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State Violence

Why Israel Is Aiding Colombia’s Crackdown On Protesters

May 30, 2021 Alan Macleod, Mintpress News. , , ,
Bogota - For exactly one month now, a nationwide strike has crippled Colombia and has been met with deadly repression by the far-right government of Ivan Duque. As trade unions have shut down major cities, halting mass transit and bringing economic gridlock to the country, government forces have responded with violence. According to government figures, at least 44 people have been killed in protests that began on April 28. A further 500 people have been “disappeared,” more than 100 shot with live fire, and at least 28 have been wounded in the eye by police, the notorious ESMAD riot squad, or by paramilitary organizations linked to the state. The crackdown on dissent is being abetted by the Israeli government, which itself is dealing with widespread economic, military and social revolt from its captive Palestinian population.

Communities In Guerrero Set Up Road Blockades

May 30, 2021 It's Going Down. , , ,
On May 28, 2021, Indigenous communities belonging to the Popular Indigenous Council of Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata, and to the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities-Community Police-Founding Pueblos, set up road blockades in the Montaña Baja region of Guerrero, a southern state in so-called Mexico, announcing they will prohibit the June 6 mid-term elections from taking place in their communities. The mobilizations by the 24 communities belonging to CIPOG-EZ and CRAC-PC-PF are a response to the ongoing attacks carried out by the organized crime group, Los Ardillos, who are active in the region. While CIPOG-EZ has continually denounced the disappearances, kidnappings, assassinations, and unbearable climate of violence in their communities since 2015, the state has ignored the situation, effectively facilitating the attacks.

West Papua: Violence Continues; Calls To Release Political Prisoners Strengthen

May 25, 2021 Peoples Dispatch. , , ,
Large scale protests were held in the Papuan provinces of Indonesia at a time of heightened violence between government forces and pro-independence insurgents. On Friday, May 21, protests were held in different parts of West Papua, demanding release of political prisoners, and an end to months of violence. West Papuan cities like Manokwari, among others, witnessed hundreds participating in demonstrations. Along with protests in the Papuan provinces, Papuan communities in Java and other regions of Indonesia, also held protests condemning the violence. According to Veronica Koman, an Indonesian lawyer and human rights advocate currently in exile in Australia, a student-led protest in Semarang, Java, led to attacks from right-wing groups and over 46 Papuan and Indonesian students being detained by the police.

The Fight For A New Colombia

May 24, 2021 Hasan Dodwell Nick and MacWilliam, Tribune Magazine. , , ,
On 28 April, Colombian trade unions and social movements staged a new round of Paro Nacional (National Strike) protests, the latest in an ongoing series of mobilisations to address the litany of problems impacting Colombian society. Opposition to a planned tax reform – which strike organisers said would unfairly target the middle and working classes in what is one of Latin America’s most unequal countries – was the central issue, particularly in the context of the global pandemic which has pushed an estimated five million Colombians out of work. Calls to repeal the tax reform were aligned with longer-running demands around growing poverty levels, addressing the human rights crisis affecting much of the country and properly advancing implementation of the 2016 peace agreement.

Leaks Show DC Cops Justify ‘Aggressive’ Protest Tactics

May 24, 2021 Creede Newton, Al Jazeera. , , ,
Documents obtained by Al Jazeera appear to show Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) used a training document to justify “an aggressive police response” to left-wing demonstrations and legal observers, according to experts. Ransomware group Babuk stole the documents from MPD several weeks ago and asked a bounty of $1m for their return. MPD did not pay, resulting in their leak. The documents include a January 2019 PowerPoint training presentation hacked from an MPD intelligence officer entitled “First Amendment Training Presentation”. The majority of the presentation features images of myriad left-wing groups, causes and demonstrations, including Antifa, environmentalists, the Women’s March and more.

The Struggle Continues in Colombia

May 22, 2021 Gearóid Ó Loingsigh, Left Voice. , , ,
Colombia's wave of protests continues unabated. On May 12th, there were massive demonstrations throughout the country, indicating that the movement shows no immediate signs of waning. Between the last national mobilisation and this one there were numerous smaller protests around Bogotá and some big ones in other cities. It is clear from these demonstrations how popular the revolt is. Walking back from the north of the city, I encountered just such a demonstration a few days ago, one of many throughout the city that day. What struck me was the number of cars, motorbikes, and commercial vehicles sounding their horns in support. A Coca Cola supply lorry even joined in. At 6.40 PM, after sunset the Police attacked what can only be described as revellers --- the protest was over and they were just enjoying themselves.

Sleep Now In The Fire

May 21, 2021 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. , , ,
Israel’s massive war machine attacks the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) with total disregard for international law. Since the OPT is an occupied territory, the United Nations does not permit the occupier – Israel – from altering the character of the land under occupation. However, this has not impeded Israel, whose attempt to evict families in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood resulted in the entry of Israeli border troops inside the al-Aqsa mosque, followed by waves of aerial bombardment that has resulted in daily death and injury toll that will be known only when the dust settles.

