Human Rights Watch denounces “very serious abuses” of …

Human Rights Watch (HRW) presented on Wednesday a first and harsh report in which it denounces “very serious abuses” by the police as part of the national strike that Colombia has been experiencing since April 28. The NGO accuses the police of being was allegedly involved in 20 homicides amid massive protests against President Iván Duque, and points out that the government “should take urgent measures to protect human rights and initiate an in-depth reform of the police“The document is based on interviews with more than 150 people in 25 Colombian cities and includes victims, relatives, eyewitnesses, court officials and the Duque government, among others.

In the report, HRW claims to have received credible reports of 68 deaths since the protests began.. “So far, we have confirmed that 34 of these deaths have occurred in the context of protests including those of two police officers, a forensic investigator and 31 protesters or passers-by. Armed people in civilian clothes also attacked demonstrators and caused the death of at least five of them, ”says the NGO.

The human rights organization claims to have evidence indicating police have killed 20 of these protesters in a month and a half since the strike; 16 of them with firearms, three for the indiscriminate use of less lethal weapons such as tear gas and one for shots. HRW further notes that the Defense Ministry more than 1,100 protesters injured could be higherbecause not all cases have been reported.

On the other hand, he warns that beyond the estimate of the Office of the Prosecutor, which indicates that 1,136 people were detained, at least 5,500 others were deprived of their liberty by using a number that allows the police to “transfer” individuals to detention centers for their alleged protection. Regarding the number of missing persons, that of HRW reaches 419 people, of which 309 have already been located.

HRW welcomes Duque’s initiative to reform the police force, although he considers some measures to be “cosmetic” because they do not indicate a fundamental transformation. The organization recommends transferring the police from the defense ministry to the interior ministry or a new security ministry, as is the case in other Latin American countries.

“Police continue to operate with a culture of armed conflict, with procedures that are not exactly close to the citizens, ”explained HRW’s director for the Americas, José Miguel Vivanco, during a virtual press conference. For Vivanco, President Iván Duque has been “slow and has failed to live up to the need to unequivocally condemn the very serious human rights violations” by men in uniform.

To insist on the fact that these are “bad apples” is “a mistake” and an “effort of minimization” which “does not help to promote a fundamental reform” in the public forceVivanco pointed out. He also asked to provide evidence on the responsibility of dissidents of the FARC and the guerrillas of the ELN in the disturbances, since this statement of the government arouses “more anger among those who protest” and “stigmatizes” them.

With an armed conflict that has lasted for more than half a century, Colombia faces unprecedented protest movement composed mainly of young people who are calling for a change of course in the government, an in-depth reform of the police and a more united State to face the economic, social and health ravages of the coronavirus.