{"id":117033,"date":"2021-06-23T21:34:27","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T21:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=117033"},"modified":"2021-06-23T21:34:27","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T21:34:27","slug":"once-kidnapped-colombian-politician-wants-more-heart-from-ex-rebels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/once-kidnapped-colombian-politician-wants-more-heart-from-ex-rebels\/","title":{"rendered":"Once-kidnapped Colombian politician wants more 'heart' from ex-rebels"},"content":{"rendered":"
BOGOTA (Reuters) – A former Colombian presidential candidate once held for more than six years by the FARC rebels on Wednesday criticized former guerrillas who have asked forgiveness for kidnappings.<\/p> Ingrid Betancourt, who was rescued in a cinematic military operation in 2008, met face-to-face for the first time with now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leaders as part of the ex-guerrillas\u2019 participation in a truth commission created under a 2016 peace deal.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to hear you speak from your heart, not from politics,\u201d Betancourt said. \u201cThis is a meeting of hearts, not a political meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n Former FARC leaders accepted responsibility for tens of thousands of kidnappings earlier this year. Ex-fighters, including top leader Rodrigo Londono, repeated their regret on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Betancourt thanked some ex-guerrillas who have tried to understand the suffering of the kidnapped and their families, but said while she and other victims cried at the event, former fighters had dry eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cBecoming human again is crying together. Someday we will need to cry together,\u201d Betancourt said, urging the group to hand over drug trafficking assets for victim reparation.<\/p>\n The event included testimonies from seven other victims and seven former combatants.<\/p>\n Some victims said they forgive the FARC.<\/p>\n \u201cI have forgiven to stop poisoning my spirit,\u201d said Armando Acuna, who was kidnapped in 2009. \u201cI want to ask (the FARC) to do all that is humanly – and even inhumanly – possible for the peace of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n Others said more needed to be done, especially in the search for remains of hostages who died while being held.<\/p>\n \u201cThere isn\u2019t a day when I get up and don\u2019t think of them,\u201d said Helmuth Angulo, whose parents were kidnapped and killed by the FARC in 2000.<\/p>\n He criticized the work of the search unit created by the peace accord to find disappeared people, but said the FARC have made efforts to find his parents\u2019 bodies.<\/p>\n Luz Marina Monzon, the head of the unit, said she recognized the pain and frustration of those still seeking remains and hoped to help Angulo.<\/p>\n Ex-fighters have also asked for forgiveness in private meetings with victims and turned over information which may help locate remains of dozens of hostages.<\/p>\n Angela Cordon, who was 14 when her father and uncle were kidnapped in 2003, is still seeking their remains. She said she wants to heal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe came to flower, not to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n