What’s Happening With Youth Protest And Police In Colombia

May 16, 2021 Manuela Vega, Toronto Star. , ,
The demonstrations in Bogotá, Colombia kick off with musical performances, theatrical shows and people in traditional dress; they’re like festivals. Young people fill the capital’s major transitways and the Plaza de Simon Bolivar, a downtown square that is home to several culturally and politically significant buildings, to have their voices heard, Yaneth Ordoñez, an artist and high school teacher at the protests said. But this time, the government has met civilians with bullets. On April 28, Colombians protested, in large part, as a response to tax increases proposed by president Iván Duque’s government. Critics said the proposal would have weighed heavily on lower and middle class citizens — especially as the pandemic has increased economic hardship — while sparing the wealthy.

If I Fall In The Struggle, Take My Place

May 14, 2021 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. , , ,
Ugliness defines the mood of state violence from Cali (Colombia) to Durban (South Africa), each context different and the depth of the violence particular to the location. Images of security forces cracking down on people trying to express their political rights have become commonplace. It is impossible to keep track of the events, which move swiftly from public manifestations to courtroom scenes, from the dissipation of tear gas to the invisible frustration of the prison cell. Yet, underlying these events and amidst the range of feelings that shape them lies a sense of refusal, the Great Refusal, the refusal to accept the terms dictated from those in power and the refusal to express this dissent in polite terms.

Colombia Has Lost Its Fear

May 14, 2021 Crimethinc. , , ,
After decades of armed conflict and paramilitary violence, Colombia has seen protest movements return in strength over the past year and a half. The forceful demonstrations of the past week exceed even the high points of the nationwide uprising of November and December 2019. In response, the most heavily armed government in Latin America has carried out a brutal crackdown. The COVID-19 pandemic and its social and economic consequences have hit Colombia hard. The country is reaching a breaking point as the ruling class attempts to squeeze the last drops of profit out of an already suffering populace kept in line via intense police violence. Although these conditions are especially extreme, they are not unique to Colombia—they resemble similar situations in Greece, Brazil, and elsewhere around the world.

Colombia: Anti-Government Protests

May 14, 2021 Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports. , , ,
Colombia’s security forces apparently entered panic mode and the government of President Ivan Duque all but collapsed after the US Congress reiterated threats to cut military funds. The panic was most evident on the National Army’s twitter page, which suddenly began publishing in Spanglish about mysterious “spirit of body and military training.” The prosecution and the police additionally announced investigations into reports on widespread human rights violations against anti-government protesters. This violence that surged after protests began on April 28 suddenly stopped on Wednesday when police apparently retreated from the streets in the major cities.

Palestinians Undeterred As Israeli State Unleashes Devastation

May 13, 2021 Popular Resistance. , , ,
Despite the recent escalation of attacks on Palestinian Muslims worshipping at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, tens of thousands of people attended prayers for Eid on Thursday, as the Palestinian Information Center reports: Occupied Jerusalem - Tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers on Thursday morning observed the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer and khutba (sermon) at the Aqsa Mosque and then rallied in its courtyards in support of the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip. According to the Islamic Awqaf Administration, over 100,000 worshipers performed the Eid prayer at the Mosque. Palestinian citizens of all ages started flocking to the Mosque in the early morning hours to perform the Fajr and Eid prayers. Following the Fajr and Eid prayers, thousands of young people rallied in the Mosque’s courtyards and chanted slogans for the Palestinian resistance, Gaza, Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque.

Hundreds Of Palestinians Protesting Evictions In Jerusalem Are Injured

May 9, 2021 Kenny Stancil, Commondreams. , , ,
More than 200 Palestinians were wounded and at least one partially blinded over night in East Jerusalem when Israeli police fired rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades at thousands of people who were protesting Israeli settlers and security forces' ongoing effort to dispossess Palestinians of their land in the occupied territory. Israel's violent oppression of Palestinians, which has intensified in recent days, continued Saturday. "What's happening in Jerusalem and Palestine more broadly is not a 'clash' or a 'scuffle,' but a state-sanctioned campaign of Israeli violence against Palestinians," the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) said Saturday. "To pretend otherwise is to minimize the horrors we are witnessing."

Rebellion Sweeps Colombia Despite Deadly Repression

May 7, 2021 Chris Banks, Liberation News. , , ,
Massive protests are taking place throughout Colombia as people stand firm in the face of deadly police violence. Since April 28, when a general strike was called to oppose deeply regressive proposed tax reforms, nationwide demonstrations against far right President Iván Duque have been ongoing. “The repression on the streets perpetuated by the police force is systematic,” a young protester in Colombia who wished to remain anonymous told Liberation, “The ESMAD [Mobile Anti-Disturbances Squadron] along with the national police shoots without remorse rubber bullets, tear gas and attack the protestors.” This is the third wave of nationwide protests faced by Duque’s extreme anti-worker regime since taking office in 2018. Each time his administration has responded with massive police violence.

Jordan Releases Note Of Protest Against Israeli Attacks In Al-Aqsa Mosque

May 4, 2021 SAFA Press Agency. , , ,
Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates sent Israel a note of protest calling it to stop its attacks in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and respect its current historic and legal position.  The Ministry condemned in a statement the continuation of Israel's attacks in Al-Aqsa Mosque as it allowed the extremist settlers to raid Al-Aqsa Mosque in the last 10 days of Ramadan with severe protection from the Israeli police.  Daifallah ALfayez, the spokesperson of the ministry, said that the Jordanian kingdom condemned the Israeli attacks against Al-Aqsa Mosque and considered it a violation of the current historic and legal position, the international law, and the sanctity of the holy month of Ramadan and Al-Aqsa Mosque. 
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