Calia appears as epicenter of unrest in Colombian protests Police News

Bogota Colombia – The city of Cali in southwestern Colombia, the third largest in the nation, has become the hub anti-government demonstrations amid rising violence among protesters, security forces and armed civilians.

National protests have continued since April 28, when an unusual tax reform sparked outrage. The the proposal was withdrawn and the finance minister resigned, but so did the protesters they expanded the list of requests From the right-wing government of President Ivan Duque.

While many today want to implement health care reform in order to repeal Colombian health services, others continue to take to the streets to denounce widespread violence and murder Swallowing the Andean nation.

Tensions escalated in Calin on Sunday evening as protesters attacked gunmen carrying civilian weapons to demand an end to the protest blockades. Protesters have blocked major highways and disrupted the supply of food and fuel to the city.

More than a dozen people were injured, mostly indigenous people who came to the city to join the demonstrations and hold a traditional protest known as the “minga”.

Duque, who made a brief visit to Calira in early Monday to deal with violence, said additional security forces would be sent to remove the blockades. The president also called for the return of indigenous peoples to their territories, “to avoid violent confrontations with citizens.”

Police violence

Cal was also in the middle of anti-government protests last week when police fired on protesters, causing several deaths and international attention to unrest.

Governments, politicians and human rights organizations have called on the Colombian government to control security forces and criticized the use of excessive force against the protest.

“Initially, Duque said he didn’t need to go to Calira, and that didn’t go very well with everyone, including his supporters,” said Gimena Sanchez, the Andean director at the Washington office in Latin America.

“He did put pressure in the end, but again what has he done to ensure responsibility for the abuses committed against so many protesters?” Sanchez told Al Jazeera.

“I believe that with the pressure on the party in power, the futile and arrogant response to use all the force necessary to stop the protests will further anger the protesters and prolong the protests.”

The death toll is still unclear

The number of deaths related to the protests continues to be much debated.

Human Rights Watch said it has confirmed 38 deaths and local NGOs Indepaz and Temblores have put the 47th toll. The Colombian human rights ombudsman says 26 people have been killed, most of them at the hands of police.

The Colombian National Police, which reports directly to the Ministry of Defense, has continued to investigate the excessive force. Police force reform has been debated over the years, and has now been added to the demands of protesters.

“The Duke must address most of the concerns of the citizens, address the abuses and ensure the reform of the security forces so that protesting against Colombians is not considered an internal enemy and not treated,” Sanchez said.

The government has consistently accused dissident rebels and armed groups of joining protests and causing violence. As part of his proposed national dialogue to end the protests, Duque met with young protesters and strike leaders on Monday.

Colombian police have been accused of using excessive force in response to the protests [File: Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters]

Political analyst Sergio Guzman said one of the main issues the government will face is a lack of public confidence, however.

“[This is] not only at the time of establishing broad dialogues with communities that may be opposed to the government because of its past trajectory, but that there is not enough time for Duque to carry out the things that arise in dialogue, unless they stick to it. the points of action are very precise and feasible, ”he said.

The duke has only 15 months left in government and many of the requests he is making would have to go through Congress, Guzman explained.

National strike

Meanwhile, another national strike day has been scheduled for Wednesday, the third week of ongoing protests.

“It is clear that we are a long way from the resolution and very far from the actual dialogue on certain issues that protesters would like to see on the table,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, chief analyst at the International Crisis Group.

“Instead, I think what you see is that the government has continued to treat the state as a law enforcement issue,” Dickinson told Al Jazeera, adding that the government’s failure to recognize the protesters’ demands for protests is a political crisis.

“However, the security crisis will become more and more prolonged, so there is a real need in this situation,” he said.

A man holds a Colombian flag that police see on motorcycles after Calin erupted into violence between indigenous people, police and civilians. [Juan B Diaz/Reuters]

According to Guzman, the protesters understand that the blockades are causing a great deal of tension among the citizens, which he believes is damaging their legitimacy.

“Hopefully, the protesters will also recognize that it is time for them to realize that the government has actually listened to them and that they need to take steps to propose solutions and propose solutions,” he said.

Dickinson believes there needs to be more organization for discussions to move forward. “I believe the only delay is the lack of leadership, both locally and nationally, to achieve a productive end to these conversations and discussions,” he said.