15 February 2003 in Colombia

MILITARY AGGRESSION AGAINST CULTURAL EVENT IN MEDELLÍN

Colombian army assaults and represses alternative cultural event in Medellin....

On the 15th February at 2pm a cultural event including communal cooking, donation of clothing to street people and performances by various rock bands was held in the Guayaquil district in the centre of Medellin.
The event passed off peacefully throughout the afternoon with more than 300 people young people and local residents attending. There was no trouble between the people attending or with the city police.
At 6.40 p.m. a green army jeep without number plates drove up along 45th street heading east and crossed the area in front of the stage. In it were ten armed soldiers in uniform who, shouting “We’re going to put an end to this shit” got out of the vehicle. They then began to search some of those present and watch over the people there. They belonged to the 4th Brigade and wore a badge saying JABES. They stayed put, watching over the event and searching people.
At 7.40 in the evening and for no apparent reason they fired eleven times in the air, causing much fear and confusion among those present, who included local children. Despite the shots the vast majority of people stayed where they were. Then the jeep left with the ten soldiers. It is known that three young people were taken away arbitrarily: one man and two women. Another youth who tried to oppose the arrests was also put in the jeep. We still do not know who they are or where they are.
We, the collectives, bands and individuals who took part in this genuinely non violent cultural event reject the arbitrary, unnecessary and very violent actions of the armed forces. Actions like this show the limits of the proposals for “citizenship culture” and “non violence” emanating from the municipal and regional administrations.

AGAINST MILITARY AGRESSION: RESISTENCE AND REFUSAL!

From El Horizontal collective: www.geocities.com/el_horizontal


THE 15TH IN BOGOTA: LOW TURNOUT AND INTIMIDATION

Over a hundred of us met on Calle 26th at Carrera 30 in Bogota to join the worldwide day of action against war on Iraq. To be honest the event would have been bigger with more participation from other collectives, as well as unions and social organizations. But those of us who went protested against the war in Colombia and Iraq and headed towards the US embassy.
Before the event began, when there were only a few of us at the agreed meeting point, individuals on motorbikes with walkie talkies and video cameras wasted no time in turning up to film everyone there.
This intimidation accompanied the march throughout, along with the shouts of “terrorists” and “death penalty for guerrillas” from posh cars driving by. It’s clear the dangers involved in Colombia in criticizing the current state of things, and that makes it all the more necessary for more people to take part in the demonstrations and for us to support each other that way.
At the embassy we expressed our anger at the war and some compañeros put on some street theatre which held up the traffic for a few minutes. There were some minor problems with the police which didn’t led to clashes of any sort.
On a personal level the end of the event left one feeling happy to have done one’s duty, but unhappy with the low turnout. Maybe there wasn’t a proper call for action, or proper coordination, but anyone aware of the global movement would have known that on the 15th the whole world was being called on to oppose the war.
It’s not worth pointing the blame, rather we need to consolidate a movement capable of acting as and when the situation demands it. Indymedia hopes to become a forum of expression for all those voices against the system in Colombia; this is just the beginning.... RIOTero Indymedia Colombia