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Government promises guarantees for hostage release

Colombia news - Frank Pearl

The Colombian government confirmed Friday that it will do whatever is necessary to ensure the liberation of a hostage the FARC has promised to release.

In a letter to 'Colombians for Peace', the group that has already brokered the release of six hostages so far this year, the guerrillas promised to release Pablo Emilio Moncayo, an army official who has spent the last eleven years in FARC custody.

The Government's High Commissioner of Peace, Frank Pearl, said the government will do all that is necessary for the release, but added that the liberation of Moncayo "is not a favor. It is an obligation, a minimal gesture of humanity."

Pearl said the government will meet with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to discuss the release. The ICRC, together with the Brazilian government, carried out the release of four members of the security forces and two politicians earlier this year.

The Red Cross offered their assistance in this new release too, ICRC representative Yves Heller said.