Farc welcomes Sarkozy hostage bid
A still of Ingrid Betancourt, from a video seized from captured Farc rebels
Ms Betancourt says she has been "living like the dead"
The Colombian rebel group Farc has cautiously welcomed French President Nicolas Sarkozy's offer to broker the release of 45 Farc-held hostages.

Mr Sarkozy is particularly keen to secure the release of Ingrid Betancourt, a Colombian politician who also holds French citizenship.

Last week, Ms Betancourt was shown looking thin and haggard in a video seized by Colombian authorities.

Mr Sarkozy's offer was also applauded by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

"As president of France, Sarkozy demands Ingrid Betancourt's liberation and as Colombian citizens we too should fight for all the hostages and for an end to kidnappings," Mr Uribe said.

"The world which has felt great pain over the photos of Ingrid Betancourt should know that the Colombian people have suffered the same pain for 50 years and they have the right to overcome it," Mr Uribe said.

"The world should understand that this is how the Farc bandits do politics, using terror which is the only political tool they have left."

Kidnapped

Guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) have been fighting the Colombian state since the early 1960s.

In an internet statement, Farc described Mr Sarkozy's initiative as praiseworthy, but warned that international mediation can only succeed if it is impartial.


I have a dream: to see Ingrid with her family this Christmas
President Sarkozy

Ms Betancourt - who has French nationality through a former marriage - was kidnapped by Farc in 2002 while campaigning for the Colombian presidency.

She was one of 45 high-profile hostages whose freedom Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tried to secure in exchange for about 500 imprisoned Farc guerrillas.

The exchange bid was strongly supported by relatives of rebel hostages, but collapsed after the Colombian president accused Mr Chavez of breaking an agreement.

'Danger of death'

The end of the mediation attempt was lamented at the time by Mr Sarkozy, and early on Thursday he made a direct appeal to Farc chief Manuel Marulanda to free Ms Betancourt.

"I do not share your ideas and I condemn your methods," Mr Sarkozy said in the message broadcast on French television.


Ingrid Betancourt's former husband Fabrice Delloye, his son Lorenzo, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno and his wife pose on 5 December in front of a poster of Ms Betancourt
Ms Betancourt's case has become a cause celebre in France

Rebel hostage tapes aired
Betancourt letter released

"I ask you solemnly to release Ingrid Betancourt and not carry on your conscience the risk that her departure would bring," he said.

"I have a dream: to see Ingrid with her family this Christmas," Mr Sarkozy said.

In the video and photos released last week, Ms Betancourt was shown in a jungle setting, looking gaunt and subdued, along with 15 other hostages.

The following day, a letter was released from Ms Betancourt to her mother, in which she said her strength had diminished, her appetite had gone, and her hair was falling out.

"Here, we are living like the dead," she wrote.

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia says it is not clear if President Sarkozy's declarations have the blessing of the Colombian government which has been seeking to retake the imitative over the issue of the prisoner exchange following the end of Mr Chavez's involvement.

The Colombian government has offered to engage in contacts to secure the exchange of the hostages for imprisoned guerrillas, if the rebels promise to abandon the armed struggle.

The main sticking point, however, is over the rebels' demand for a demilitarised zone.

Mr Uribe has repeatedly rejected this, saying the Farc would use it as an opportunity to regroup and rearm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7131963.stm