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| Many people were killed due to demonstration in Colombia |
Demonstrators have witnessed gross abuses of their human rights as police and military personnel in Colombia use violence to try to control enormous mobilizations that arose out of a nationwide strike.
The mainstream media in Colombia and across the South American continent has been selectively silent on the crimes, forcing anyone trying to learn or share information about the situation to turn to social media. Throughout the day, photographs of the colourful marches and cheerful mobilizations are shared on social media.
Videos of fear begin to circulate with alarming regularity late at night.
Agents of security forces running after young people in poor communities to either shoot at them or arrest them, instilling dread in the public, and mothers wailing and screaming because their children were slain by the mobile anti-riot squad (ESMAD) and police.
According to Temblores and Indepaz, two human rights organisations that have been collecting incidents of police violence, state security forces' aggressive acts resulted in the deaths of at least 47 individuals, the arbitrary arrest of 963 individuals, 28 victims of eye injuries, and 12 victims of violence between April 28 and May 8.
In total, they documented 1,876 instances of police brutality. In addition to the persistent and systematic assault by security forces on demonstrators, it has been reported that persons who accompany and verify the mobilizations—such as human rights activists, journalists, and medical first aid workers—have also been the subject of attacks and human rights violations by the police.
On the night of May 3, a violent attack on a group of Colombian human rights defenders who were accompanying a UN verification mission in Cali was highly denounced.
It is, however, far from an outlier; it is part of a fear and intimidation campaign against people who speak out against the state's repression.
The world community's quiet was shattered after several nights of dread.
It is, however, far from an outlier; it is part of a fear and intimidation campaign against people who speak out against the state's repression.
On the morning of May 4, the UN Human Rights Office issued a strong statement expressing its "deep concern" about what is happening in Cali, where "police opened fire on protestors protesting against tax increases, killing and injuring a number of people.
The international organisation warns Colombian authorities that they are responsible to defend human rights, including the right to life and personal security, freedom of peaceful assembly.
Following the UN proclamation, the EU, the US, and others condemned the situation and called on the Colombian government to withdraw the army from the streets and cease the violence against civilians.