Colombia Rebels Free 45 Hostages for Christmas
By Eliana Aponte
BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombia's second biggest leftist rebel group freed 42 policemen and soldiers on Saturday and told them to ``be happy,'' in a gesture of Christmas goodwill that officials said brought full peace talks closer.
The men, looking well, were rounded up in a jungle hamlet northeast of Bogota where Felipe Torres, a National Liberation Army (ELN) leader on temporary release from jail, checked names off a list and displayed a ``certificate of handover.''
``We wish you all a good journey home, a happy reunion with your families and that you be happy,'' Torres told the men, to applause, before they were packed into helicopters and flown to the town of Bucaramanga for medical checks and to meet relatives they had not seen for more than two years.
The rebels' show of seasonal goodwill -- with no strings attached -- has been widely welcomed in this increasingly war-weary nation and officials said it should spur moves to create a demilitarized enclave in the north of the country where the rebels and government could hold full peace talks.
Thirty of the hostages were policemen -- one with the police dog he was captured with -- who arrived in Bucaramanga wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan ``peace.'' Many wiped away tears as they arrived to hugs and kisses.
``Peace is built with words and especially with deeds that we have started to see today,'' Colombia's peace commissioner, Camilo Gomez, told reporters after the handover.
``Colombians are waiting for acts of peace. Today, an act of peace has been realized ... peace is undoubtedly possible.''
The ELN had promised to free 45 policemen and soldiers it had captured in combat. Gomez said the other three had not been freed for logistical reasons, but would be in coming days.
Meanwhile, the men, some playing with children, ate a Christmas meal with music and entertainment supplied by officers wearing Santa suits in the police's trademark green.
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