Bogota, Feb 8 (IANS) Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has said the leftist guerrillas of the country are “confusing” people by “shedding blood but talking of peace”, EFE news agency reported Sunday.
“Let’s not get distracted now. While the rebels kidnap and kill and blow up car bombs, they want to wear the mantle of peace. We’re not going to let them fool us now,” Uribe said during a function in the centraleastern city of Villavicencio Saturday.

Uribe also said that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels have an “intellectual bloc” with them that is trying to confuse the people through their double talk.

“The intellectual bloc of the FARC is always talking about human rights, only to intimidate our soldiers and police,” he said.

“We can’t allow that they, with their nice little story of peace and permanent accusations against the armed forces, paralyse our policy of democratic security and the strategy against drugs and terrorism,” Uribe said.

Uribe’s warnings came as the nation waited expectantly to hear the contents of a document that FARC’s top leader Alfonso Cano has sent to Senator Piedad Cordoba, who mediated in the release of captive soldiers, police and politicians.

Cordoba announced Friday that next week she will reveal the contents of the message from the rebel chief, although she did say that it contained a proposal for a humanitarian exchange.

Cano’s missive was delivered to Cordoba when the lawmaker received the ex-legislator from the southwestern province of Valle del Cauca, Sigifredo Lopez, freed last Thursday by the FARC.

Lopez was the last of six hostages that the rebel group released unilaterally in three operations this week and for which they asked Cordoba to come meet them.

Last Sunday three police and a soldier were freed, on Tuesday they released the ex-governor of the central-eastern province of Meta, Alan Jara, and on Thursday it was the turn of ex-legislator Lopez.

The FARC, however, have kept 22 “exchangeables”, all from the police and the army, that they hope to exchange for some 500 captive rebels.

– Indo-Asian News Service

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