Tanja Nijmeijer, the Dutch woman who joined Colombia's FARC terrorist movement, is still alive.

On Wednesday, Dutch public broadcaster NOS will air an interview she gave to Colombian journalist Jorge Enrique Botero in mid-November.

Tanja Nijmeijer reportedly joined the FARC in 2002 because of the social inequality she had witnessed in Colombia while working there as an intern. She says she still supports the terrorist organisation, which claims it wants to establish a socialist state in Colombia, but is widely believed to be involved in large-scale drug trafficking.

“When you are out here in the jungle and all the time you hear the sound of bombardments and gun fire, as a guerrilla your only reaction is to shoot,” says Nijmeijer in the interview.

The FARC is now under considerable pressure. On Tuesday, for example, tens of thousands of Colombians protested against the movement and demanded the release of all its hostages. Some of them have been held for more than 10 years.

In November the Colombian army killed FARC leader and ideologist Alfonso Cano. The Colombian government said his death dealt a serious blow to the movement. That same month, the bodies of four Colombian soldiers were found. They, too, had been held hostage for many years. The FARC is still holding about 20 soldiers hostage. Some of them have also been held for over 10 years.

Last year the United States indicted Tanja Nijmeijer and 17 other FARC members for their role in the abduction of three US citizens.

(gsh/rk/tf)

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