Colombian soldier freed by guerillas

Reunited and it felt so good:

Colombian Army Private Josue Daniel Calvo was freed yesterday after spending roughly eleven months held against his will be the FARC guerillas. Calvo hugged several family members shortly after stepping off a Brazilian army helicopter and appeared to be in satisfactory health after previous reports claimed that he was seriously injured in the April 2009 battle that led to his capture. Nevertheless Calvo is currently at a Bogota military clinic where he allegedly told doctors that the rebels carried him in hammock during his first seven months in the jungle.

Calvo was handed over in a publicly unknown part of southeastern Colombia by the FARC to a commission that included the International Red Cross and Senator Piedad Cordoba. Cordoba- who has served as a liaison in previous liberations- called on the guerillas and the government to make a more serious effort at seeking a peaceful solution:

The senator referred to a new call by the citizen movement Colombianos y Colombianas por la Paz (Colombians for Peace) for a humanitarian exchange between the government and the guerrillas, to secure the release of 21 hostages still held by the FARC.



"We are in the process of writing letters to President Uribe, all of the presidential candidates and the FARC," Córdoba said…

The rebel group also announced that it would deliver the remains of Julián Ernesto Guevara, a police officer who died in captivity in 2006, nearly eight years after he was captured by the FARC. 



The insurgents "told us they have his remains, but that they have not been able to bring them out of the jungle because of the continuous attacks by the army. They asked us to be on the alert," Córdoba added.

Tomorrow the FARC are expected to free Pablo Emilio Moncayo, who has spent 12 years in the jungle. Moncayo’s father, Gustavo, has campaigned relentlessly for his son’s liberation including going on nationwide treks with chains surrounding his body. Unfortunately, Moncayo will likely be the last hostage freed at least until current Colombian president Alvaro Uribe leaves office later this year.

Nearly two dozen police and soldiers have been identified by the FARC as part of a possible prisoner swap that has been downplayed by Uribe.

Online Sources- Xinhua, BBC News, Reuters, IPS, The Latin Americanist, YouTube, CNN