Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world, Global Exchange, is calling for participation in the petition to ask U.S. President Joseph Biden to call for a halt to the violence by the State of Colombia, led by President Ivan Duque.
The demonstrations in Colombia are due to tax proposals stemming from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. Colombian President Iván Duque insisted that the reform "is a necessity" and not "a whim"; the protests led to the resignation of the head of Colombia's finance ministry, as reported by Article 19.
Through the testimony of Alex Sierra, representative of Global Exchange in Colombia, he denounces that there have been "more armed confrontations and many more deaths" due to the protests that are taking place throughout Colombia to which the government of Ivan Duque has responded with the use of public force, violating human rights and restricting freedom of expression.
"The level of popular mobilization is unprecedented even in the face of deadly police repression, especially in Cali, where sustained protest in the largely Afro-Colombian neighborhood of Siloé has been attacked with deadly fury," Sierra notes.
Alex Sierra, Global Exchange points out, was the organizer of the Caravan for Peace and Life and Justice, which in 2016 was responsible for linking the problem of the drug war in several Latin American countries - Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico - and whose discussion reached the headquarters of the United Nations in New York.
The activist accuses Trump of "undermining the peace accords" in the U.S.; however, he is confident that the United States should again take "the side of peace in Colombia".
Therefore, through Global Exchange, Alex Sierra calls on U.S. President Joe Biden to "publicly condemn police and military violence," as well as "support the rights and safety of journalists who risk their lives" while covering the events taking place in Colombia, which Sierra notes are "critical moments in our national evolution.
Here, you can find the Global Exchange newsletter with Alex Sierra's testimony and a button where you can sign the petition to call on U.S. President Joe Biden to speak out against the violence in Colombia: http://org.salsalabs.com/o/703/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1401206
Finally, he points out that supporting Global Exchange "allows us to be there at a crucial time for our brothers and sisters in Colombia".
