Jeremy McDermott
BBC News, Colombia
**Colombian television has broadcast video footage of 10 soldiers and policemen held captive by Farc rebels for up to 11 years.**In the video, which was produced by the left-wing guerrillas, the men are seen bound around the neck by chains.
The video is the second of its kind to be released in a week by the rebels.
They have been trying to negotiate a swap for Farc rebels in jail, something President Alvaro Uribe has refused to agree to.
The hostages shown in the videos look tired and haggard.
They have been kept continually on the move through Colombia’s southern jungles, chained to trees at night to prevent them escaping.
There is little prospect of them being liberated as long as Alvaro Uribe is president.
Families want talks
While the military high command insists that the videos constitute “proof of cruel and degrading treatment” of the prisoners by their Farc captors, the families of the hostages believe that it is the president who is being cruel, by refusing to negotiate the release of their loved ones with the rebels.
The rebels have agreed to unilaterally free many of the hostages, as they have done with six in the past, but the government has insisted it wants them all freed at once, and has refused to discuss terms.
While the release of proof of life videos and statements by the Farc high command are designed to put pressure on Mr Uribe to negotiate, the hard-line Colombian president enjoys approval ratings of over 50%, and looks set to change the constitution to allow him a third consecutive term in office.
That means the hostages could be looking at another five years in captivity.