Uribe should soften his tone with FARC: Betancourt

PARIS (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe should soften his tone when dealing with the Marxist FARC guerrillas, freed hostage Ingrid Betancourt said on Monday, urging him to break with the language of "hatred".

Betancourt was rescued last week after more than six years in the jungle as a captive of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in an operation that was widely seen as a vindication of Uribe's hardline stance against the guerrillas.

The FARC is still holding hundreds of captives and Betancourt, who flew to Paris within 48 hours of her release, said Uribe should change tack to help secure their freedom.

"President Uribe, and not just President Uribe but Colombia as a whole, should change some things," Betancourt told RFI radio, making her first public criticism of her one-time political rival since her liberation.

"I think the time has come to change the language of radicalism, extremism and hatred, the very strong words that cause deep hurt to a human being," she said, adding that tolerance and respect were needed.

"There comes a time when one has to agree to talk to the people you hate," she said.

Betancourt stood against Uribe in the 2002 presidential election and was kidnapped ahead of the vote. He went on to triumph in the ballot and won re-election in 2006 after the constitution was amended to let him serve a second term.

Betancourt was full of praise for Uribe following her release, but her re-emergence from the jungle has prompted speculation that she might return to politics and stand for president again at the next election.

AMBITIONS

Colombia's leading weekly news magazine, Semana, published a poll this week saying the former hostage leads other possible candidates for the presidency, not including the wildly popular incumbent who, under the current rules, cannot run.

Betancourt said it was too soon to say if she would return to Colombian politics, telling RFI that Uribe had done "very good things for Colombia", but adding: "We are not on the same (political) side."

In a separate interview with France 24 television, Betancourt hinted she might try to find a different role for herself in Colombia.

"Being president is great. But not that great, after all, you can do other things," she said.

"I'm not saying I won't run for president, perhaps, some day. Or perhaps not. What I mean is that it's not my ambition. My ambition is to serve. To serve my people, my country."

Betancourt has dual French and Colombian nationality, and flew to a hero's welcome in Paris on Friday.

She told one newspaper she planned to return to Colombia in the next few days, but has not released detailed plans.