FARC rebels tell Uribe to step down

Colombia's Marxist guerrillas told President Alvaro Uribe to step down if he wanted to guarantee a deal to free rebel hostages held for years in jungle camps.

One day after promising to free three hostages as a sign of goodwill, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) returned to a hardline stance with Uribe that suggests no quick deal for the release of more of their captives.

"The immediate resignation of Uribe and his government could guarantee the release alive of the prisoners through a humanitarian accord without any obstacles," FARC commander Raul Reyes said in a statement released on Wednesday by Anncol newswire, which often carries rebel communiques.

Uribe, popular for his US-backed crackdown that has reduced violence from the conflict, regularly dismisses rebel statements criticizing his government.

The FARC announcement this week that it would hand three hostages to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez fueled hopes for breaking a deadlock over captives, including French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt and three US citizens held for more than four years.

The initial release would be a snub to Uribe, who last month canceled Chavez's efforts to mediate with the FARC, which after 40 years is Latin America's oldest left-wing insurgency.

Even if the three hostages, Clara Rojas, her young son and former lawmaker Consuelo Gonzalez, are freed, reaching an accord to release other captives will be complicated by hardline demands from either side, analysts said.

Rojas was campaigning with former presidential candidate Betancourt when they were captured in 2002. Rojas gave birth to her son in captivity and the case of the boy raised in jungle camps has shocked Colombians.

Gonzalez is a former lawmaker who was kidnapped in 2001 by the FARC, which is branded a terrorist group by the US and Europe.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made the release of hostages, especially Betancourt, a foreign policy priority and other Latin American governments are pushing for a deal.

During the annual Christmas tree lighting at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris, Sarkozy called FARC's announcement a "good sign." He dedicated the event, attended by several hundred children, to Betancourt.

"Christmas is made for family togetherness, and she must come home to France," he said.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Wednesday that Paris was willing to admit imprisoned Colombian guerrillas as part of a deal to secure the release of the hostages.

Fillon said the guerrillas, currently locked up in Colombia, could be freed in France as part of a swap with the FARC. In exchange, the rebel group would release 46 high-profile hostages, including Betancourt.