Several dozen indigenous Colombians demonstrated Thursday at the Bogota airport, to the sound of drums and flutes, against the government and the violence they are victims of on their land.
In traditional costumes, members of the Misak, Pijao and Nasa ethnic groups demonstrated in and around the airport, the day after a day of mobilization against the right-wing government of President Ivan Duque which gathered thousands of people. people.
“What we want is to change the way of governing in our country,” Edgar Velasco, secretary of the Southwest Indigenous Authorities Movement, told AFP.
The demonstration did not disrupt the operation of the airport, its press service said.
Since October 10, the natives – who represent 4.4% of the 50 million inhabitants of the country and are the most affected by poverty (59.6%) – have asked to meet personally with the Head of State and have moved to Bogota following its refusal.
They denounce the resurgence of violence in remote regions of the country, since the 2016 peace agreement with the Marxist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
“We have to say what is happening in our territories, that many social leaders have been assassinated this year, many people who believed in the peace process, we want the blood to stop shedding,” indigenous representatives said Thursday in a statement.
According to them, some 313 indigenous people were murdered during the tenure of Mr. Duque, in power since August 2018.
In addition to the application of the peace agreement, they also demand to be consulted on the implementation of major projects on their lands, and guarantees for the populations most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.