Colombian legislators plead for release

BOGOTA -- Speaking from jails deep in the jungle, a group of Colombian legislators, held by leftist rebels for almost two years, have made a dramatic appeal for freedom. A videotape of the plea was released yesterday.

The tape was recorded and edited by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the main rebel group in the country. It was released after the UN special adviser on Colombia, James LeMoyne, urged President Alvaro Uribe and the rebels last week to take steps toward a prisoner exchange accord to revive talks.

Appearing healthy but thinner, the 12 regional legislators read messages telling wives and children to care for plants, study, pay bills, and cheer their soccer teams.

"Mr. President, those who are going to die send you their regards," said one, Jairo Hoyos.

A white blanket served as a backdrop. The sounds of birdsong and a rushing river added to the perception of a jungle setting.

There was no immediate response from the government to the prisoners' plea.

"Since the day of our kidnapping I have not seen a single civilian. All I see is mountains and rivers. I have lost my teeth, but I am still holding out this captivity until my God snuffs out the flame of my hope and faith."

The FARC, which has been fighting the government for 40 years, has hundreds of captives, among them 50 high-profile detainees described as "political prisoners." It wants to trade these for thousands of rebels in state prisons. They include soldiers; a former presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt; and three US Defense Department contractors captured after their plane crashed last year.

The FARC is also holding hundreds of civilians for ransom.

The images, recorded in December, appeared to have been meant to pressure Uribe to reach an accord with the rebels. The broadcast of the detainees, who are believed to be held in squalor, has become a negotiating tactic in a nation traumatized by the highest kidnapping rate in the world.

Uribe, a US ally who has pledged to defeat the 17,000-member FARC force on the battlefield, has said that a "humanitarian exchange" must also include the release of the hundreds of civilians.

The FARC, formed in the 1960s, says it is fighting for socialist change. It often releases homemade videotapes that carry the FARC seal, an AK-47 assault rifle and a machete against the backdrop of a Colombian flag. Last year, it released tapes of Betancourt and of the Americans, who said they were likely to be killed if there were a rescue attempt.

In several instances, the FARC has carried out a threat of slaying hostages in army rescue attempts.