{"id":121576,"date":"2021-05-06T11:52:23","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T03:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=121576"},"modified":"2021-05-06T11:52:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T03:52:25","slug":"pressure-mounts-on-colombia-as-protests-begin-second-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=121576","title":{"rendered":"Pressure mounts on Colombia as protests begin second week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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BOGOTA, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of demonstrators poured into Colombia\u2019s streets Wednesday to protest the policies of President Ivan Duque, the eighth straight day of protests that have left at least 24 dead and hundreds wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students, unions, indigenous people and other groups assembled Wednesday in the capital Bogota as well as the cities of Medellin in the northwest and Cali in the southwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demonstrators are protesting the Duque government\u2019s policies on health, education and security, as well as the violent repression by security forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to official figures, at least 24 people have died \u2014 18 of whom were shot \u2014 with more than 800 others wounded and 89 people reported as missing during the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However exact figures vary, with the Temblores NGO reporting 37 people dead. Reporters Without Borders meanwhile said that 76 journalists were assaulted, 10 of whom were injured by security forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrators staged protests at various points around Bogota on Wednesday, holding banners with slogans such as \u201cDuque resign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presidential adviser Miguel Ceballos said that the government will meet with demonstrator representatives \u201cnext week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands, most wearing face masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19, gathered at the downtown Plaza Bolivar near the presidential headquarters. Police prevented one group from entering Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite calls for calm from the international community, fresh havoc was wreaked in the capital overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPolice are attacking us \u2026 we\u2019re not vandals,\u201d said a 36 year-old woman named Natalia who declined to give her last name. She was in a demo of people dressed in mourning garb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demos have been mostly peaceful, but have turned violent in some cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty civilians and 16 police officers were wounded in attacks on police stations, the Bogota mayor\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aftermath of the clashes were visible Wednesday in the form of torched police stations, vandalized bus shelters and banks, and smoldering tires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 8,000 people took to the streets of Medellin, Colombia\u2019s second-largest city, by mid-morning, chanting slogans against Duque\u2019s powerful political mentor, former president Alvaro Uribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many roadblocks remained in Cali \u2014 Colombia\u2019s third most populous city and one of the most violent in Latin America \u2014 causing fuel shortages and concern over the delivery of medical supplies as the country endures a second wave of coronavirus pandemic infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several thousand indigenous people joined the city\u2019s protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protests first broke out on April 28 against a proposed tax reform \u2014 which has since been withdrawn \u2014 following a call from the National Strike Committee, which represents groups such as unions, indigenous people and civil associations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday the United Nations, European Union and United States, as well as human rights organizations, criticized Colombian security forces for \u201cexcessive use of force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the worst incidents took place in Cali late Monday when five people died and 30 were wounded in violence there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government blames the violence on armed gangs, including dissidents of the disbanded leftist FARC guerrillas, members of another leftist rebel group, the ELN, and drug traffickers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duque hit out at \u201ca criminal organization that hides behind legitimate social aspirations to destabilize society and generate terror.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president has previously promised to open \u201cspaces for dialogue\u201d with the various protesting sectors, although he has defended the security forces and said they are the main victims of the violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The social unrest comes just over a month ahead of the start of the Copa America, jointly hosted by Colombia and Argentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South American football\u2019s governing body CONMEBOL moved five continental club matches that were to be played this week in Colombia to other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Duque vowed that the Copa America would continue to be jointly hosted by Colombia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Copa will happen\u2026 in the two countries. I think it will be an important message at this time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anti-government protests come at a time of economic despair for many, fueled by the global coronavirus crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its worst performance in half a century, Colombia\u2019s GDP shrank 6.8 percent in 2020, and unemployment stood at 16.8 percent in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost half the population lives in poverty, according to official figures. — NNN-AGENCIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BOGOTA, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of demonstrators poured into Colombia\u2019s streets Wednesday to protest the policies of President Ivan Duque, the eighth straight day of protests that have left at least 24 dead and hundreds wounded. Students, unions, indigenous people and other groups assembled Wednesday in the capital Bogota as well as the cities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":121578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[208],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121576"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/121578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}