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The Committee pointed out in a statement read by its spokesperson Francisco Mates, that "the national government has not given in for more than a year what we have asked for, the massacres continue (...) if there is not a process where a negotiation of the 104-point and 13-axis specifications that we have been developing to be carried out, the mobilizations will continue."
Colombia's National Strike Committee has called for new demonstrations on May 12 as no agreement was reached during the first meeting with the government on Monday. Civic society representatives said, "there was no empathy from the government," as President Ivan Duque refuses to demilitarize the country.
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The Committee pointed out in a statement read by its spokesperson Francisco Mates, that "the national government has not given in for more than a year what we have asked for, the massacres continue (...) if there is not a process where a negotiation of the 104-point and 13-axis specifications that we have been developing to be carried out, the mobilizations will continue."
Mientras, el país aún se estremece por el ataque paramilitar a los indígenas en la ciudad de Cali y la declaratoria de muerte cerebral del jóven Lucas Villa, convertido en símbolo de la resistencia.
— Patricia Villegas Marin (@pvillegas_tlSUR) May 10, 2021
The Committee asked Duque to stop the massacres caused by police brutality across the country, particularly in Cali, which reports most deaths. However, although Duque told media outlets that he was willing to "design an agreement and solutions for the benefit of the country," the representatives noticed that "there was no empathy from the Government with the reasons and requests that have led us to this national strike."
On the other hand, the government insisted on unblocking the highways and confirmed that the United Nations and the Catholic Church would continue to mediate to reach an understanding. This, as there are no official reports yet on the location of over 300 missing demonstrators.
El país sigue sin saber dónde están los desaparecidos a 12 días de protestas masivas. Dónde están?
— Patricia Villegas Marin (@pvillegas_tlSUR) May 10, 2021
According to student leader and member of the Colombian Association of Student Representatives Jennifer Pedraza, "this is a reissue of what happened in November 2019 when the demands were ignored. Iván Duque's speech was complacent with the excessive uses of strength."
President Iván Duque attended the meeting; as well as the representative of Colombia to the United Nations, Carlos Ruiz; the representative of the Catholic Church Monsignor Héctor Fabio Henao, director of Pastoral Social; Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez; the High Commissioner for Peace, Miguel Ceballos and the representatives of the National Strike Committee.
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