Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 5.djvu/939

 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—OCT. 21, 1998 112 STAT. 3697 Whereas the wives and children of these American citizens, Tania Rich (daughters—Tamra and Jessica), Nancy Mankins (son— Chad, daughter—Sarah), and Patti TenenofF (son—Richard Lee III, daughters—Dora and Connie), have Hved the past 5 years without knowledge of the safety of these three men; Whereas Mark Rich, David Mankins, and Rick Tenenoff presently are believed to be the longest held United States hostages; Whereas this kidnapping represents a gross violation of the three missionaries' human rights and is not an isolated incident in Colombia where, since 1980, 83 innocent Americans have been held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN); Whereas the FARC and the ELN guerrilla groups in Colombia have both been designated terrorist organizations by the Department of State; Whereas Colombia is engaged in a high-level conflict with these guerrilla insurgency groups, a number of whom are protectorates of the deadly drug trade; Whereas the FARC has recently threatened officials of the United States Government and kidnapped additional United States citizens in Colombia; Whereas the region of Colombia where the three American missionaries are believed to be held is controlled not by the Colombian Government, but rather by the FARC; Whereas on December 9, 1997, the President of Colombia stated on an internationaly televised episode of Larry King Live that the FARC "in some ways have admitted indirectly that they have the missionaries"; Whereas Human Rights Watch has stated that "The FARC has an obligation to unconditionally free the three missionaries, with all necessary guarantees" and Amnesty International has declared their "request that the FARC respect international humanitarian norms, guarantee the Ufe and physical safety of the missionaries and unconditionally free them and all other hostages"; Whereas congressional inquiries regarding the three missionaries have been made to United States Government entities, including, the White House, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Whereas congressional inquiries regarding the three missionaries have been made to Amnesty International, Pax Christi, His Holiness the Pope John Paul II, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has provided assurances that their Colombian delegation "is still actively working in favor of the missing members of the New Tribes Mission"; Whereas 58 Members of Congress and Senators signed letters to eight different heads of state, including Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Spain, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, and Portugal, in attendance at the Iberian-American Conference in Venezuela in November of 1997, requesting any and all assistance in order to bring about a favorable outcome to this unfortunate event;

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