The heavy repression against protesters in Colombia has become a matter of global outrage. Demonstrations are being held in cities around the world in solidarity with the Colombian people and against the repressive regime of the Colombian President Iván Duque. Colombians living in different countries organized these events over the last week in some of the largest cities of Latin America, United States, and Europe.
The intense repression unleashed by the Colombian authorities against protesters has already caused 26 deaths according to the Ombudsman’s Office or 47 deaths according to social organizations of the country.
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In Mexico City, around 300 Colombians gathered at the Monument to the Revolution in Plaza de la República and denounced the actions of the Duque administration that is killing their compatriots. Groups of Colombians and Mexicans also demonstrated in front of the Embassy of Colombia and other Colombian consulate buildings in various cities of Mexico.
En #CDMX, un grupo de colombianos acompañados por mexicanos se manifestaron afuera de la embajada y consulado de #Colombia en #México🇲🇽 para exigir un alto a la represión y asesinatos durante las protestas en varias ciudades de Colombia #ColombiaAlertaRoja #AlertaRojaEnColombia pic.twitter.com/hRByZxoCbz
— Anonymous 🖥️👤 (@Anonymous709138) May 5, 2021
France was another epicenter of the global protests against the actions of the Duque government. Hundreds of Colombians congregated in Paris in repudiation of the neoliberal policies of the uribista government.
Esto es París, más de 3 mil personas diciéndole al gobierno de @IvanDuque que pare la barbarie.
Ayer fue la décima noche de terror en Colombia, y el mundo lo sabe. pic.twitter.com/ohVpv62HoN
— Hollman Morris (@HOLLMANMORRIS) May 8, 2021
In the French capital, protesters also demonstrated against the repression of the French government against the Yellow Vests Movement, a phenomenon that started in 2018 in rejection of the neoliberal policies of the government of France.
https://twitter.com/ChalecosAmarill/status/1391414203014078464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1391414203014078464%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredradiove.com%2Fciudades-del-mundo-con-colombia-rechazan-represion-de-ivan-duque%2F
El mundo sabe quién dió la orden y quiénes la ejecutaron. #ParoNacional9M#PiedrasContraFusiles pic.twitter.com/zcOOFKqUmg
— Fer Rubio (@FerRubio94) May 9, 2021
Protests also occurred in different cities in Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Bolivia, Panama, the United States, Canada, UK, Italy and other European countries.
#ParoNacional9M🔥| Frente al vaticano en la ciudad de Roma, Italia, se realiza manifestación contra la masacre que está ocurriendo en Colombia, con más de 40 personas asesinadas en el marco de las movilizaciones convocadas por el Paro Nacional. pic.twitter.com/44WmoqiMKW
— Colombia Informa (@Col_Informa) May 9, 2021
Colombianos y Latinos nos apoyan desde Londres
Todo el mundo nos está escuchando #ParoNacional9M #SOSCaliCensurado #ColombiaEnAlertaRoja pic.twitter.com/ts3g7vruEt— Gabriela (@G_fab_vzl) May 9, 2021
Bolivians have come out in support for the Colombian people saying the repression we're witnessing under Duque is the same tyranny Bolivia experienced under the Añez regime. Interviews shared by teleSUR's La Paz team. pic.twitter.com/pG2RbjZen9
— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) May 8, 2021
#ParoNacional5M 🔥| Desde la ciudad de Quebec, Canadá los colombianos residentes en este país realizan un plantón en apoyo al #ParoNacional. “¡Estamos lejos, pero no ausentes!” pic.twitter.com/wUQAY0OrUu
— Colombia Informa (@Col_Informa) May 6, 2021
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Colombia—a state of protests
In Colombia, protests started last month, on April 28, in repudiation of the proposed Tax Reform Bill presented by President Iván Duque. Although the government has been forced to withdraw the bill for the moment, protesters have continued to remain in the streets, demanding an end to the neoliberal economic policies of the government that has generated widespread misery in the country. In addition, the heavy repression and deaths and disappearances of a number of protesters have also generated anger among the population.
Apart from the violence unleashed by Colombian riot police ESMAD, the social movement also has to endure the narrative of criminalization constructed against it by the Colombian mainstream media, which is referring to the protesters as vandals and rioters.
Protesters in many cities of Colombia have also decried that apart from uniformed and identified security personnel, the police is also employing their staff disguised as civilians to infiltrate the protest venues and shoot at the demonstrators.
Featured image: Protest in Panama City on May 5 in solidarity with the Colombian people. Photo AFP.
(RedRadioVE) by Carlos Arellán, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/JRE
