Good News from Colombia
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Thursday April 10, 2003 18:59
by joe ranii
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A ray of hope for long-suffering Colombia as child is freed from the clutches of suspected FARC gangster kidnappers. This comes just a few days after last Sunday's nationwide demonstrations that called on the FARC and other criminal gangs to abandon their war against Colombia's children.
From AP:
Kidnapped Boy Rescued, Colombia Rejoices
By CESAR GARCIA, Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia - Police burst into a Bogota home and rescued a 3-year-old boy from a dungeon-like hole, a week after he was kidnapped from his school bus, officials said Tuesday.
For a country mired in a civil war, beset by drug trafficking and the world's highest kidnapping rate and with so little to celebrate, the liberation Monday night of little Vitys Karanauskas was heralded by many in Colombia.
Vitys was returned to his mother in good health, though she said she almost didn't recognize him, because the kidnappers had dyed the lad's blond hair.
"When I saw him I didn't recognize him," his mother, Saule Karanauskas, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I only realized that it was him when he hugged me and kissed me."
Pictures of the toddler were splashed across newspapers and television news shows, printed on T-shirts protesters wore to marches and shown by his mother to anyone who would look.
Police arrested eight people. The kidnappers demanded a $170,000 ransom to release Vitys. Police said many people came forward offering information about the child, making the rescue possible.
"Faced with an act of this sort, which moved all of society, there were many people who thought they might have valuable information," said the nation's police chief, Gen. Teodoro Campo. "One of them led us to the results that we are all praising."
After the boy was abducted on April 1, his classmates held marches to press for his release. In interviews with local media, Karanauskas begged the kidnappers to treat her son well, even asking that they try to convince the boy it was all a game so he wouldn't be frightened.
The kidnappers snatched Vitys from a school bus in Villavicencio, 45 miles south of Bogota, then brought him to a house in the capital, and stuffed him into a dank cubbyhole underneath the floor.
More than 380 children were kidnapped in Colombia last year, many abducted by criminal gangs or leftist rebels seeking ransoms, according to the Colombian anti-kidnapping organization Free Country
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Comments (8 of 8)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8You'll find that it is in fact the Colombian government junta that are kidnapping and murdering street children. It's just like babaric selfish greedy rich snob juntas to try to solve the probelm of our barrias street children by kidnapping and murdering them. We've seen it all before in places like Brazil, Guatemala where state policemen were trying to exterminate all the children of the poor and the barrias. In a sinister effort on behalf of big business corporations, to beautify barrias districts for tourists. FARC do not kidnap children, they prefer to kidnap wealthy western multinational industrialist tourists and business men. FARC unlike the Colombian junta do have common sense, a strategy and integrity, unlike uncontrolable Junta animals who murder and slaughter peasants whenever possible to satisfy their sadistic urges. In colombia the junta and state security services are like Rose and Fred West, they are that babaric, cruel and sadistic. Can you imagine a country run by Rose and Fred west, well thats what the Colombian Junta are like.
Ian Paisley and Maggie thatcher are the Fred and Rose west of politics here.
No Ian paisley and Daphnee Trimbull
Have you noticed that Ice queen security minister Jane kennely has a bit of an air of Rose west about her. She is actually a blood relative of Rose west.
The Israeli trained paramilitary death squads are the monsters of Columbia who average 30 killings a week of men women and children who get in the way of their drugs operations. The FARC for all their faults are trying to defend the poor of Columbia and are fighting back against the evil, corrupt, American backed, drug barons who rule Columbia.
Once again we find the Israelis doing their dirty work in yet another part of the planet. Not content with running America and causing a war in Iraq they are teaching death squads in Latin America to do what the so-called Israeli Defence Forces are doing in Palestine.
... Can you imagine a country run by Rose and Fred west, well thats what the Colombian Junta are like
I am not too clear on your reference to West.
If you are talking about some English murderers it is obvious that you are more familiar with England than with Colombia.
I've been in Colombia 7 or 8 times in the past few years, so that kind of garbage doesn't impress me. Colombia has disgraceful disparities between rich and poor, but you don't solve that (and FARC certainly haven't) by murdering and kidnapping people.
Why don't the FARC follow the example of the Farabundo Marti in El Salvador? A decade after losing a civil war they are now poised to take power democratically. Yet FARC is further away than ever from controlling even one mid-sized town, and even less from gaining any foothold in the hearts of the Colombian people. In fact there is distinct evidence that the FARC are on the run in several areas of northern Colombia. Large numbers have been killed or arrested, and in many areas whole units are asking to be admitted into the Rehabilitation programme.
If FARC are so great why did the kidnap the Columbian anti-corruption campaigner,Green Senator and former Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt on Feb 23rd 2002. This women is the best hope Columbia has. She has still not been released along with her campaign manager. FARC ARE THE SAME SCUM MURDEROUS TERRORISTS AS THE GOVERNMENT AND SYSTEM THEY CLAIM TO OPPOSE. THEY USE THE SAME MURDEROUS TACTICS. JUST LOOK AT THEIR BAD BEHAVIOUR AS OPPOSED TO THE ZAPATISTAS IN CHIAPAS.