WASHINGTON (AFP) - Marc Gonsalves, one of three US hostages rescued from Colombia's FARC rebels last week, said Monday the guerillas were not revolutionaries but 'terrorists' using a crusade for the poor as a front for crime.
'They are not a revolutionary group. They are terrorists,' Gonsalves told a televised press conference from Texas, in his first public comments since being rescued by the Colombian army Wednesday along with 14 other hostages.
'They say that they want equality. They say that they just want to make Colombia a better place. But that's all a lie. It's a cover story, and they hide behind it,' Gonsalves said. 'And they use it to justify their criminal activity.... Their interests lie in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping. They refuse to acknowledge all human rights. And they reject democracy.'
| Standing, cheering, clapping. Mr. Gonsalves' words should be read on the floor of the U.S. House ... |
Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell were seized by Colombian rebels as they conducted an anti-drug mission for the US Defense Department in February 2003. They were freed by the Colombian army on Wednesday. The three Americans were flown from Colombia to a US military base in Texas before dawn Thursday where they underwent medical checks and were reunited with their families. |