Duque again called acts of violence recorded during protests “criminal vandalism”



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03/12/2021 The President of Colombia, Iván Duque POLITICA SOUTH AMERICA COLOMBIA EFRAIN HERRERA / PRESIDENCIA COLOMBIA
03/12/2021 The President of Colombia, Iván Duque POLITICA SOUTH AMERICA COLOMBIA EFRAIN HERRERA / PRESIDENCIA COLOMBIA

Colombian President Iván Duque continues to express his direct rejection of violence in the context of the national strike that has taken place in the country in recent days. The president assures that there are differences between the peaceful demonstrations and what has been seen recently in the streets, which leaves several wounded, dead and destroyed public and private property.

“One thing is the peaceful and civic expression which must be protected in a democracy and another thing, the cases of criminal vandalism, against which effective judicial processes are carried out. What the country cannot allow are regrettable means in fact, ”said Duque.

The president especially regretted the wounded who have been recorded in recent hours and who are part of the public force of the country. According to national police data, in five days of marching, a man in uniform was killed and 506 injured, the majority of whom have bruises, 60 were attacked with a sharp weapon, seven had broken bones and one received a ball. Among them, 21 men in uniform are hospitalized.

It was also revealed that there was material damage, among which 36 CAI stand out (vandalized, 18 CAI totally destroyed; damage to 20 institutional vehicles, incineration of 20 public transport buses, vandalization of 87 banks and 254 premises 12 tolls, 4 statues, 69 transport stations, 27 cashiers, 2 governorates and 29 photo-penal cameras were damaged by vandals, all “without counting the millionaire losses left by the looting of 52 looted commercial establishments”.

What has not been revealed or mentioned by the Government are the people who were allegedly raped by the police and the mobile riot squad (Esmad). This information is taken into account by the NGO Temblores which, in its latest report, assures that between 6 a.m. on April 28 and 10 a.m. on May 3, 2021, more than 1,181 cases of police violence were recorded.

In the middle of his speech, the president assured that the mobilizations hamper the vaccination process and the food supply of the communities.

“People who, obviously with the aim of harming others, have restricted their right to work or have tried to do so, have tried to limit the supply chain of populated centers in the midst of a pandemic and are affecting the supply of oxygen and food, ”said Duque.

It should be remembered that this is not the first time that the government of President Duque has ensured that social mobilizations affect the vaccination process in the country. Since the protests began on April 28, the Ministry of Health (MinSalud) has one day postponed the receipt of a new batch of Pfizer vaccine and the distribution of Sinovac vaccines, arguing that the roadblocks, derived from the marches, could put the refrigeration chain for organic products at risk.

Despite the argument, a sector of Colombians said at the time that the announcement was made as a form of manipulation to stop the protests.

“What the Valley government and the Ministry of Health are doing with vaccines is blackmail. Now they say the state can’t bring in vaccines because the state itself isn’t able to control the vandals. You are not playing with life! ” – Juan Reyes Kuri, Chamber representative for the valley.

“Vaccines are life. You do not extort money from people’s lives ” – Rodrigo Lara, senator

“It’s a punishment. This government is crap. Lots of bad people, from the president down ”, – Laura Gil, renowned political scientist.

Faced with the accusations, the national government maintained that it had no ulterior motives and rescheduled vaccine distributions with the support of the Ministry of Defense.

KEEP READING:

Iván Duque appoints José Manuel Restrepo as new Minister of Finance
UN rapporteur assures those responsible for violent acts during strike must respond to IACHR



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