FILE/PROFILE: Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba is a contender for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize

Record ID: 644247

  • Title: FILE/PROFILE: Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba is a contender for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize
  • Date: 8th October 2010
  • Summary: FLORENCIA, COLOMBIA (FILE - MARCH 30, 2010) (REUTERS) RED CROSS HELICOPTER CARRYING PABLO EMILIO MONCAYO ARRIVING AT AIRPORT RED CROSS WORKERS WATCHING AS HELICOPTER LANDS VARIOUS OF FAMILY MEMBERS GREETING MONCAYO (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIAN SENATOR, PIEDAD CORDOBA, SAYING: "With this unilateral gesture, the FARC considers that the path is now open for the immediate exchange of prisoners of war and the only viable way of guaranteeing the physical liberation of the prisoners in the jungle as well as the jailed rebels in both Colombia and the United States."
  • Embargoed: 23rd October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA26MV9NL38KW2MPZHCW71J7DPR
  • Story Text: Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, a leftist senator aligned with the opposition Colombian Liberal Party has a reputation for taking radical stances and has gained notoriety for her part in securing the release of FARC prisoners.
    In a surprise move by the Colombian government, she was designated by President Alvaro Uribe following rare concessions to FARC demands, that she broker the hand-over of 24 high-profile hostages still held in secret jungle camps by the FARC.
    The FARC and Uribe, a conservative U.S. ally popular for cracking down on the guerrillas, have struggled on terms for the release. But Cordoba says that Uribe's recent efforts could set the stage for a new round of handovers to start soon.
    The FARC currently hold 24 hostages, among them police and soldiers, some of whom have spent nearly 11 years in captivity after guerrillas overran their bases.
    Attempts to negotiate a full deal to free the hostages have been stalled for years, but Cordoba has kept the pressure on both sides of the dispute in the lead up to possible releases. She is hoping to find common ground and a mode for both the government and the insurgency to work together, and continues to make advances, working closely with the FARC to secure a means for further releases.
    "We understand that this fight has to come to an end because we have to build this country together. So, I don't know if my associates want to say anything, but I personally believe you are all owed a big thank you," Cordoba said to a group of insurgents, in February 2009.
    Though she is popular for her efforts, many Colombians view Cordoba with suspicion because of her alliance with Hugo Chavez, the leftist president of neighbouring Venezuela who she invited to help negotiate with the FARC in 2007.
    Cordoba has publicly stated she wants to see the two neighbouring countries come together and move beyond their differences.
    "I want to say today to President Chavez that Colombia and Venezuela cannot continue in contradiction, they are sister republics, sharing great traditions in many things and one of the things that I -- and I want to say it publicly here -- I want to make a commitment to normalizing relations," she said in August 2008.
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