by Owen Schalk / May 7th, 2021
Gustavo Petro is a force to be reckoned with in Colombian politics. The senator – once a member of the M-19 guerilla group, later elected to the House of Representations in the 1990s and then the mayorship of Bogotá (2012-2016) – has become the candidate to beat in next year’s presidential election. He is such a prominent opponent of right-wing politics in the country that while Donald Trump was campaigning in Florida in 2020 he included Petro in one of his anti-socialist diatribes, tweeting that “Biden is supported by socialist Gustavo Petro, a major LOSER and former M-19 guerrilla leader. Biden is weak on socialism and will betray Colombia. I stand with you!”
Friday, 7 May 2021, 1:21 pm
Unite Union and Global Peace and Justice Aotearoa are
calling on Aucklanders to join people from Colombia this
Sunday At 3.30pm in Aotea Square, to strongly condemn the
brutal repression of the Colombian people exercising their
right to freedom of expression, demonstrating against the
tax reform bill and other harmful policies of their
government.
We want to support the
legitimate demands of the Colombian people, support the
strike, the peaceful mobilizations in line with the
decisions of the National Unemployment Committee and the
many social organizations that support them, says Mike
Treen, Advocate for Unite Union and spokesperson for
Press Release – Unite Union
Unite Union and Global Peace and Justice Aotearoa are calling on Aucklanders to join people from Colombia this Sunday At 3.30pm in Aotea Square, to strongly condemn the brutal repression of the Colombian people exercising their right to freedom of expression, demonstrating against the tax reform bill and other harmful policies of their government.
“We want to support the legitimate demands of the Colombian people, support the strike, the peaceful mobilizations in line with the decisions of the National Unemployment Committee and the many social organizations that support them,” says Mike Treen, Advocate for Unite Union and spokesperson for GPJA.
7 May 2021, 13:08 UTC
Despite growing national and international condemnation, the militarized response and police repression of mostly peaceful demonstrations continues in different cities across Colombia. Police have used force indiscriminately and disproportionately, and there are alarming reports of sexual violence and disappearances, Amnesty International denounced today. Enforced disappearance and sexual violence perpetrated by authorities are crimes under international law that any state should investigate and prosecute.
“The Colombian authorities must guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and refrain from stigmatizing and repressing the demonstrations that have been taking place across the country since 28 April. Guaranteeing peaceful demonstrators’ right to life and their safety must be central to the authorities’ response, in accordance with international human rights standards,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.
by El Faro.
The day after the Legislative Assembly, dominated by President Nayib Bukele’s party, ousted the judges of the Constitutional Court and the attorney general, and named replacements in line with their interests, El Salvador woke up on Sunday, May 2 to two opposing accounts of what had happened. The president’s office justified the removals, defining them as acts of “cleaning house.” Meanwhile, a broad group of Salvadoran social organizations and powerful voices of the international community described the events as a technical coup, or at the very least a violation of the rule of law. In the midst of public debate, mainly taking place on social media, four of the officials removed by Bukele’s so-called “cyan bloc” Attorney General Raúl Melara and magistrates Aldo Cáder Camilot, Carlos Sánchez, and Marina de Torrento publicly resigned in letters posted on social media.