- Gustavo Moncayo
Gustavo Guillermo Moncayo Rincón, popularly known as "El caminante por la paz", (born on
November 29 ,1952 in Santiago, Putumayo [http://www.fecode.edu.co/descargas/encuentro/encuentro_bol_n10.pdf es icon FECODE: Perfil del caminante por la paz]FECODE Accessed 25 August 2007.] ) is aColombia n teacher who decided to undertake a walk of 1,186 km from his hometownSandoná , in the department of Nariño in the south of Colombia to the capital cityBogotá , seeking to promote an agreement for the release of his son Pablo Emilio who has been a prisoner of the guerrilla groupFARC since 1997. [http://www.elpais.com.co/paisonline/notas/Julio032007/monca.html es icon El País: Entregan pruebas de supervivencia de militares secuestrados ] El País Accessed 25 August 2007.] His walk has been compared to the one done by the fictional character "Forrest Gump" in the "Forrest Gump" film. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13831819 NPR News: Father's Journey to Find Captive Son Gains Support]NPR Accessed 25 August 2007.]Walk from Sandoná to Bogotá
On
June 17 ,2007 , which isFather's Day in Colombia, Moncayo began walking from Sandoná, [http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/agosto/4/online.php?n=13&seccion=Nacional es icon El Diario del Sur: La del profesor Moncayo, Una locura de travesía]El Diario del Sur Accessed 25 August 2007.] accompanied by his daughter along thePan-American Highway , stopping in every town he found on his path to have a rest and to collect signatures for a petition to PresidentÁlvaro Uribe to conduct a prisoner exchange. [http://www.elespectador.com/ElEspectador/Secciones/Detalles.aspx?idNoticia=13100&idSeccion=18 es icon El Espectador: Alcaldía de Bogotá avala decisión del profesor Moncayo]El Espectador Accessed 25 August 2007.]A few days after, his body started to show signs of fatigue; his and his daughter's feet had to be treated for blisters resulting from the enormous effort. [http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/443455.asp es icon Caracol Radio: Padre del soldado Moncayo reinicia su peregrinación pese al agotamiento físico]
Caracol Radio Accessed 25 August 2007.]As he approached the city of
Popayán , his walk started to be covered by the media and his name became increasingly known by Colombian public opinion. [http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/443455.asp es icon Caracol Radio: Padre del soldado Moncayo reinicia su peregrinación pese al agotamiento físico]Caracol Radio Accessed 25 August 2007.]When he arrived in the city of
Cali , he was received by GovernorAngelino Garzon who offered him a place to stay. Days after, when he arrived inPereira he was received by the mayor of the city who decorated him a “"citizen of honour"”. He crossed the highest pass of theAndes before arriving in the city ofIbague . [http://www.cmi.com.co/Contenido/Noticia.asp?nota=5000 es icon CM&: 46 días de travesía]CM& Accessed 25 August 2007.]On Wednesday
August 1 ,2007 Moncayo walked the last stretch to the historic downtown of the capital city and when he arrived in the Plaza de Bolívar he was cheered by thousands of people. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_6926000/6926066.stm es icon BBC: Caminante por la paz llega a Bogotá]BBC Accessed 25 August 2007.]Uribe meets Moncayo
The arrival of Gustavo Moncayo at the Plaza de Bolívar led to a public exchange of views between him and President Uribe, who placed the blame and responsibility for the long captivity of the prisoners on the FARC guerrilla group.Fact|date=August 2007
After the speeches Moncayo expressed:
He also criticized Uribe for making empty offers to the guerrilla in exchange for the captives.Fact|date=August 2007
Criticism
According to the "
Washington Post ",Fernando Londoño , a former Interior Minister, criticized Moncayo in an opinion column for "El Tiempo ", the country's main daily. He accused Moncayo's son Pablo Emilio of being an "incompetent soldier" and wrote that his father was spreading "Marxist venom through Colombia's veins". [" [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/23/AR2007082302331_2.html After a Long Trek Across Colombia, Hostage Advocate Not Ready to Rest] ", The Washington Post, August 23, 2007]ee also
*
Kidnappings in Colombia References
External links
*es icon [http://www.elcolombiano.com/blogs/caminodelapaz/?p=40 Blog entry of Moncayo's daughter Yury Tatiana Moncayo in the Colombian newspaper El Colombiano]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6928864.stm Colombian man ends protest trek]
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