State Violence

What’s Happening With Youth Protest And Police In Colombia

May 16, 2021 Manuela Vega, Toronto Star. Resist! Colombia, State Violence, Youth Activism

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. Educate! Colombia, Neoliberalism, Palestine, State Violence

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. Resist! Colombia, Neoliberalism, Police, State Violence

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. Resist! Colombia, Ivan Duque, Police, State Violence

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

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. Resist! Housing demolition, Israeli Apartheid, Palestinian rights, State Violence

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. Resist! Colombia, Massacres, Neoliberalism, State Violence

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. Resist! Israel, Palestinian rights, Religious Freedom, State Violence

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.

A Demonstrator’s Guide To Understanding Riot Munitions

April 18, 2021 Crime Thinc. Strategize! Lethal force, Police, State Violence, weapons

This article offers an overview of less-lethal projectiles—both chemical weapons and impact munitions. The police themselves don’t bother distinguishing the two. We’ll cover chemical weapons like tear gas and pepper spray. We’ll cover impact weapons like baton rounds, rubber bullets, and pepper-balls. We’ll cover the systems police use to apply these weapons, including air guns, sprays, grenades, grenade launchers, and shotguns. We’ll cover the ways that police mark people for arrest—and the ways they probably don’t. Other articles in this series discuss batons and other police weaponry. One of the most useful articles to read in conjunction to this one is our “Protocols for Common Injuries from Police Weapons.”

I Entered My Country’s House Of Justice And Found A Snake Charmer’s Temple

April 16, 2021 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. Educate! Activism, Honduras, State Violence, US coup

On a Sunday night on 21 March 2021, gunmen stopped Juan Carlos Cerros Escalante (age 41) as he walked from this mother’s home to his own in the village of Nueva Granada near San Antonio de Cortés (Honduras). The gunmen opened fire in front of a catholic church, killing this leader of United Communities in front of his children. Forty bullets were found at the scene. Jorge Vásquez of the National Platform of Indigenous Peoples said that Juan Carlos Cerros had been threatened for his leadership of the Lenca peoples and their fight to protect their land. Carlos Cerros was killed, Vásquez said, ‘because of the work we do’. None of his killers have been arrested. Two and a half weeks later, on 6 April, Roberto David Castillo Mejía entered the Supreme Court in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

Lokman Slim’s War

April 16, 2021 Rania Khalek, The Grayzone. Educate! Lebanon, Right wing politics, State Violence

On February 4, a Lebanese employee of foreign embassies and NGOs was murdered in the southern Lebanese village of Addousiyeh. Few Lebanese people had heard of the 58-year-old socialite who had made his living in recent years by informing on his own community. But the Western diplomatic and NGO community reacted in horror and grief, as did the small clique of Lebanese citizens who worked with them. The kidnapping and assassination of Lokman Slim on a dark and lonely road attracted substantial Western media attention as well. His death was immediately politicized, with Slim portrayed as a martyr slain for his criticism of Lebanese Hezbollah. But Slim was not merely an opponent of the militant populist Shia group known as Hezbollah.

After Election, Israel Turns Attention To De-Arabization Of The Zionist State

April 15, 2021 Miko Peled, Mintpress News. Educate! Israeli Apartheid, Palestinians, State Violence, Zionism

Jerusalem - As these words are being typed, The Holy Month of Ramadan is about to begin and I want to begin by wishing my Muslim brothers and sisters, friends, and all Muslims around the world Ramadan Karim. I was born and raised in Jerusalem, which has been an Arab and Muslim city for over 1,500 years. The sight of this beautiful ancient city during Ramadan is unforgettable. The lights and decorations, the festivities, and the families enjoying all of this are heartwarming. Sadly, since the Zionist invasion of Palestine 73 years ago, and particularly since the savage conquest of the Old City 54 years ago, this city has been under attack. The very essence of the city, its monuments and holy places, are constantly threatened by Zionist fanatics who want to see Al-Aqsa Mosque destroyed and replaced by what they refer to as a “Jewish Temple.”

The Radical Practicality Of Community Control Over Policing

March 6, 2021 Pan African Community Action, Black Agenda Report. Create! Black America, Community control of police, Police, State Violence

In response to the persistent problem of state-sponsored violence against working class Black communities and the futility of police reforms, the contemporary calls for community control over police (CCOP) have garnered significant attention and support in Black communities. Consequently, the growing grassroots support for the concept of Black communities controlling their own security and safety has come under fire by a number of individuals and organizations advocating for the defunding and abolishing of police. Pan-African Community Action (PACA), an organization operating in the DC-Maryland-Virginia metropolitan area, supports CCOP, as does the National Alliance Against Racists & Political Repression (NAARPR) and a number of other organizations. PACA’s formation in November 2015 was in response to the killing of DC resident and educator Alonzo Smith at the hands of “special police.”

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