Colombians Demand Action on Murder of Social Leaders

Over 2,000 students and human rights advocates in Colombia marched to Bolivar Square to demand an end to the assassination of social leaders and for answers from the national government as legislators held a congressional debate on the continuous murders of social leaders.

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Opposition legislators warned the current trend could lead to a political extermination akin to the one that claimed the lives of over 3,500 members of the left-wing Patriotic Union party and created an atmosphere of fear among leftist political actors and activists in Colombia.

“Almost 500 leaders murdered. Tell us that is not extermination,” congresswoman Angela Robledo of the Humane Colombia movement, which was recently denied legal status as a political party, said during her intervention.

Robledo also made reference to the fact that Humane Colombia is currently under threat by paramilitary groups that operate throughout Colombia, in some cases in cooperation with state security forces.   

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Luis Alberto Albar, also known as Marcos Calarca, a FARC legislator stressed: “The genocide of the Patriotic Union cannot happen again.” Over 40 members of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have been murdered since the peace accords were signed in Havana in 2016.

“Today I feel the same thing I felt 25 years ago when we were being murdered on every corner... I have relived terrible nights when we received calls from other departments to inform us a comrade had been murdered,” Aida Avella, member of the Patriotic Union said.

Minister of the Interior Nancy Patricia Gutierrez, who was investigated for links with paramilitary groups, said it was difficult to address the murders because of discrepancies between numbers registered by state institutions and NGOs.  

Defense Minister Guillermo Botero said the government of President Ivan Duque is committed to doing more to safeguard the lives of social leaders. He also dismissed the systematic nature of the murders and the participation of state security forces by saying “the authors of the crimes were delinquents."

Legislator of the Democratic Pole Ivan Cepeda challenged the Ministry of Defense highlighting “We have asked, who the Black Eagles are. We haven’t seen one bombardment or arrest against this organization. We ask the defense minister to clarify the existence of this group.”