Memoria cast express solidarity with youth, social leaders and environmental defenders in Colombia

Juan Pablo Urrego (on the left) at Cannes with director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Elkin Diaz, Tilda Swinton and Jeanne Balibar.

On July 17, Justice for Colombia tweeted: “During a press conference at the Cannes festival to promote new film ‘Memoria’, Colombian actor @urregojuanp [Juan Pablo Urrego] condemns state violence and the murder of activists.”

In this video clip with the tweet, Urrego says: “Young people are being killed in the streets and they are protesting for the right to life.”

Urrego said: “We send a message because we want the right to life to be respected. The youth in these moments in Colombia are fighting for their rights and they are killing them in the streets, they are assassinating social leaders, environmental leaders.”

The film ‘Memoria’ was filmed in Bogota and Pijao from August to October 2019.

Front Line Defenders has reported that 106 human rights defenders were killed in Colombia in 2019. Global Witness further reported that 64 land and environmental defenders were killed in Colombia that same year.

Defenders have continued to be killed in 2020 and 2021.

Peace Brigades International has been accompanying human rights defenders in Colombia since 1994. That accompaniment has continued throughout the national strike.