哥倫比亞反政府武裝釋放四名中國人質

Colombia's main rebel group FARC freed four Chinese workers kidnapped more than a year ago, a police commander said Thursday, just days after the guerrilla fighters launched peace negotiations with the government in Cuba.

哥倫比亞警方一名負責人週四說，該國主要反政府武裝“哥倫比亞革命武裝力量”(FARC)釋放了四名一年多以前遭綁架的中國工人。幾天之前，該游擊隊組織與哥倫比亞政府在古巴開始了和平談判。

Col. Carlos Vargas, police chief in the rural, southern state of Caqueta, said by telephone that the three oil workers and their translator were freed 'safe and sound' Wednesday afternoon.

哥倫比亞南方農村地區卡奎塔省的警方負責人巴爾加斯(Carlos Vargas)通過電話表示，三名石油工人和一名翻譯人員已於週三下午獲釋，他們目前人身安全，健康狀況良好。

The workers are employed by Emerald Energy, a subsidiary of Chinese chemical company Sinochem International Corp. They were last seen in June 2011 riding in a Pickup truck in a desolate area when witnesses said at least half a dozen armed fighters with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, stopped them and took them deep into the jungle.

這幾名工人受僱於中化國際（控股）股份有限公司(Sinochem International Corp.)旗下的埃默拉爾德能源公司(Emerald Energy)。上一次有人見到他們是在2011年6月，當時他們正乘坐一輛皮卡行進在一片荒無人煙的地區。據目擊者稱，至少有六名FARC的武裝分子截停了汽車，並把這些人帶到叢林深處。

Col. Vargas said the International Committee of the Red Cross helped coordinate their release, which took place in a remote area known as Los Pozos, or The Wells. The police commander said it isn't clear whether Sinochem or anyone else may have paid a ransom.

巴爾加斯說，此次人質獲釋得力於紅十字國際委員會(International Committee of the Red Cross)的居中協調。四名人質在一個名爲Los Pozos(也稱The Wells)的偏遠區域被釋放。巴爾加斯上校說，不清楚中化或其他什麼人是否支付了贖金。

'Their release, I'm certain, is part of a publicity effort by the FARC guerrillas as they begin peace talks, but whether the FARC also received some sort of ransom, that I don't know,' Col. Vargas said.

巴爾加斯說，我確信，人質獲釋是FARC遊擊組織在開始和談之際所做出的公關努力的一部分，至於FARC是否還收到了某種形式的贖金我就不得而知了。

Peace talks in Cuba between the FARC and Colombia's government began Monday. It is the government's first such negotiations in more than a decade with the FARC, which has 8,500 armed fighters and is also involved in drug trafficking.

週一，FARC和哥倫比亞政府在古巴舉行和談。這是10年多來哥倫比亞政府與FARC舉行的首次此類談判。FARC有8,500名武裝戰鬥人員，它還從事販毒活動。

On the day talks began in Havana, the FARC also announced that as a goodwill gesture it was starting a unilateral cease-fire throughout the holidays, ending Jan. 20.

和談在哈瓦那開始的當天，FARC爲了釋放善意，還宣佈將在假日期間（截至1月20日）單邊停火。

Colombia Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said the military will continue to attack the FARC despite the rebels' pledge to halt hostilities. In the southwestern state of Cauca Wednesday, Colombia's armed forces reported combat with the FARC, claiming the rebels have already broken their cease-fire pledge. It wasn't possible, however, to confirm which side may have fired first.

哥倫比亞國防部長平鬆(Juan Carlos Pinzon)說，儘管FARC聲稱將停止敵對狀態，但軍方將繼續對該反叛組織發動攻擊。週三在該國西南部省份考卡，哥倫比亞武裝部隊報告稱與FARC發生了戰鬥，並稱該反叛組織已經違背其停火承諾。不過，無法證實是哪一方面先開的火。