Bogota  - Leftist Colombian rebels on Thursday released a former legislator who was taken hostage in 2002 and was the last politician held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Sigifredo Lopez, 45, a former regional legislator in the Valle del Cauca province who was kidnapped on April 11, 2002, had an emotional reunion in Cali airport with his two sons, aged 18 and 20, and his wife and mother.

Later, hundreds of people gathered in Cali's San Francisco square to greet Lopez. "Let us demand the freedom of all the kidnapped," he said.

Lopez was kidnapped with 11 colleagues and was the only one from the group to survive the ordeal. The others were killed mid-2007, but the details were unclear. FARC claims they died during a clash with unidentified armed attackers. Lopez was apparently ill at the time, and was being held at a different camp.

The released hostage devoted his first public comments to his colleagues, who he said were "murdered" by FARC in what he called a "massacre".

However, he called for a spirit of reconciliation in solving the Colombian conflict, which has plagued the country for more than 40 years. "We cannot continue to send a message of hatred," Lopez said.

He asked his supporters to excuse his long speech, saying he had not "spoken to anyone for a year-and-a-half."

Lopez said he was against military attempts to rescue hostages by force as that would provoke the rebels to kill them. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe supports such operations in the face of widespread opposition, but Lopez conceded that the head of state "is a human being and he has made some mistakes."

"We have to rescue them alive, and there is only one possibility - the prisoner exchange," he said.

A Brazilian Army helicopter had transported Lopez to Cali from a rural area of Cauca province in southwestern Colombia.

A lawyer and a former mayor of the municipality of Pradera, Lopez probably withstood the long years in captivity because he maintained a high level of fitness since his youth. He was a shot putt and hammer throw champion.

FARC released four hostages - three police officers and a soldier - on Sunday, while the release of former governor Alan Jara followed Tuesday.

In 2008, FARC unilaterally released six former hostages, while a rebel deserted and helped another hostage escape.

Last July, a group of 15 hostages - including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three US contractors - were rescued by the Colombian Armed Forces.

FARC is now believed to hold some 800 hostages, most of them for ransom. There is also a group of 22 police and military officers whom the rebels hope to exchange for imprisoned comrades. (dpa)