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News > Colombia

Plaza de Mayo Grandmothers Reject State Terrorism in Colombia

  • A policeman shoots at citizens during International Workers' Day, Bogota, Colombia, May. 1, 2021.

    A policeman shoots at citizens during International Workers' Day, Bogota, Colombia, May. 1, 2021. | Photo: EFE

Published 11 May 2021
Opinion

So far, human rights defenders have documented 39 murders, 1,814 cases of abusive use of force, 963 arbitrary detentions, and 548 missing persons.

Argentina's Grandmothers of "Plaza de Mayo" on Tuesday condemned human rights violations committed by police forces repressing protests in Colombia.

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"We stand in solidarity with the Colombian people in their struggle... We demand an end to institutional violence unleashed by President Ivan Duque," the Grandmothers stated.

"Detentions, torture, sexual violence, disappearances, and assassinations of protesters are results of the militarization of the repression," they added.

The declaration was also signed by other emblematic organizations such as the Foundation for Historical and Social Memory, and the Relatives of the Disappeared and Detained for Political Reasons.

The meme reads, "This is the situation in Cali and many other cities in Colombia. The police are murdering the people who are demonstrating against Duque's bad government. We call on the international community to demand that the massacre be stopped."

They also supported the calls by Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez, who urged the Colombian government to respect human rights and cease the "peculiar institutional violence" to repress protests.

On Tuesday, the Colombian organization JUCO Valle del Cauca denounced the harassment of protesters by police forces in the Sameco neighborhood in Cali. They also held the authorities responsible in case of disappearances of protesters.

Duque's neoliberal tax reform sparked social unrest in Colombia, where protesters also condemned police brutality and urged for structural reforms.

Since the start of protests on April 28, the NGO Temblores has documented 39 fatalities, 1,814 cases of abusive use of force, 963 arbitrary detentions, 12 cases of sexual violence, and 548 missing persons.

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