Posted on 07/09/2010 8:09:52 PM PDT by Stultis
Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who spent six years as a rebel hostage before being rescued, has sued the Andean nation over her kidnapping, sparking outrage from the government that freed her.
The suit seeks $6.8 million (4.5 million pounds) in damages from the state for emotional stress and loss of earnings while she was being held in secret jungle camps by Marxist guerrillas.
(Excerpt) Read more at euronews.net ...
Some tidbits from Betancourt's wiki entry:
The Colombian Defense Ministry said it was surprised and saddened by the demands and that there was no reason to blame the state for Betancourts kidnapping, adding that she ignored insistent recommendations from the armed forces and other authorities not to proceed with her trip to San Vicente del Caguan. Colombian Vicepresident, Francisco Santos said that the lawsuit deserved a "world prize for greed, ungratefulness and gall" adding that she signed a document taking all responsibility for her trip and that the Colombian state would fight the lawsuit to the end.
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Betancourt launched her presidential campaign on May 20, 2001 next to a statue of Simón Bolívar in Bogotá.
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As part of her campaign for the presidency in 2002 Betancourt decided to go to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the town of San Vicente del Caguán to meet with the FARC. This was not unusualmany public figures took the opportunity afforded by the DMZ to meet with the FARC as part of the negotiation process. At the time she decided to go, the Colombian Army suggested her not to go, since they would be unable to provide protection, due to hostility in the area after the DMZ had been militarized again. They made her sign a document that said just that, which she immediately signed. The election was eventually won by Álvaro Uribe, who never attended such meetings after having received threats from the rebel group.
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In their book titled Out of Captivity, American Northrop Grumman contractors Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes, all of whom spent time as hostages with Ingrid, described Betancourt's behavior as a captive of FARC as selfish, feeling she deserved better treatment than the other captives due to her political and social standing. The Americans, held captive by the FARC from 2003 to 2008, stated that throughout their captivity Betancourt claimed and took more than her fair share of scarce food, clothing, and personal space.
In one instance, according to Stansell, Betancourt, who apparently did not want the Americans accommodated in the same jail as her, told the FARC guards that the three Americans were working for the CIA, had tracking microchips embedded in their bodies, and should be isolated and watched closely. Said Stansell of her actions, "We could have been executed because she wanted more space in camp for herself." In an interview with the American TV news program 20/20, Stansell described Betancourt as the "most disgusting woman he'd ever met."
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In an interview on French radio shortly after her return to France, Betancourt distanced herself from Uribe's approach, while accepting that his security policy had been successful. She said the situation was at a point where "the vocabulary has to change" arguing that "the way in which we talk about the other side is very important."
Charge her for the rescue and call it even.
It would be cheaper for the Colombian govt. to kidnap her again and drop her off with the rebels.
S.O.P. for hard core left wingers the world over. You OWE them and they’ll never accept anything less than what they KNOW is theirs by right.
She should be bundled right back into the arms of the farc scum and left to rot.
Thalidomide babies have more of a leg to stand on than this person.
This sorry bitch would make a great RAT politician.
She was like this BEFORE she was kidnapped too.
I was never impressed with her.
When she was very first released, it seem like the “mugged by reality” effect had kicked in. As when she publicly criticized her mother for sucking up to Hugo Chavez. But as soon as she was back in France, it was clear she was as much of a libtard as ever.
Umm, shouldn’t she sue the FARC? After all, they’re the ones who freaking kidnapped her, and they have tons of drug-cartel money. Oh, wait, she can’t sue a terrorist group like the FARC because they’d probably just kidnap her again instead of showing up in court. So she’s suing the government that freed her instead. Good call. She’s a shoo-in to win the Nobel Prize for Cognitive Dissonance.
Ingrid, your $6.8M is all ready for you to pick up in Bogota at your convenience...
This pretty well nails down who she is. She voluntarily went into guerrilla territory in defiance of both the guerrillas and the government. Whatever credit she earned for bravery she just squandered complaining that the government didn't protect her in territory they didn't control. There are hundreds of people being held by FARC. There are thousands dying to rid Colombia of FARC. She out of everyone thinks she deserves a payday but not from the people who imprisoned her, but from the people who freed her at great risk. She's free, the rest of the prisoners are still imprisoned, and she thinks she deserves compensation.
Wow.
But she did reportedly recieve a $1 million advance, from Penguin Press, for the U.S. rights to a forthcoming memior.
'Course that was way back in October of '08. So maybe "forthcoming" isn't quite the right word?
Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle
Penguin is already discounting the cover price by a full one third on Amazon. May this one rapidly find it's way to the remainder bin.
But she has no beef with FARC? Where is her lawsuit against them? .......or their friends?
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