By IANS
Panama City : Colombia’s largest leftist rebel group has asked the Panamanian government to set free by March 1 its cadres arrested last weekend or face retaliatory action, Spain’s EFE news agency reported Thursday.
“The Panamanian government has until midnight March 1 to release the kidnapped comrades in perfect health,” a communiqué distributed to the local media Wednesday by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), said.
“If this is not done, we have instructions (from FARC chief) to take hostages, (including) members of the Panamanian police, local officials or politicians to force an exchange,” the message says.
The communiqué was sent, it said, to alert “the current government of Panama to take account of the very dangerous situation in which it has involved it by kidnapping six members of our army”.
The government, which has not yet commented on the ultimatum, said this week that it would not permit the presence of insurgents on its territory and has started legal proceedings against the captured men.