again, communities block the road in Timbío

“We are making visible and denouncing the serious human rights situation that the department of Cauca is experiencing, the constant murder of social leaders; the attack against the social movement. We are doing a whole exercise of being able to make visible, of being able to draw the attention of the national government, to address the serious situation that Cauca is experiencing,” said some protesters.

“We are declaring a humanitarian emergency and that is why we are doing this pedagogical, mobilization exercise, so that the situation that we are denouncing at this moment is addressed,” said one of them.

The mobilization began this Tuesday, June 4, and although the road was unblocked at night, this Wednesday, farmers in the area once again hindered vehicular passage.

The protesterss crossed sticks and stones, in order to prevent the passage of passenger and cargo vehicles that travel from the department of Nariño to cities such as Popayán and Cali.

This demonstration, which was recorded in a video broadcast by W Radiois part of what these communities have called the ‘Mobilization for life and permanence in the territory’, which is being carried out in Bogotá.

“Such a situation constitutes a strategic threat against the social and popular movement, particularly against our social and political movement Congress of the People, which is why we have declared ourselves in a Humanitarian Emergency since April 2019,” the text says.

It also reads: “The People’s Congress has presented a list of requests that includes immediate protection for threatened leaders, the creation of an investigation mechanism against risk situations and the construction of humanitarian shelters in several regions of the country.”

The document also states: “Exercising the constitutional right to mobilization and social protest, the communities presented a document that demands a change in the national security doctrine, proscribing the national security doctrine and establishing one that respects human rights, self-determination of peoples and sovereignty”.

They ask, in turn, “to dismantle paramilitarism, carrying out concurrent and coordinated actions, executed with governmental political will and decision, in addition to the recognition of paramilitarism as state policy.” Furthermore, “implement urgent protection and self-protection mechanisms to defend life and permanence in the territories.”

Likewise, the protesters mentioned “the initial comprehensive reparation plan, which requires the development of symbolic, political and material, individual and collective reparation measures that allow the reconstruction of memory; comprehensive reparation to the ‘A Luchar’ movement, justice and recognition of the responsibility of the State in the violation of human rights and infractions of IHL'”. They also indicated the return to the territories, reconstruction, adaptation and provision of headquarters, and allocation and titling of land.
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MICHEL ROMOLEROUX
​SPECIAL FOR THE WEATHER
POPAYAN