Bogota, Colombia. May 2, 2021

AGAINST THE “MILITARY ASSISTANCE” DECREED BY THE PRESIDENT IVÁN DUQUE IN THE CITIES THAT ARE EXERCISING THEIR LEGITIMATE RIGHT TO PROTEST.

As part of the protests that have been carried out in different cities all around Colombia since April 28 against the tax reform presented by the Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla, under the name of “ Sustainable Solidarity Law”, the Colombian people decided to demonstrate in the middle of the pandemic, because they ran out of options, their pockets are empty and the response from the National Government has not been “in solidarity” with the Colombians, they have taken everything from us, even our lives.

We support and stand with the exercise of the rights of the citizens that are facing a new attempt of repression and expressing themselves with shouts of indignation, cacerolazos, art, music, and resistance, waiting to be heard. However, what the indolent and mean government offered in response was the onslaught of its Armed Forces, National Police and the ESMAD (the Riot Police division of the National Police); as if the historical inhumanity of their protocols was not enough, in the midst of a health crisis, President Iván Duque injected a disproportionate investment of 4 billion USD in military weapons; and keeps demonstrators all over the country in a STATE OF EMERGENCY worsened by the order of “Military Assistance” to crack down on those who take to the streets, with the militarization of cities and territories where people are exercising their legitimate fundamental right to free association, freedom of expression, and peaceful protest.

Since last April 28 and with dignity as a flag:

The horrible night has not ceased. The Colombian State has declared war on unarmed people!

We hold the Colombian State, headed by President Iván Duque as the highest authority of the military forces, responsible for all the murders, rapes, disappearances, irregular detentions, and other violations of the rights of protesters in the different territories where “Military Assistance” is enforced.

We declare State of Emergency due to an outburst of police violence and abuse of authority. According to the Campaign "Defender la Libertad Asunto de Todas",; between the 28th of April and the 1st of May, 21 murders, 10 cases of sexual and gender-based violence, 208 injured people, 18 of them with eye injuries, 503 arbitrary detentions, and 42 cases of abuse and attacks against human rights defenders were reported. In the same way, the NGO "Temblores" registered through the GRITA platform at least 940 cases of police violence, including 92 victims of physical violence, 672 arbitrary arrests, 136 violent interventions by the police, 30 cases of gunfire against demonstrators, as well as the murder of 21 civilians, cases that are going through verification and clarification procedures.

In the face of the worrying situation Colombia is experiencing, we make an urgent call to the International Community, not only to make visible the numerous violations of Human Rights but also to put pressure upon the Colombian government to act lawfully. We require support to prevent an impending dictatorship; to demand guarantees for the lives of the demonstrators, human rights defenders, the press, and the entire citizenry; and to demand suppression of the “Military Assistance” throughout the national territory.

!If we get raped, murdered, or disappeared,
it was the state!

Delivered by,
Feminist Human Rights Scheme / Esquema Feminista de Derechos Humanos, ddhhfeministabog@gmail.com