'Proof of life' of reporter held in Colombia

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 29 May 2012

Colombian rebels sent a proof-of-life video showing France 24 journalist Romeo Langlois in good health after a month in captivity. The FARC said it plans to free him on Wednesday with an ICRC-backed delegation set to collect him.

Summary

BOGOTA:Colombian rebels on Monday sent "proof of life" of a French journalist held captive for a month in the jungle, days before his expected release. Video footage broadcast on the Latin American cable TV network Telesur showed France 24 reporter Romeo Langlois in good health despite a bandage on one arm from an injury apparently sustained during his capture.

"I am a civilian, a French international journalist," Langlois said, smiling as he spoke in Spanish in front of a camera in a FARC jungle camp. "You know what you're exposed to when you undertake this kind of activity," he said, referring to his reporting mission embedded in a Colombian army unit.

"But the truth is I didn't think it was going to get so terrible." Langlois was captured at the end of April during a clash between FARC rebels and the army unit he was filming. The FARC have said they will free the Frenchman on Wednesday.

A delegation comprising a French envoy, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and former Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba are being dispatched to fetch 35-year-old Langlois. "We just have to hope everything goes well on the day," French ambassador Pierre-Jean Vandoorne told radio Caracol.

Initially, the FARC guerrillas declared Langlois a "prisoner of war." The reporter was wearing a Colombian army helmet and a bullet-proof vest at the time of his capture, which he shed before surrendering to the guerrillas and declaring he was a civilian, according to the authorities.

In mid-May, the FARC relented and said it was prepared to release him as long as it was provided with the usual security guarantees such as a suspension of Colombian military operations in the region. Military officials have agreed to suspend operations from 6:00 pm (2300 GMT) Tuesday until Thursday at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) in the area near the planned release in Colombia's southern jungle.

The exact location where the reporter will be freed has not been announced. - AFP

KEY POINTS:

• Telesur aired video of Romeo Langlois speaking in Spanish from a FARC jungle camp.
• Langlois was captured in late April during clashes while embedded with a Colombian army unit.
• The FARC said it will release him on Wednesday, pending security guarantees.
• A delegation including the ICRC, a French envoy and Piedad Cordoba will travel to retrieve him.
• Colombian military operations in the area will be suspended from Tuesday evening until Thursday morning.