THE HAGUE, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The kidnapping of two Dutch journalists in Colombia has "the highest priority" of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"The case has the highest priority," spokesperson Daphne Kerremans told Xinhua. "We are busy working on it, from The Hague and from our Embassy in Colombia, and we are in close contact with local authorities, their families and their employer. We believe it is best not to say anything more about it now."
The two journalists, presenter Derk Bolt and his cameraman Eugenio Follender, were in Colombia for their television program Spoorloos, in which relatives who lost each other or have never seen together are united.
Bolt and Follender were held on a road in the Catatumbo region in northern Colombia, according to information from the Colombian army. In this area close to Venezuela, armed militia are active. According to the Colombian army, the National Liberation Army (ELN) is responsible for the kidnap, but the guerrilla movement has not yet confirmed that.
Dutch broadcaster KRO, the employer of the two journalists, expressed its concern in a statement. "We are worried too," the KRO stated. "We hope for a happy ending like so many of us hope."
