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WHAT: Vigil at the
Embassy of Colombia, 2118 Leroy Place, NW, Washington, D.C. (a few
blocks north of the Dupont Circle Metro Station, off Connecticut Avenue
two blocks north of the Florida Avenue intersection)
WHEN: Monday, February 25, 2002, at 6 p.m.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Members of the Green Party and others
concerned about the kidnapping of Colombian presidential candidate
Ingrid Betancourt will gather for a vigil at 6 p.m. on Monday, February
25, in front of the Embassy of Colombia in Washington, D.C. Greens are
calling on the Colombian and U.S. governments to do everything possible
for the immediate and safe release of Betancourt and Clara Rojas, her
campaign director, who was also kidnapped, reportedly by FARC
rebels.
Betancourt, the candidate of the Partido
Verde Oxígeno (Green Oxygen Party), was traveling to the city of
San Vicente del Caguan for a human rights rally when she was abducted.
The mayor of San Vicente del Caguan, Nistor Lesn Rammrez, is also a
member of the Green Party.
"Ingrid Betancourt is an eloquent, passionate, and courageous
spokesperson for peace in her country," said Tod Sloan, co-chair of
the International Committee of the Green Party of the United
States. "Her life has already been threatened numerous
times by those who profit from the ongoing conflict."
Ingrid Betancourt had defied warnings from the Colombian government in
traveling through a war zone, but the government declined to provide
protection that she had requested in preparation for the trip. CNN
reported that Colombian President Andris Pastrana, under the kind of
heavy protection apparently denied to opposing candidates, visited the
same region on Sunday that Betancort was trying to reach on
Saturday.
According to a February 24 statement from the 'Ingrid For President'
Campaign, "Ingrid Betancourt has been an tireless defender of
political negotiation as the only solution to the armed conflict that
Colombia has suffered and has said on various occasions that violence
only produces more violence."
Betancourt has criticized both the violence of the leftist FARC rebels
and the current Colombian government's corruption and collusion with
outlaw rightwing paramilitaries. The Pastrana administration canceled
negotiations between the two sides on Thursday, February 21, after the
rebels hijacked an airplane and kidnapped a senator.
Greens in the U.S. have joined Betancourt and the Colombian Greens in
opposing the the role of the U.S. government in training the Colombian
military in police terror and torture tactics at the School of the
Americas, the destruction of large amounts of Colombia's fertile land in
the name of the War on Drugs, and other policies that have terrorized
and impoverished the Colombian people and ruined the Colombian
environment.
"Ingrid is one of those exceptional human beings whose brilliance
is found in her spirit of determination and dedication to ending the
violence in her country," said Annie Goeke, co-chair of the
International Committee, who met Betancourt during the Federation of the
Green Parties of the Americas meeting in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2000 and the
Global Greens 2001 conference in Canberra, Australia. "She is the
of same quality and class as Petra Kelly, Rigoberta Menchu, Vandana
Shiva, Eleanor Roosevelt, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Rosa Luxemburg,
Bella Abzug, Aung San Suu Kyi, Wangari Maathai, and Arundhati Roy. Let
us do everything we can to ensure that we do not lose this
gem."
Greens have initiated the international Green Shield Alert that calls
upon elected Green officials and Green and other progressive activists
to press their respective governments to join the call for Betancourt's
release. "Greens worldwide are united and will not tolerate such
actions that are against the international human rights," added
Annie Goeke.
Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com
More Information:
The Green Party of the United States http://gpus.org
http://www.gp.org
Partido Verde Oxígeno (Green Oxygen Party of Colombia) http://www.oxigenoverde.org
Global Greens 2001 conference http://www.global.greens.org.au/
Salon.com profile and interview with Ingrid Betancourt
http://www.salon.com/people/conv/2002/01/15/betancourt/
Until Death Do Us Part: My Struggle to Reclaim Colombia. Memoir by
Ingrid Betancourt (Ecco Press, 2001).
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