AP. 1 August 2002. Frenchman recounts 103 days in rebel captivity in Colombia.
BOGOTA -- They knew it was risky to fly a helicopter over Colombia, but the chopper had to be delivered from Canada to Peru, so the three men decided to take the chance. Now Pierre Galipon considers himself lucky to have survived a forced landing and 103 days in rebel captivity, where the Frenchman and two Canadian colleagues were held by guerrillas he considers "very nice youth." "We knew it was dangerous," Galipon told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday, a day after he was released along with Gilles Pregent, a 50-year-old pilot from Montreal and father of four, and Jay Riddell, a mechanic from Vancouver who turned 30 in the jungle. Bad weather near Colombia's border with Ecuador forced them to land in rebel-controlled territory. Within an hour, they were snatched up by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. "We knew there was this guerrilla group fighting the government in Colombia, but we didn't know that there are whole areas no longer under the government's control," said Galipon, who is a partner in Bolivia-based Heliamerica, the company that owns the helicopter. "The FARC didn't do anything bad to us," Galipon told Caracol radio earlier in the day. "They detained us and explained that they had to investigate if we were members of the CIA, or the DEA." He said he didn't feel like he had been kidnapped, but rather simply detained while the rebels investigated him. One of the rebels who discovered them after they landed pulled out a gun and said, "Let's do this one by one." The men were sure they were about to be killed. The guerrillas were just checking them for weapons. Galipon said the guerrillas treated them well, giving him spaghetti and French fries to cook, he said. The rebels even found floor mats and mosquito netting, and brought them daily rations of Coca Cola and instant coffee. The captives were able to listen to a radio but never heard any reports on their capture, he said. They secretly used a radio beacon they had sneaked in from the helicopter to try to attract the attention of passing aircraft, but with no response. "We felt very abandoned by the Colombian government," said Galipon. So they began to plot an escape plan. "It was very ambitious, and impossible," said Galipon. The morning they decided to try to escape, the guerrillas came in to tell them they were to be released, Galipon said. The rebels allowed the three men to fly the helicopter out of the jungle Tuesday night. "Not only did I come out of this alive, but we also got the helicopter back," he said. "They also gave me back the $4,500 I had in my pocket, and the equipment in the plane." The Canadians were not available for comment Wednesday. Galipon doesn't hold any bitter feelings toward the FARC, though he said he doesn't agree with their tactics. Despite his ordeal, Galipon, who lives in Bolivia with his 15-year-old son, still considers South America his home. "The Canadians say they will never come back here, but I'm sure I will," he said. ''I just have to be more careful." ------------------------------------------- Macdonald Stainsby http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international -- In the contradiction lies the hope. --Bertholt Brecht _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
