Politicians from around the world today appealed for terrorists to release Colombian human rights activist Ms Ingrid Betancourt.
Ms Betancourt, Green Party leader and presidential candidate in the country, was kidnapped by FARC rebel guerillas in February 2002. Her family have only heard from her once in 1,009 days.
Around 50 Green politicians and campaigners gathered in Dublin today to show their solidarity by planting a tree in her memory in the city's St Patrick's Park.
Green Party leader Mr Trevor Sargent said it was 18 months since campaigners had heard any news of Ms Betancourt but were hopeful she was alive. "There has been a lot of psychological torture from conflicting sides about where she is and how she is," Mr Sargent said.
"She is a very valuable hostage so FARC will make sure that they don't, as they would put in their terms, waste her. They would be very careful to get maximum impact and maximum coverage for her kidnap."
Greens from across Europe, USA, Colombia and Canada appealed for Ms Betancourt's release and asked anyone with information on her whereabouts to come forward. Members of the Colombian Green Party called on the Government to support their efforts to release their leader.
An outspoken campaigner for democracy, Ms Betancourt has become an international symbol of the struggle against corruption in Colombia.
"This lady is regarded around the world as a very important force for good in the way she has confronted corruption and injustice," Mr Sargent said.
And he said she would be just as anxious to make the case for the 3,000 other people who have suffered at the hands of kidnappers in the Latin American state. Around 1,200 local authorities across the globe have granted Ms Betancourt the freedom of their borough or honorary citizens out of respect for her campaign for justice.
The Green politicians were in Dublin this weekend for the first Council meeting of the European Greens and to discuss the new constitution.
PA