WAYNE