Colombian soldiers deployed in Cali after a deadly day of protests | Daily Headline Human Rights News

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Colombian soldiers have begun to deploy in the southwest Columbia City Cali After the president Ivan Duque Pledge to restore order after deadly violence broke out in large-scale anti-government demonstrations.

Thousands of people marched in Colombia on Friday to commemorate A month Protests triggered Tax reforms that have now been withdrawn And has been expanded to include a Long list of requirements.

Hours after confrontations between protesters, police and armed civilians killed several people, the streets of Cali, the country’s third largest city, with 2.2 million inhabitants, calmed down on Saturday.

Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina said in a video message that at least 13 people died on Friday, but he noted that it is not clear whether all deaths are “fully related to the protests” “.

Ospina said: “This decisive day means very many deaths,” adding that at least 34 people were injured.

A representative of the attorney general’s office said that confirmation of the cause of death is expected to be announced on Sunday.

In a case on Friday, a representative of the Cali prosecutor’s office said that an off-duty investigator shot and killed a civilian before being executed by the protesters.

The video clip shows a man lying in a pool of blood and another man with a gun nearby; then the man was attacked by a group of people.

Cali’s Security Minister Carlos Rojas told Radio Caracol earlier: “In the southern part of the city, we saw a real confrontation. It was almost an urban war. Many people were killed and injured. There are also many.” Saturday.

Cali Appeared Earlier this month, here was the center of a national protest movement, and some demonstrators set up a blockade, which prevented access to fuel and other commodities.

Negotiations between the government and protest leaders, including the union leaders who formed the National Strike Committee, have stalled.

People march in support of the demonstration in Colombia, Madrid, Spain on May 29 [Sergio Perez/Reuters]

According to local human rights organizations, violence broke out during the protests and dozens of people have been killed so far. They accused Colombian police of using excessive force.

Friday, Duke Announce After the deadly violence escalated, he was sending troops to the Cauca Valley province and its capital, Cali.

Duke said in a televised speech: “Starting tonight, the national police in Cali and Valais will be deployed to the greatest degree of military assistance.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Americas Division Executive Director Jose Miguel Vivanco (Jose Miguel Vivanco) said on Saturday that Duke’s measures to restore order in the province “do not explicitly mention priority dialogue and avoid overuse. Force and respect for human rights”.

“Serious failure will have irreparable consequences,” he said Tweet.

A day ago, the United Nations Human Rights Office in Colombia expression Concerns about death, urged “calm and non-violence”.

Elizabeth Dickinson, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Organization Colombia, also said on Twitter that “#Cali is at a very high risk of escalation of violence”.

“There is no armed or military solution to this crisis. But the agendas of all parties are increasingly inclined to find one,” she wrote on Friday, adding that Colombia is “on the brink of a new armed conflict.”

At the same time, Colombian protesters have promised to continue their demonstrations.

“Before the government listens to our opinions, we must stay on the streets,” 23-year-old protester Alejandro Franco told Reuters in the capital Bogota.

Franco said that he is striving for better education and health. “If there is no peace for the people, neither will the government,” he added.

Sandra Boda, an analyst and expert on the protests, told the Associated Press that there is a crisis of representation in the government with limited space for action and the National Strike Committee, which does not represent all demonstrators.

She said: “We are facing a situation that I think will not be resolved soon, because the only thing the government can effectively control is national power, so it continues to try to resolve this situation in a tough way.”

“When the country is too powerful, there will be more outrage, more anger and more fuel to fuel the demonstrations.”



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