Ingrid Betancourt skewered by extremes

Five months ago, Colombian politico Ingrid Betancourt was rescued along with about a dozen other hostages from their rebel captors. Since then, she has actively campaigned for the release of hundreds of hostages still held by leftist guerillas and she has traveled to several countries in order to gather international suoport.

Despite her efforts Betancourt has been unfairly targeted by groups on the left and right. Weeks after she was freed, an article on the online version of National Review blasted her as “naïve” and “ungrateful” and accused her of having Stockholm Syndrome. A so-called Spanish citizens group criticized her in November over her support of a negotiated end to Colombia’s conflict.

The latest salvo in her direction was this article from the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s website. In the piece, the author unjustly accused Betancourt of allowing her to be exploited by the media in both the U.S. and Colombia. The piece foolishly blamed Betancourt for using her campaign as a smoke screen for the ongoing problems in Colombia.

Though the article makes legitimate gripes on the Uribe administration and points out Colombia’s ongoing problems, the piece loses all legitimacy in treating the FARC with kid gloves:

Betancourt and other liberal critics have accused both the right-wing Colombian government and the FARC as being equally unwilling to compromise. Betancourt has also said that "in the two years that remain before the next elections, the FARC could change its position drastically and finally enter a peace process." (Latin American Herald Tribune, Jan 14)

In fact, the FARC has committed to peace negotiations as one method toward a political solution of the crisis in Colombia. On Dec. 21, the FARC again offered to release six prisoners of war as a good faith effort to restart negotiations between the Colombian government and the rebels. (AP, Dec. 30, 2008) The offer to release prisoners is typical of many earlier gestures towards the renewal of a peace process. Their gestures have not been reciprocated by the Uribe administration, which stands by its hardline approach built on military violence.

Since being freed, Betancourt has taken a moderate, realistic stance on Colombia’s armed conflict that has infuriated critics on both extremes of the ideological spectrum. If socialist and neocon rags strongly critique her, then it certainly seems like she’s doing something right.

Image- The Telegraph (“Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt embraces her son Lorenzo (right) and daughter.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Party for Socialism and Liberation, National Review, philly.com, Plan Colombia and Beyond