Colombian rebels free 58 powerplant workers

By Jose Ramos BOGOTA -- Leftist Colombian rebels freed Saturday 58 more hostages they had been holding at a power plant in southwestern Colombia, the company operating the plant there said.

However, at least 87 people continue to be held at the plant, according to Liliana Velasquez , spokeswoman for the Empresa de Energia del Pacifico (EPSA), which operates the Anchicaya plant. On Thursday, rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) freed seven women and 16 children -- all of them relatives of plant workers, humanitarian sources said. Six of the employees freed Saturday are engineers, Velasquez said. All 58 are "in good health," she said, noting their release was made possible thanks to an initiative of the power company, the government of Valle province and the International Red Cross. 

Meanwhile, the army told AFP heavy fighting was under way Saturday in the Sumapaz District of central Cundinamarca Province as part of a major operation launched against the FARC, Colombia's largest rebel force. An army spokesman said the number of casualties was unknown.

But radio reports quoted local peasants as saying eight soldiers were killed in the battle against three columns of FARC insurgents. In Anchicaya, the Marxist rebel group seized 168 people on Tuesday, trying to pressure the government to lowering electricity tariffs by 30 percent and carrying out social development projects in Valle. "Initially, the number of those detained was put at 123," Velasquez said. "But upon verification, it turned out that a number of contract workers were in Anchicaya at the time of the seizure.

As the result, the total of those in captivity rose to 168," she said. The rebels came down from nearby mountains and occupied the power plant, located 335 kilometers (210 miles) from Bogota. Their leaders, a man of about 35 who calls himself "Commandante JJ" made public his demand for the reduction of electricity tariffs on Thursday. The guerrilla leader also asked that ESPA implement social programs in a vast area located near Colombia's Pacific Coast. EPSA, one of 10 leading energy producers in Colombia, belongs to a consortium made up of the Venezuelan company Electricidad de Caracas and the Houston, Texas-based Reliant Energy.

On Friday, Reliant Energy expressed the hope for a peaceful resolution of the power plant stand off. The rebels have demanded that EPSA president Carlos Eduardo Sinisterra come in person to negotiate their demands. Asked what would happen if the company failed to comply, Comandante JJ said "then we will switch off the turbines and leave." The plant has continued to operate during the rebels' occupation. The Colombian army says it has refrained from taking any action to recapture the plan for fear of harming the hostages.