Families of plagiarized seek the mediation of the Red Cross
Ecuadornews:
The relatives of Javier Ortega, Paul Rivas and Efraín Segarra, kidnapped in Mataje, met yesterday and analyzed an order for the Red Cross to act as mediator between the captors and the Government.
In cases of international armed conflict or internal violence, this body acts through its International Committee. The guidelines drawn up by this body indicate that its delegates can intervene when there are illegal captures of people. In this context, the Committee can provide medical, psychological and material assistance to the victims. However, assistance will be given only when both parties accept the intervention and commit themselves to facilitate and respect the work that the experts deploy.
For Harold Burbano, legal coordinator of the Human Rights Foundation (Inredh), the Red Cross, through its offices in Colombia or Ecuador, should act on this matter. “We have three hostages and a zone of conflict where tensions have to be lowered. To achieve this, an impartial third party is needed. “Burbano recommended that family members request the State a United Nations mission to mediate in the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Committee warns that it will only intervene if it sufficiently knows the parties. For now, what is known is that the captors of the journalistic team are linked to the Oliver Sinisterra column, led by the FARC dissident alias ‘Guacho’. This information was released in a video released on Tuesday. There is talk of two demands to free them: exchange with three detainees and the rupture of an agreement that Ecuador and Colombia signed on February 15, to attack the organized crime of the border.
On April 4, César Navas, interior minister, indicated that the government will not give in to pressure from dissidents. “We live in a State of Law, in a country that has to respect the processes that are constitutionally established. This is not about giving in to any pressure, “he said from Esmeraldas. Within the Crisis Committee, which is made up of authorities and relatives, it has been said that there is a dialogue with the captors, although Navas clarified that this process will take time.
For the time being, the Prosecutor’s Office has carried out “skills” related to plagiarism, although for security reasons it has not detailed the type of work that is carried out. The Foreign Ministry also ruled yesterday. Its owner María Fernanda Espinosa said on Twitter that “they will not rest” until the three collaborators of EL COMERCIO are freed. The rejection of captivity increases. The Group of Diaries of America (GDA) published on Wednesday, in 11 newspapers in the region, “the most energetic rejection” of society to these events. The GDA says that the disappearance of the three collaborators “became an issue of local and regional relevance that cannot go unnoticed.”
“Journalism is an exercise that advocates for individual liberties, respect for human rights, defense of the common good and democracy. Its historic mission has been and will continue to be to provide accurate and timely information, “the Group said.
In Ecuador, the National Federation of Journalists wrote an open letter to Rocío de Moreno, wife of the Head of State. This document states the following: “You would give anything for the children’s lives and that is what is requested, that with that mother’s heart be an active part of the liberation.”
On the evening of April 4, there was a vigil in the Plaza Grande and before that; a gigantography with the image of the three hostages was placed on the San Juan tunnel. Also, via Twitter, the Minister of Defense, Patricio Zambrano, reported the recovery of the vehicle in which the journalists were traveling. (I)
Source: http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/familias-secuestrados-buscan-mediacion-cruzroja.html