Sarkozy welcomes freed hostage Betancourt to Paris

Enlarge Photo France President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) points at reporters as he poses with French-Colombian politician Ingrid...

Fri, Jul 4 11:03 PM

By Estelle Shirbon

PARIS (Reuters) - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt landed in Paris on Friday to an emotional welcome from President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had made her release from captivity in the Colombian jungle a foreign policy priority.

Betancourt, 46, was rescued on Wednesday by the Colombian military after spending over six years in the hands of leftist guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). France was not involved in the rescue.

Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy were on the tarmac to greet Betancourt, who arrived with her family on a special French flight from Bogota. France had sent the plane to take Betancourt's children to be reunited with her on Thursday.

Sarkozy and his wife hugged Betancourt and held her hands before also exchanging embraces with her children and relatives.

"Ingrid Betancourt, welcome. France loves you," a visibly moved Sarkozy said in a short speech on the tarmac.

A tearful Betancourt gave credit to France for her safe release, arguing that it was partly thanks to French campaigning that the Colombian military had decided against a hazardous commando-style rescue.

"The extraordinary, perfect, flawless operation of the Colombian army that has allowed me to be here today is also a result of your struggle," she said.

A devout Catholic who made a wooden rosary in the jungle that she used to pray with, Betancourt will meet Pope Benedict as soon as his schedule allows, the Vatican said on Friday.

BLANKET MEDIA COVERAGE

Betancourt's release has received blanket media coverage in France, which took her plight to its heart over the past six years, embracing her as one of its own.

After leaving the airport, Betancourt met some of the campaigners who held countless marches for her during her captivity, at a reception at the presidential Elysee Palace.

French media reported that she would undergo medical checks at a Paris hospital on Saturday.

Sarkozy had played an active role in seeking the liberation of Betancourt since he took office last year, pressing for negotiations with her captors and urging the Colombian authorities to avoid military action.

The French government was consequently kept in the dark about the Colombian rescue mission, unlike the United States, and Sarkozy was informed Betancourt had been freed only after Colombian soldiers extracted her from the jungle through a ruse.

Sarkozy's rival in the 2007 election, Socialist politician Segolene Royal, was swift to jump on this, calling Sarkozy's efforts to mediate with the FARC "useless".

"Any controversy or political gain would be totally out of place because Nicolas Sarkozy had absolutely nothing to do with her liberation," she told radio reporters on a visit to Canada.

Her sharp tone punctured the political goodwill generated by the release of Betancourt, who lived in France in her youth and has dual French nationality thanks to a now annulled marriage.

Sarkozy's allies said the criticism was out of place.

"(Colombian President Alvaro Uribe) wasn't always in favour of all the French initiatives," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on RTL radio. "This is a victory for (Uribe) without any doubt, but it is not a defeat for others," he added.

(Additional reporting by Laure Bretton and Crispian Balmer)

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