Ingrid Betancourt 04

12/11/2004

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

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On 19 November, the French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt and her associate Clara Rojas will spend their 1000th day held in captivity by FARC rebels in Colombia.

More than 3000 other hostages, both civilian and military, are also held in inhuman conditions and await their freedom, some of them for more than seven or eight years or even longer.

Ingrid Betancourt was already well known for her work for Human Rights and her unceasing struggle against injustice, corruption and drug trafficking. Since her kidnapping on 23 February 2002 by FARC, she has become the symbol of all those kidnapped in Colombia.

Whether they are kidnapped by rebel groups, paramilitary gangs or other groups on the fringes of the law, these kidnap victims have all been deprived of their freedom which is in breech of their fundamental rights. Just like the 8000 people who have been killed and the 3 million who have been displaced, these people are the victims, directly or indirectly of a war situation that has lasted in Colombia for more than 40 years and that has caused more than half of the population of the country to live in conditions of misery that continue to worsen.

Since 23 February2002, not one day has passed without a town or village somewhere in the world expressing its support for our campaign. Today 13 departments in France, and four entire regions in France and Belgium as well as1227 municipalities in the world have chosen to make Ingrid Betancourt an Honorary Citizen in the name of the 3000 kidnapped and to show their support for her struggle to re-establish a state of democracy in Colombia.

Ingrid Betancourt was awarded the Freedom of County by South Dublin County Council on the 10th November 2003.

For all further information: http:/www.betancourt.info