Doubts plague French mission for hostage Betancourt

By Patrick Markey

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A French medical mission to treat ailing Colombian rebel hostage Ingrid Betancourt remained grounded at a Bogota air base on Friday, dogged by doubts after guerrillas rejected calls for her swift release.

Betancourt, a French-Colombian citizen and former presidential candidate who was kidnapped while campaigning in 2002, is the highest profile hostage being held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

A French aircraft carrying a medical team arrived on Thursday and sat on the tarmac at Catam military base waiting to fly into the jungle, where former hostages say the mother of two is very sick with hepatitis and other illnesses.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner acknowledged France was waiting for a response from rebels, and her sister was unsure the medical team could reach her without a prior deal with the FARC.

"Are we pessimistic about a result from this French mission? Yes," Astrid Betancourt told local radio. "If this is a success in any way, it will be a miracle, as there was no previous agreement."

Waving flags and chanting "Freedom, freedom," several thousand Colombians took to the streets across the country for a midday march to demand the FARC free kidnap victims, some of whom have spent as long as a decade in captivity.

Betancourt's son, Lorenzo Delloye Betancourt, used a news conference in Paris to urge the rebels: "Please make a gesture. Understand that this a historic moment for you."

But a top FARC commander, Rodrigo Granda, said on Thursday Betancourt would not be handed over immediately. He said rebel captives, who include three U.S. contractors and dozens of politicians, police and soldiers, could only be freed through a negotiated agreement to swap hostages for jailed guerrillas.