March of silence in Cali to reject blockades and reconcile Colombia

Desde las 10:00 am de este miércoles 25 de mayo will hope that las calles de Cali, the capital of the Valle del Cauca, will be con personas que, a través del silencio, rechacen “los bloqueos y el vandalismo que han ocurrido en la city. ”As indicated by the way the protest will take place, it was called March of Silence, and it will start from Bulevar del Río and should extend to Jairo Varela Square in central Cali.

“We want this silence to allow us to listen to each other and find common ground. We want to be united to build from this base and reach a moment of reconciliation, ”explained Felipe Lerma of Colectivo Creativo, one of the organizations that organized the march.

Those who call for this mobilization do so under the slogan “Cali needs us, Cali is all of us”, and they assure that the main feeling they intend to generate is that of unity. Lerma assures us that “in the streets and on social networks there is a lot of violence”, and seeks to demonstrate that although each person has different ideals, these can be exposed without violating the others.

Spokesmen for the initiative explain that the idea is to make visible the need to reach agreements to end the blockades and to stop scratching the walls and destroying the buildings in the city.

“We don’t want vandalism, we don’t want a blockade. We must march against the criminals who deny us the right to mobility. Let’s get out, Cali people! Said the former mayor of Cali, Ricardo Cobo.

While it is true that, as the name suggests, the main feature of this march is expected to be that it takes place in silence, after the mobilization, a cultural exhibition is planned. In fact, in Jairo Varela Square a space will be opened for artistic interventions and one of the guests is Yury Buenaventura, one of the most important salsa musicians in the region.

Among the recommendations presented by the organizers is to wear comfortable clothes of color, but not white because they do not want to be linked to this movement. They also recommend against wearing institutional symbols, identity or uniforms.

It must be remembered that one of the most critical situations in terms of public order is experienced in Cali. Since April 28, the date on which the national strike began, several blockades have been reported on the main roads of the city, and of the department in general, vandalization of public property and the most worrying: hundreds of complaints of ‘attacks by police or civilian demonstrators, unrelated to the demonstrations, who carry firearms.

The situation is complex and is already causing several deaths and injuries. During the penultimate weekend of May, the Puerto Maderas sector of the Calipso district, east of Cali, was the subject of unrest as part of the national strike, which unfortunately left a tragic result. Security Secretary Carlos Rojas confirmed on Sunday the death of a 21-year-old young man after receiving a bullet in the eye.

The young man identified as Jhon Larrahondo lost his life when groups of civilians carrying guns and public forces began armed clashes. So far, the responsible person has not been identified.

The prosecutor’s office and the city’s health system reported that two people were injured in the confrontation, who were referred to hospitals, but it is said more could be involved.

“At the end of the afternoon, the first homicide took place, two injured were reported by the health system. Although there is talk of other injuries, so far there has been no confirmation from the prosecution and the city’s health system ” Rojas said.

The secretary pointed out that apparently another group was involved in the recorded attacks, which were not part of the social protest and which have not yet been identified.

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