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"No more murders in the protests! Police and army do not use firearms in the city, nor abuse against any person," the Archbishop of Cali Dario Monsalve demanded.
Protests against President Ivan Duque's economic policies resumed on Monday for the sixth day in a row with road blockades by cab and truck drivers.
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Caravans of cab drivers with Colombian flags took over avenues in cities such as Bogota, Cucuta, Pereira, Bucaramanga, Tunja, Barranquilla, and Monteria. They have been joined by truck drivers who are blocking access roads to Bogota and highways in the departments of Caldas and Risaralda.
"We feel affected by the arbitrariness of the Government towards truckers and other business groups," trucker Alexander Castro said, adding that his union also opposes the fuel increase and the reform of the health system.
The popular rebellion against the tax reform, which increased VAT to 19 percent on public services, began on April 28 and has not stopped even though Duque withdrew his policy proposal on Sunday.
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So far, 21 citizens have been killed and 503 people have been detained by the police. The bloodiest expressions of state terrorism have occurred in Cali and Ibague, where several young citizens were shot by police.
On Sunday, the NGO Temblores announced that it is investigating the death of eight demonstrators who were allegedly attacked by police. Between April 28 and May 1, this humanitarian organization also documented 940 cases of police brutality, 672 arbitrary detentions, and 4 reports of sexual violence by police.
Given the seriousness of the human rights violations, the Archbishop of Cali Dario Monsalve demanded that the state security forces limit their actions to what the law allows them to do.
"No more murders in the protests! Police and army do not use firearms in the city, nor abuse against any person, exceeding and generating provocations that fuel anger," he said and requested total control of the carrying of weapons.
#Colombia | Massive human rights violations during protest. pic.twitter.com/iKWbgTc76P
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) May 3, 2021
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