French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who was
rescued from her guerrilla captors on Wednesday, has not yet decided when to
visit France but is expected to do so soon, France said on Thursday.
Betancourt, 46, a dual national and former Colombian presidential candidate,
was the highest-profile captive held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, known as FARC, and had been a held in the Colombian jungle for six
years.
She was rescued along with 14 other hostages, including three US citizens, in
an operation in which Colombian soldiers posed as aid workers, fooling
guerrillas into putting the captives onto a helicopter.
"For the moment, there is no final decision taken by her," Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Eric Chevallier told iTele television when asked when
Betancourt would visit France.
Betancourt's plight has been followed closely in France, where successive
governments have sought to help secure her release. President Nicolas Sarkozy
pledged after his election last year to make her liberation a priority and he
made several unsuccessful attempts to convince the FARC to set her free.
Shortly after her release, Betancourt thanked Sarkozy and his predecessor
Jacques Chirac, as well as former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, for
their efforts to help her, adding: "I dream of returning to France".
France has dispatched a plane with her relatives and Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner on board to meet her in Colombia. An official at Sarkozy's office said
overnight she was likely to head to France on that plane.
Chevallier, however, was more cautious, saying he expected her to reach a
decision by the time the plane arrives in a few hours' time.
"I think that in the meantime Ingrid Betancourt will decide exactly when
she will come back, but she could decide to stay in Colombia a little while or
not. We'll see. It's her decision," Chevallier said.
French media held their front pages as the news of Betancourt's release broke
on Wednesday evening.
"Free," ran the headline of daily Le Parisien, along with a full-page
picture of her smiling, wearing camouflage fatigues and a hat after her
release.
"Ingrid Betancourt free at last," conservative broadsheet Le Figaro
said on its front page, which featured the same picture.
Betancourt's French support committee, which has held
demonstrations and vigils throughout her detention in jungle camps, said it
would hold a rally at 3.00pm "and for a good part of the night" to
celebrate her release, TheStar reported.
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