Colombia: seventh day of massive marches against the government – telam

The president called the protests “urban terrorism”.

The main cities of Colombia were again this Wednesday, for the seventh day in a row, the scene of massive protest marches against the government, in principle with a few isolated incidents, while President Ivn Duque insisted on denouncing “extreme vandalism and urban terrorism” and even offered rewards to those who identify the perpetrators of the riots.

“The threat of vandalism we face consists of a criminal organization hiding behind legitimate social aspirations to destabilize society, generate terror among citizens and distract the actions of law enforcement. The extreme vandalism and urban terrorism that we observe is funded and articulated by the drug trafficking mafia “, denounced the president in a video posted on social networks.

Duque spoke of the riots that broke out after the bloody crackdown in recent days just as a new day of mobilisations began across the country against his government.

Mobilization and national strike in Colombia after a week of protests and repression

Convened by the National Unemployment Committee, which brings together some forty organizations, this Wednesday There have been concentrations, road and roadblocks and mobilisations in Bogot, Medelln, Cali, Bucaramanga, Armenia, Ibagu, Sincelejo, Cinaga and Zipaquir, among other cities.

What until Monday were marches against the tax reform that the government has already withdrawn from Congress – this Wednesday the legislature unanimously formalized this step – has now turned into a mass movement that has extended the list demands: the Committee demands guarantees and democratic freedoms, constitutional guarantees of mobilization and protest, demilitarization of towns, cessation of massacres and punishment of those responsible.

In addition, he calls for the disarmament of the riot squad (Esmad), the withdrawal of Bill 0 on health, the strengthening of the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 and a basic income that equates to at least a legal minimum monthly wage.

Protests in Colombia (AFP)

Except for some clashes between demonstrators and police in Plaza Bolvar in Bogota, in other cities the mobilisations take place without the violence of other days, which left 24 dead and more than 800 injured, according to the Ombudsman, although other estimates put at more than 30 dead.

Amid warnings from international organizations for the repression of the marches, Duque not only supported the actions of the military and police forces, but even offered 10 million pesos ($ 2,600) for effective collaboration to identify and arrest the perpetrators of the marches. demonstrations. Riots.

Standing next to deputy Marta Luca Ramrez, Duque announced that “the poster of the most wanted for these crimes in different cities will be published by the national police”.

“Against those who commit this type of crime, there will be no truce and all of society will bring them to justice,” he said.

The president is counting on the prosecution to warn that behind the excesses – many in Cali and last night in Bogota – are FARC dissident groups who have strayed from the peace agreement signed in 2016; the ELN, the last recognized guerrilla in Colombia, and drug gangs.

Protesters are now calling for the withdrawal of a health reform bill.

Organizations calling for marches, on the other hand, claim that it was the security forces that permeated the protests with violence.

In addition to the calls for peace, the Episcopal Conference of Colombia (CEC) has expressed its “concern at the situation of social unrest”. that the country lives, and has ratified that it recognizes the peaceful demonstration as “a right and a valid alternative” to obtain responses from the Government, but underlines that at present “the serious health emergency must be taken into account “due to the wave of coronavirus infections.

The press release expressed eight central points, among which it underlined the total rejection of human rights violations, acts of vandalism, violence, blockages of mobility and food supply, the disappearance of people, attacks to the physical integrity of any person and damage to the public and private property.

Due to the protests on Wednesday, the mayor of Bogot reported having suspended vaccination services, home care and samples for Covid-19, due to “mobility difficulties of medical staff”. The capital has experienced several “sit-ins” and street blockades.

In Cali, epicenter of the most violent concentrations to date, a walk of about 5 kilometers linked the sector of La Luna to Puerto Resistencia, and the authorities organized a “humanitarian corridor” to ensure the arrival of food.

The protest was also strong in Bucaramanga, where the demonstrators joined the Provenza bridge with Luis Carlos Galn square. In the city, at dawn, there were heavy disturbances on the Pamplona-Bucaramanga road, according to the newspaper El Nuevo Siglo.

A Medelln, Meanwhile, the column left the Parque de los Deseos and after visiting various parts of the city, it found itself in the same recess. The governor in charge of Antioquia, Luis Fernando Surez, has called for a humanitarian corridor to be cleared for the transport of oxygen and food amid protests.

From New York, UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres has expressed concern over violence amid protests and called on authorities to exercise restraint.

For now, the only dialogue is potential: a round of negotiations that Duque proposed Tuesday with different sectors and that he announced will have an agenda that will include six topics to meet with 10 interlocutors in 15 days, all coordinated by the High Commissioner for Peace. , Miguel Ceballos.