By P360P Editor
The cry "They are killing us" still echoes through the streets of Colombia. Those three words are and will be the voice and the claim of millions of Colombians towards President Iván Duque, who after 55 days of protests, has given no truce to a people who demand justice.
On April 28, 2021 began a series of protests in the South American country, due to the tax reform of President Ivan Duque, announced last April 15.
The government did not take kindly to this, and in response to the protesters, decreed a curfew and ordered military forces into the streets to disperse them with tear gas and violence.
Social media was the beacon and loudspeaker for hundreds of family members and friends searching for missing relatives and friends, several of whom remain missing to this day.
Colombians then called for a national strike that increased demonstrations.
Iván Duque Márquez did not stop any of the actions that led to disappearances, murders, and rapes, among other human rights crimes reported in cities such as Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Bogotá, and Manizales.
According to TremorsThe NGO that has been in charge of registering and documenting police violence practices through its platform "GRITA" and in assisting victims and connecting them with the administration of justice through "Policarpa", as of June 16, identified 4,285 cases of violence by the security forces, not including cases of disappearances.
The cases, he noted, were recorded between 6:00 a.m. on April 28 and 12:00 p.m. on June 16, 2021.
Within these cases, he pointed out that it was possible to clarify 43 homicides allegedly committed by members of the security forces.
Another 21 murders are in the process of being verified, of which six are in the process of clarifying whether the alleged perpetrator belongs to the security forces, four are attributable to armed civilians in which there are indications of possible involvement of members of the security forces, eight are in the process of verifying the scene and context of the event, and three are in the process of verifying the complaint.
Also, in a statement, the organization pointed out that they have registered 1,468 victims of physical violence, 70 victims of eye assaults, 215 victims of gunshots, 28 victims of sexual violence, and 8 victims of gender-based violence.
Similarly, 1,832 arbitrary detentions against demonstrators, 734 violent interventions in the framework of peaceful protests, 30 cases of use of Venom weapons by the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (Esmad), and 41 cases of respiratory ailments due to the launching of tear gas.
Tremors said that as of 15 June, 93 urgent search mechanisms remained active.
Although the tax reform bill was withdrawn, the demonstrations have continued in various areas now under the pain of the arbitrariness that has caused the Esmed to the population who decided to raise their voices.
On the other hand, the Sustainable Solidarity Law was the straw that broke the camel's back. Millions of Colombians are against the mishandling of the health crisis by COVID-19, coupled with the lack of employment and poverty.
