In the news: thousands of indigenous people in Colombia prepare to march on Bogota
The natives intend to protest against the wave of violence raging in their territories, and against the non-respect of the peace agreements signed in 2016 between the Colombian government and the former Farc guerrillas.
AFP / Luis Robayo
Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow
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"
The minga - this
is what the natives call their gatherings -
will leave Cali, in the southwest of the country, in the afternoon,
" reports the daily
El Pais
.
The natives intend to protest against the wave of violence raging in their territories, and against the non-respect of the peace agreements signed in 2016 between the Colombian government and the former Farc guerrillas.
“
In recent days,
” the newspaper recalls, “
the conservative government has tried to stem this new uprising by the natives.
Several ministers have been sent to Cali.
But it is with the president himself, Ivan Duque, that the natives want to discuss, face to face
”.
Since Ivan Duque came to power in 2018, at least 167 indigenous people have been murdered, according to figures from the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia.
These are often social leaders.
Latest victims: a former community leader and his wife, shot dead in Suarez, Cauca state on Monday.
The natives live in areas plagued by drug cartels, but also by the last Colombian guerrilla ELN.
“
They claim to be victims of organized crime as much as of paramilitary and official groups
,”
Semana
explains
.
“
To put an end to this violence, they want a formal agreement with the government.
And for that we must discuss with the president in person, and therefore go to Bogota
”.
Warning from the authorities
In the Colombian newspapers, as in the columns of
El Tiempo
, it is also a question of this warning from the authorities who warn: "
the minga of the natives would be infiltrated by dissidents of the Farc
".
The columnist for the daily
El Espectador
retorts that “
this is not the first time that we have tried to stigmatize a mobilization of indigenous people in Colombia.
With each uprising, we want to link them to the guerrillas and criminal groups.
The natives, we look at them with a negative eye instead of seeing them as Colombian citizens who only want to be heard and especially to assert their rights
”, laments the newspaper.
“
However
, continues
El Espectador
,
the natives of the south-west of our country have reason to rebel.
The situation in their territories is deplorable
;
the government is absent
”.
And the daily addresses President Duque: "To
begin by recognizing the importance of the events in these parts of the Colombian national territory, by meeting the natives in Bogota, would already be a step in the right direction
".
The Venezuelan government put under pressure by part of the international community
"
The Lima group
- made up of countries that do not recognize the legitimacy of President Nicolas Maduro -
has asked the International Criminal Court to open a preliminary examination against Venezuela for possible crimes against humanity,
"
El
writes today.
Universo
.
"
The 13 countries of the American continent are based on the report presented in September by the UN investigators
," recalls the newspaper.
"
These investigators documented crimes coordinated and committed with the direct support of senior officers and senior government officials
."
The Lima group therefore demands that those responsible for these crimes be brought to justice, and at their head Nicolas Maduro, the president himself.
The statue of the writer Dany Laferrière unveiled in Montreal
In the city of Montreal, Quebec, residents can admire since yesterday a statue of the writer of Haitian origin, Dany Laferrière.
The sculpture by Quebec artist Roger Langevin is on display in the garden of the Grande Bibliothèque.
“
It was called
The Exile Worth the Journey
, named after one of Dany Laferrière's novels.
Made in resilice, a composite material, it shows the writer and member of the French Academy sitting at the top of a staircase,
”says the
Radio Canada website
.
In Haiti, the newspaper
Le Nouvelliste
is delighted with the honor bestowed on one of the country's famous writers.
But “
this statue erected in Montreal also reminds us that the immortal Dany was not celebrated in his own country.
Haiti prefers the dead.
Famous living are cumbersome
”, regrets the editorialist Frantz Duval before concluding:“
Dany Laferrière, him, continues to trace his way, to leave to the following generations the furrows to take to do better than him.
Already immortal, now a statue, Dany Laferrière deserves the recognition of the nation and of each of us
”.
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