Discord seen in Colombian hostage release effort
* Senator says hard to meet hostage release conditions
* Government says 24 kidnap victims must be freed at once
By Hugh Bronstein
BOGOTA, July 14 (Reuters) - The opposition senator tapped by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to help win the release of 24 hostages held by leftist rebels said on Tuesday it will be difficult to meet his condition that all be freed at once.
Conservative Uribe has authorized left-wing Senator Piedad Cordoba to participate in the release of two dozen soldiers and police held for years in secret jungle camps by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
The guerrillas want Cordoba, who has helped negotiate hostage releases in the past, to be part of the delegation to receive Pablo Moncayo, a soldier kidnapped by the rebels in 1997 and who the FARC had offered to set free.
Uribe earlier this month agreed to allow Cordoba to attend the hand-over, but only if all 24 hostages are freed at the same time.
"It is very difficult to think that they will all be turned over simultaneously," Cordoba told reporters.
The 45-year-old FARC, which killed Uribe's father in a 1983 kidnap attempt, has issued no response to the president's condition that the whole group of 24 be released at once.
Cordoba urged Uribe to accept the idea that the FARC might free Moncayo and a few other high-profile kidnap victims in a preliminary move to set the stage for a wider exchange of hostages for guerrillas held in government jails.
"I think we could advance with a group of four or five and from there go forward with an exchange," Cordoba said. "In a month we could have all out."
The fiery Cordoba has raised her profile with the hostage issue, spurring rumors she may run for president.
Earlier this year Cordoba was in talks aimed at freeing Moncayo. But with political rivalries heightened ahead of next year's presidential vote, Uribe broke off the mediation.
Since he was first elected in 2002, the president's U.S.-backed security policies have pushed the rebels onto the defensive, driving his popularity to record heights.
Uribe's supporters are trying to change the constitution to allow him to campaign for an unprecedented third term in 2010. (Editing by Vicki Allen)
* Government says 24 kidnap victims must be freed at once
By Hugh Bronstein
BOGOTA, July 14 (Reuters) - The opposition senator tapped by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to help win the release of 24 hostages held by leftist rebels said on Tuesday it will be difficult to meet his condition that all be freed at once.
Conservative Uribe has authorized left-wing Senator Piedad Cordoba to participate in the release of two dozen soldiers and police held for years in secret jungle camps by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
The guerrillas want Cordoba, who has helped negotiate hostage releases in the past, to be part of the delegation to receive Pablo Moncayo, a soldier kidnapped by the rebels in 1997 and who the FARC had offered to set free.
Uribe earlier this month agreed to allow Cordoba to attend the hand-over, but only if all 24 hostages are freed at the same time.
"It is very difficult to think that they will all be turned over simultaneously," Cordoba told reporters.
The 45-year-old FARC, which killed Uribe's father in a 1983 kidnap attempt, has issued no response to the president's condition that the whole group of 24 be released at once.
Cordoba urged Uribe to accept the idea that the FARC might free Moncayo and a few other high-profile kidnap victims in a preliminary move to set the stage for a wider exchange of hostages for guerrillas held in government jails.
"I think we could advance with a group of four or five and from there go forward with an exchange," Cordoba said. "In a month we could have all out."
The fiery Cordoba has raised her profile with the hostage issue, spurring rumors she may run for president.
Earlier this year Cordoba was in talks aimed at freeing Moncayo. But with political rivalries heightened ahead of next year's presidential vote, Uribe broke off the mediation.
Since he was first elected in 2002, the president's U.S.-backed security policies have pushed the rebels onto the defensive, driving his popularity to record heights.
Uribe's supporters are trying to change the constitution to allow him to campaign for an unprecedented third term in 2010. (Editing by Vicki Allen)
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