Journalists in Colombia Rally for U.S. Colleagues Being Held by Guerrillas

About 75 Colombian and foreign journalists gathered in this capital’s central square Friday to demonstrate their solidarity with two Western journalists kidnapped by leftist guerrillas while on assignment for the Los Angeles Times.

Waving placards and white flags bearing the images of Scott Dalton, 34, a photographer from Conroe, Texas, and Ruth Morris, 35, a British-born reporter who was raised in the Los Angeles area, the group chanted, “Journalists are not part of the conflict!” and “We demand free movement in our national territory!”

Although some protesters came to the demonstration, organized by the Colombian Circle of Graphic Photographers, simply to show solidarity with their colleagues, others had a personal connection to the pair, who were abducted Tuesday by the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish initials ELN, in the war-torn province of Arauca in northeast Colombia.

“He is a fantastic human being, very professional in his work,” Juan Carlos Sierra, a photographer for the Colombian weekly newsmagazine Semana, said of Dalton.

Richard Emblin, the photography editor for El Tiempo, the leading Colombian newspaper, said he met Morris after she moved to Bogota several years ago. He praised Morris and Dalton as having strong characters.

“Ruth is a very happy, serendipitous type of person,” Emblin said. “Scott has a big heart.”

But non-Colombians saw the kidnapping as a turning point in this country’s conflict, which has thus far granted foreign journalists an immunity that hasn’t been extended to their Colombian colleagues.

Eight journalists -- all Colombians -- were killed last year in this country.

“I thought sooner or later it was going to happen to one of us,” said James Wilson, a freelance reporter for the Financial Times. “The risks have been growing for quite a while.”

Meanwhile, a Canadian American journalist who lives in Torrance and two of his American traveling companions were safely delivered to the U.S. Embassy here after having been captured by right-wing paramilitaries in a lawless region near the border with Panama.

Robert Pelton, 47, who gained fame for his interview of John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, was released Thursday night to church officials, along with Megan A. Smaker, an Oakland firefighter, and Mark Wedeven, 22, of Bremerton, Wash.

The investigation into Morris and Dalton’s whereabouts did not appear to have advanced Friday.

The Colombian and U.S. governments expressed concern over the journalists’ fate.

Arauca Police Chief Col. Luis Alcides Morales said he had received no new information about Dalton or Morris, or American help. Morales declined to say how many officers were on the case or if it was his top priority.

“It is a kidnapping, and all kidnappings are important,” Morales said.

A U.S. official, requesting anonymity, said that embassy officials had sent help to the region: “We’re working closely with the Colombian authorities.”

Vice President Francisco Santos sharply criticized the guerrillas, saying the abduction imperiled nascent peace talks between the government and the ELN, Colombia’s second-largest rebel group. He said that if army troops encountered the rebels holding Dalton and Morris, they would pursue them.

Dalton and Morris, who are not members of The Times’ staff but were working as freelancers for the newspaper, were abducted while driving between Saravena and Tame.

According to their driver, Madiel Ariza, they were stopped at an ELN checkpoint and told that they would be given a message for the international press by top commanders.

Ariza said the three of them were led away from their cars with hoods over their heads. The driver, who was released Wednesday, was told that the two would be returned to the local Red Cross headquarters within a few days.

But on Thursday, ELN recognized the kidnapping through a broadcast on a clandestine radio station.

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Times staff writer T. Christian Miller contributed to this report.