Colombia protesters, Duque at odds after initial meeting
Reuters, BOGOTA
A meeting between Colombian President Ivan Duque and protest leaders broke up on Monday with little sign of progress on curbing nearly two weeks of sometimes deadly anti-government protests.
Protest leaders said the government had not shown empathy for their demands, while the government emphasized the meeting was exploratory and said it wanted to reach agreements with demonstrators.
Protests, fueled by outrage at a now-canceled tax plan, began on April 28. Amid more than 20 deaths, mostly of marchers, demands have expanded to include action to tackle police violence and the withdrawal of a long-debated health reform.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - Several authorities denounced that this Sunday alleged armed civilians shot at a group of indigenous people who were demonstrating on the outskirts of the Colombian city of Cali, leaving several wounded.
The Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) reported that around 2:20 in the afternoon, the indigenous march (minga), composed of several vans, was attacked by a pro-Uribe mob in conjunction with public forces , who were trying to remove the blockade in that area of Cañasgordas, in the south of the city. We have received so far the report of 8 wounded, indigenous . . .
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9 May 2021, 21:03 UTC
Responding to reports of violent attacks against the Indigenous Minga collective in Cali, which left several members of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) injured, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:
“The attacks by armed civilians, some in the presence of the police, against the Indigenous Minga in Cali are a reflection of the ceaseless dynamics of violence in Colombia that have been accentuated during the social protests related to the National Strike. Since 28 April, there have been reports of dozens of people killed, hundreds injured and disappeared, acts of sexual torture and scenes of horror amidst the repression of mostly peaceful demonstrations, without Iván Duque’s government even publicly recognizing these human rights violations.”
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Bogotá, May 10 (EFE).- Colombia’s president on Sunday called for “the largest deployment” of public security forces to Cali, the epicenter of protests since Apr. 28, while a former leader called for the “military occupation” of the city.
“Based on constitutional powers, I instructed the @mindefensa [defense ministry], @MinInterior [interior ministry] and the government team in Cali to, with the support of local authorities, guarantee the largest deployment of #FuerzaPública [public forces] to provide peace of mind to citizens,” Duque said in a message on Twitter.
Minutes later, former leader Álvaro Uribe, in a message on his social networks, said “we hope for the immediate military occupation of Cali. We trust in the effective and sustained action of our soldiers within the framework of the constitution and human rights to protect the citizens of Cali.”
AmericasColombia protesters, government at odds after initial meeting
Reuters
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Colombia s President Ivan Duque speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia, March 12, 2021. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
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A meeting between Colombian protest leaders and President Ivan Duque broke up on Monday with little sign of progress on curbing nearly two weeks of sometimes deadly anti-government protests.
Protest leaders said the government had not shown empathy for their demands, while the government emphasized the meeting was exploratory and said it wanted to reach agreements with demonstrators.
Protests, fueled by outrage at a now-canceled tax plan, began on April 28. Amid more than 20 deaths, mostly of marchers, demands have expanded to include action to tackle police violence and the withdrawal of a long-debated health reform. read more