Colombian People, at Home and Abroad, Standing as One in the Face of Murderous Repression
- Garnet Colly - 
May 6, 2021. Montreal
demonstration in solidarity with Colombian people. In
order
to further pay the rich, the Colombian government used the COVID-19
crisis to try to institute a tax reform, further increasing the
suffering of working people, along with reinforcing numerous other
neo-liberal measures, as so many other governments are doing at this
time. However, the Colombian people decided that they would have none
of it and that the pandemic would not prevent them from expressing
their opposition. On April 28, they took to the
streets in millions across the country. The government responded with
armed force, which only increased their anger and determination to
defend their interests and their lives. After six days of a national
strike, the government was forced to withdraw its tax reform proposal.
But
the people recognized that that was not the only problem
they faced. They were standing against the paramilitary murders of
social leaders and former guerrilla combatants reintegrating into
civilian life since the signing of the peace agreement. They were
marching for peace and for the right to demonstrate. They were marching
to defend health care and education as a right for all. And they were
marching to demand justice in the face of the cold-blooded murders of
the
youth who were standing in the front ranks of this battle. Colombians
resident in Montreal and Quebec declared that they may be absent from
their country of birth but their homeland and the fate of their
families and friends there is very present in their hearts and their
minds. They have stepped forward, with the youth in
the forefront here too, along with other democratic and progressive
forces, to support the people in Colombia, condemn the crimes of the
Colombian government against the peaceful demonstrators, and are
calling on
the Quebec and Canadian governments to condemn the violence against
their people. On Wednesday afternoon, May 5,
upwards of 100 people gathered in front of the Colombian consulate
where they spoke out for over an hour-and-a-half, expressing their
anger over the situation in Colombia and their determination to support
the resistance. Every participant was encouraged to raise their voice,
including activists from the Haitian diaspora and the Marxist Leninist
Party of Quebec.  
Montreal,
May 5, 2021
The
next day at 5:00 pm, people
began gathering in front of the Maison Radio Canada to continue their
efforts to inform other Quebeckers and Canadians about the situation
their compatriots are facing in Colombia. Well over 500 people with
their flags, banners and placards, including members of Colombian
communities from Trois-Rivières and other towns, shouted
slogans, spoke out, signed a petition destined for the Canadian
government against the violence of the Duque government, sang and
danced, expressing their irresistible spirit of resistance. 
Montreal, May 6, 2021.
The Quebec National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution
on May 6 condemning the violence against the demonstrators. It was also
decided that this resolution would be forwarded to the Prime
Minister of Canada and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. One
of the demands of the movement is that the Quebec and Canadian
governments speak out against the murderous repression of the
demonstrations and demand that the Colombian Government respect their
demands for social reforms. However, there are few illusions that these
governments will do more than issue some statement against the violence
because of the interests of the rich whose investments they defend in
Colombia. Nonetheless,
resistance to injustice is a right and a duty. Increasing numbers of
working people in Canada and Quebec are coming forward to support the
right of the Colombian people to defend their dignity and their
well-being.
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 5 - May 9, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/M5100520.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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