Little Emmanuel has finally been reunited with his mother, Clara Rojas, some three years after being separated from her.

Former vice presidential candidate Rojas, 44, was released by rebels of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) last week, after almost six years in captivity.

Her son, Emmanuel, is now three years and nine months old. He was conceived in captivity in a consenting relationship between Rojas and a rank-and-file rebel, and was taken away from his mother eight months after his birth in the jungle.

The destinies of mother and child are attracting attention in Colombia like only a football world cup could.

Millions of people in the South American country waited with baited breath until two photographs and a short video of the reunion were released late Sunday, and even Latin men were brought to tears.

"I wept too," said lawyer Ramiro Bejarano, columnist of the Colombian daily El Espectador.

The daily El Tiempo's front page was dominated by a large photo of mother and child in each other's arms, with the headline: "The hug that all of Colombia awaited."

Since crowds of reporters were besieging the headquarters of the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare, the meeting had to take place in a house in north-west Bogota.

Clara Rojas and Emmanuel spent six hours together, playing, the authorities said.

The video shows the mother singing to an apparently cheerful and healthy-looking child.

"I feel like the happiest woman in the world, and the proudest of my baby Emmanuel. He looks beautiful, he has a beautiful look," Rojas said.

The one-time lawyer and running mate of high-profile FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt - both were kidnapped while campaigning in February 2002 - had a relationship with a rebel but has not heard from him for years. It is not known whether he is still alive.

Emmanuel was born on April 16, 2004 by an improvised Caesarean section in the jungle that broke his arm and left Rojas bedridden for 40 days. In 2005 Emmanuel was secretly placed by the guerrillas in the care of a rural family. The family took him to hospital in mid- 2005 as he was suffering from malaria, malnutrition, diarrhea, leishmaniasis, and other problems. The authorities took custody of the child suspecting mistreatment.

But only in late December was it revealed that Clara Rojas' son might not be in the hands of FARC, and DNA tests have since proved it. After she was released by the rebels last week, along with former legislator Consuelo Gonzalez, Rojas was expected to be reunited with the boy.

Rojas has already been granted temporary custody over Emmanuel, and the two were reportedly living together at a secret location.

"We need to rest, we may need a few days, a few weeks, perhaps months, and as far as I can I will gradually share my joy with you," Rojas said in the video to the public.

But tears were not the only reaction to the reunion in Colombia. Bejarano criticized the conservative government of President Alvaro Uribe for its "vanity" and its "triumphalism." Uribe has insisted on the use of force to free the kidnapped from what the columnist termed "the stubbornness of FARC criminals."

Bejarano insisted that a humanitarian exchange of hostages for imprisoned rebels was vital to free close to 750 hostages still thought to be held by FARC.

Not only media observers and intellectuals have attacked the authorities' rigid position with unusual harshness. Pressure from abroad is growing too.

On Monday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted that the Colombian government and FARC reach an agreement for the release of more hostages.

Melanie, the daughter of Betancourt - who holds dual French- Colombian citizenship - said in an interview that after more than 40 years nobody can come out of the Colombian conflict a winner. Controversial Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who brokered the release of Rojas and Gonzalez, must persist in his mediation efforts, she said.

The list of FARC hostages got longer again on Sunday, with the kidnapping of six tourists in northern Colombia.

Some 2,000 minors are believed to have been kidnapped in Colombia in the past 10 years, by several groups, according to Olga Gomez, head of the human rights organization Pais Libre. dpa er vs ccolombia-Conflicts/ FEATURE: A mother's reunion with child moves Colombia to tears By Emilio Rappold, dpa =

Bogota/Rio de Janeiro (dpa) - Little Emmanuel has finally been reunited with his mother, Clara Rojas, some three years after being separated from her.

Former vice presidential candidate Rojas, 44, was released by rebels of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) last week, after almost six years in captivity.

Her son, Emmanuel, is now three years and nine months old. He was conceived in captivity in a consenting relationship between Rojas and a rank-and-file rebel, and was taken away from his mother eight months after his birth in the jungle.

The destinies of mother and child are attracting attention in Colombia like only a football world cup could.

Millions of people in the South American country waited with baited breath until two photographs and a short video of the reunion were released late Sunday, and even Latin men were brought to tears.

"I wept too," said lawyer Ramiro Bejarano, columnist of the Colombian daily El Espectador.

The daily El Tiempo's front page was dominated by a large photo of mother and child in each other's arms, with the headline: "The hug that all of Colombia awaited."

Since crowds of reporters were besieging the headquarters of the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare, the meeting had to take place in a house in north-west Bogota.

Clara Rojas and Emmanuel spent six hours together, playing, the authorities said.

The video shows the mother singing to an apparently cheerful and healthy-looking child.

"I feel like the happiest woman in the world, and the proudest of my baby Emmanuel. He looks beautiful, he has a beautiful look," Rojas said.

The one-time lawyer and running mate of high-profile FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt - both were kidnapped while campaigning in February 2002 - had a relationship with a rebel but has not heard from him for years. It is not known whether he is still alive.

Emmanuel was born on April 16, 2004 by an improvised Caesarean section in the jungle that broke his arm and left Rojas bedridden for 40 days. In 2005 Emmanuel was secretly placed by the guerrillas in the care of a rural family. The family took him to hospital in mid- 2005 as he was suffering from malaria, malnutrition, diarrhea, leishmaniasis, and other problems. The authorities took custody of the child suspecting mistreatment.

But only in late December was it revealed that Clara Rojas' son might not be in the hands of FARC, and DNA tests have since proved it. After she was released by the rebels last week, along with former legislator Consuelo Gonzalez, Rojas was expected to be reunited with the boy.

Rojas has already been granted temporary custody over Emmanuel, and the two were reportedly living together at a secret location.

"We need to rest, we may need a few days, a few weeks, perhaps months, and as far as I can I will gradually share my joy with you," Rojas said in the video to the public.

But tears were not the only reaction to the reunion in Colombia. Bejarano criticized the conservative government of President Alvaro Uribe for its "vanity" and its "triumphalism." Uribe has insisted on the use of force to free the kidnapped from what the columnist termed "the stubbornness of FARC criminals."

Bejarano insisted that a humanitarian exchange of hostages for imprisoned rebels was vital to free close to 750 hostages still thought to be held by FARC.

Not only media observers and intellectuals have attacked the authorities' rigid position with unusual harshness. Pressure from abroad is growing too.

On Monday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted that the Colombian government and FARC reach an agreement for the release of more hostages.

Melanie, the daughter of Betancourt - who holds dual French- Colombian citizenship - said in an interview that after more than 40 years nobody can come out of the Colombian conflict a winner. Controversial Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who brokered the release of Rojas and Gonzalez, must persist in his mediation efforts, she said.

The list of FARC hostages got longer again on Sunday, with the kidnapping of six tourists in northern Colombia.

Some 2,000 minors are believed to have been kidnapped in Colombia in the past 10 years, by several groups, according to Olga Gomez, head of the human rights organization Pais Libre.