On Colombia’s independence day, over 900,000 marched in Bogota along Plaza Bolivar, dressed in white, to show solidarity with prisoners of the guerilla forces of the FARC.  The demonstrations were accompanied by similar displays in other cities, where native Colombian Shakira performed in Leticia, and in Paris, where former six-year FARC prisoner Ingrid Betancourt urged Alfonso Cano, the leader of FARC, to release more prisoners. The FARC, a 44 year old peasant insurgency, frequently uses kidnapping for the purposes of ransom and political leverage. It is estimated they have over 700 prisoners still in captivity, some of whom are prisoners for more than ten years.