Live
Audio Only
The mobilizations are taking place in Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, and Bogota, where citizens marched from the Enrique Olaya National Park to the Bolivar Square.
On Thursday, Colombian citizens took to the streets to protest against President Ivan Duque and support ten bills related to the fight against social inequalities which were presented to Congress on July 20.
RELATED:
"The Duque administration remains indifferent to the murders of social leaders and former guerrilla fighters who signed the 2016 peace agreement. So far this year, 135 human rights defenders have been assassinated,” NSC condemned and warned that 3,486 cases of police brutality were recorded in the anti-government protests between April and June.
The National Strike Committee also condemned that the Attorney General’s Office criminalized the right of protest by accusing protesters of terrorism. Besides, it warned that lawmakers are not moving forward with the NSC bills, which respond to the most sensitive citizen demands such as supporting actions against gender-based violence and financing policies for the agricultural sector.
NSC also rejected the new tax reform promoted by the Duque administration amidst the strike, arguing that it affects the public sector by giving the President additional powers for restructuring state enterprises.
Student leader Esteban Mosquera was killed yday in Popayan, where he co-led protests over state violence and inequality.
— Justice for Colombia (@JFColombia) August 24, 2021
In 2019 Esteban lost an eye to police brutality but kept fighting for social rights.@IvanDuque's must ensure justice for Esteban and all social activists! pic.twitter.com/ZnO4SR96rW
The mobilizations are taking place in cities such as Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, and Bogota, where Colombians marched from the Enrique Olaya National Park to the Bolivar Square.
On Wednesday, Defense Minister Diego Molano threatened to deploy over 400,000 police and soldiers to the streets arguing that the protesters could attack people and things.
In response to his attitude, Central Union of Workers (CUT) President Francisco Maltes stressed that "we reject all acts of vandalism against public and private property, as those do not correspond to our behavior."
Besides being responsible for 1,832 arbitrary detentions, Colombian police and security officers were directly involved in 44 out of 77 murders recorded during this year's protests, according to data from the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ).
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Social movements in Colombia have denounced increased incidents of forced displacement due to the rise of violence in rural communities. pic.twitter.com/QIsNlwwryO
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) July 23, 2021
Newsletter
