Bogota said Friday it had begun the process of releasing prisoners from the leftist FARC army in a move officials said they hoped would bring the release of 56 hostages held by the rebels.
A first group of 40 out of some 500 FARC soldiers held by the government were transferred by bus from a Bogota prison to a temporary holding place in Chiquinquira, 140 kilometers (87 miles) to the north, prisons director Eduardo Morales told AFP.
Eventually some 250-300 of the imprisoned guerrillas were to be massed at the holding place Morales said. "Their stay in Chiquinquira will be temporary, about one or two weeks," he said, adding that the number could increase. Last week Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, citing "reasons of state," announced that his government would release unilaterally by June 7 a large group of imprisoned guerrillas who belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
"Uribe's proposal might in this way advance the search for the freedom of the hostages which are under the control of armed groups at the margin of the law," said an official with the office of the Colombian High Commissioner for Peace.
Uribe has been under pressure to engage in a prisoner swap with FARC, which is holding among its hostages three Americans and prominent French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who was seized while running for president in 2002.
Interior Minister Carlos Holguin said Thursday that more than 180 rebels could be released by next week in a unilateral gesture aimed at encouraging FARC leaders to free the hostages.
But last week FARC's second-in-command, Raul Reyes, rejected the idea of a humanitarian exchange unless the government first establishes a huge demilitarised zone in two south-western Colombian towns around where FARC operates. The 17,000-strong FARC guerrilla army has been battling with the government for decades over control of large parts of Colombian territory.
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