Cali, the third largest city in Colombia, once again became the epicenter of protests in the country with a confusing incident that involved indigenous people, civilians and the police, and that left at least eight injured.
This was confirmed by the Colombian Ombudsman (ombudsman), Carlos Camargo: “With great concern over what happened, we have received so far the report of eight injured, members of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca ) who would have been shot at. ”
The CRIC is an organization that groups together a large part of the communities ind indigenous from the department of Cauca, in the southwestern part of the country.
Other reports speak of four civilians injured.
According to various reports, riots occurred when organized civilians tried to avoid the passage of the which is known as M inga I ndígena in the south of Cali.
What at first was presented as a peaceful demonstration of residents of the place to prevent the indigenous from blocking a road, degenerated into a confrontation in which there are signs from both parties.
The civilians say they were attacked with stones and machetes by the indigenous people, whom they accuse of having “vandalized” several condominiums in the sector. The indigenous, for their part, allege that they were attacked with firearms and that the police supported those who assaulted them. shots or attacks from unidentified cars in Cali. ”
The Metropolitan Police of the city, for its part, said that they had come to the scene for “the call for help from the community of the sector, which was being attacked by a group of indigenous people.”
Massive peaceful marches were also reported in other cities of the country such as Pereira.
La M inga and Duque
The indigenous population undertook a march, known as Minga, towards Cali to join the protesters who have been protesting against the government of President Iván Duque for more than a week.
After the riots on Sunday, the president asked for “the largest deployment ” of the public force in Cali, urged that the roadblocks be lifted and called on the indigenous people to return to their communities.
“ It is true that they have the right to travel through the territory, but knowing this situation of public order that exists, they must also send a clear message so that they return to their safeguards, “said Duque.
Although the civil authorities of Cali and El Valle (department of which Cali is the capital) asked him to travel to the city to personally conduct the dialogues with the indigenous people, Duque lo ruled out for the moment “out of prudence”, so that there would not be a “presence that distracts the work of the public force.”
However, it was reported that the Minister of I nterior, Daniel Palacios, would travel to the city to be in charge of the situation.
“I have asked the minister to contact them (the indigenous people), not to limit mobility, but so that it is understood that this is not the time to generate provocations or confrontations with society ”, he affirmed.
This Monday, the president meets for the first time with the leaders of the strike. There are marches called throughout the country, including Bogotá, the capital.
Clashes
The confrontations in Cali began around 2 o’clock: 30 Sunday afternoon, local time.
The CRIC argued that the assaults are part of a “tactic of repression that differs attacks from the uniformed to armed civilians who act as paramilitaries.”
“They do not understand that here we have come to help, not only the citizens, but the very institutions and the Colombian government, due to the irresponsibility of not attending this strike as it should be and, on the contrary, militarize cities and territories ”, claimed from the CRIC.
The indigenous people say they have vide In which men in white t-shirts are seen firing at them.
The Cali police, for their part, indicated that they received videos in which indigenous people are seen “generating shots with firearms ”and“ looting houses and apartments in the sector. ”
The local media have published videos showing tense moments and clashes between the indigenous people and residents of the area.
Images showing scenes of chaos are also circulating on social networks.
BBC Mundo was able to verify two videos in which a truck forcibly enters into a joint to residential and several people cause damage to cars that were inside the complex.
For its part, the newspaper El Espectador reported on a video in which “men in white t-shirts started shooting ”.
More than a week of protests
The protests in Colombia began last 28 of April, against the already withdrawn tax reform project of the Duque government.
The demonstrations, however, have lasted for more than a week, and include calls to reform the health system, denounce police abuses and compliance with the agreements of peace.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Ombudsman’s Office eblo, until the night of Friday, May 7, they had died 27 people.
Of those deaths, 11 are directly linked to the protests , seven are “in verification” and nine that are not related to the protests, according to both institutions.
The NGO Temblores, for its part, raises the number of deaths to .
Cali is where the most violent events of the protests have taken place, where looting, blockades have been registered and cases of police brutality and threats from civilians against protesters have been reported.
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