Colombian Senate appoints humanitarian commission to settle disputes

Colombia's Senate on Wednesday appointed a commission which aims to seek a humanitarian agreement between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for the release of prisoners.

Senate President and Committee member Dilian Francisca Toro told press that the committee was made up of 15 legislators from Colombia's all political parties, and the key members include former Defense Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez, indigenous leader Jesus Pinacue, left-wing leader Piedad Cordoba and former guerilla Gustavo Petro.

The committee has invited FARC leaders to discuss related issues in a bid to reach the agreement, said Toro.

The decision was made only two days after Alvaro Uribe was sworn in for his second consecutive four-year term as Colombia's president. He said earlier that he did not exclude a humanitarian agreement with the FARC.

The FARC has been proposing the swap of 45 Colombian military and police officials, three U.S. citizens, and several other political figures for more than 500 guerillas held by the Colombian government.

Also on Wednesday, five members of the indigenous Colombian community, the Awa, were killed by paramilitaries in the rural Colombian area of Barbacoas. Nine heavily armed men burst into a home in the village of Altaquer in the southwestern department of Narino, which borders Ecuador.

Fabio Trujillo, interior minister for that department, told media that the gunmen first seized a couple and a woman in the house and then grabbed another two locals before killing all the captives.

Trujillo said the incident seemed to indicate that the Awas were killed for allegedly aiding the FARC. FARC guerillas and paramilitaries have been clashing repeatedly in Awa areas in recent weeks.

Source: Xinhua