PBI-Colombia accompanies Justice and Peace Commission at youth-led social protest humanitarian space in Bogota

On May 6, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project posted: “Today PBI accompanied the Justice and Peace Commission in mobilizations at Portal de las Americas Kennedy where youth and grassroots organizations in the area have created a humanitarian space for participation in the social protests.”

Portal de las Americas Kennedy is a transit station in Ciudad Kennedy, a predominantly poor and working-class locality in Bogotá.

Agence France-Presse reports: “Tens of thousands of Colombians have taken to the streets in demonstrations against a proposed tax reform but have since morphed into broader protest against the government of President Ivan Duque.”

The mobilization began on April 28 against a $6.4 billion ‘tax reform’ package that critics say would have disproportionately impacted the poor.

France 24 explains the broader context of the protests: “Aboriginal communities and citizens in general, such as young university students, demonstrate against a project on health reform, demand compliance with what was agreed in the 2016 peace agreement, reject militarization policies, and maintain their stance against fracking and glyphosate spraying, which the Government seeks to resume.”

That article also further notes: “The scenes of aggression in recent days [have] revived calls for police reform. They call for the dismantling of ESMAD, the Mobile Riot Squad, accused of suppressing protesters.”

Yesterday, the Bogota-based organization Temblores reported that after nine days of national strike protests there were 1,728 documented cases of police violence against the protests and 37 homicides committed by the police.

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission since 1994.