La Macarena: Locals Occupy Airfield in Peaceful Protest
News from Colombia |
on: Thursday, 4 August 2011
The mass grave by the military base at La Macarena
Inhabitants of the small town of La Macarena in Meta department have organised a peaceful occupation of the town’s airfield, currently the only way in and out of the town, in protest at the government’s failure to resolve the basic needs of the population.
The protest has been sparked by electricity being cut off for several days, at the same time as roads have been closed. Reports state that local people tried to communicate their concerns to the authorities but were ignored. The protestors are demanding that the government invest some of the 30 billion pesos it has supposedly designated under its Consolidation Plan for the region, to resolve the basic needs of the population instead of spending it on war. The protestors are also calling for the police and army to respect their right to protest.
The airfield that has been occupied sits alongside a large military base built on land seized from local peasants, who have yet to receive compensation. Although the area was taken by the military in 2002 there has yet to be any significant investment in social or economic infrastructure in the region. In 2009, during a JFC delegation, a mass grave containing up to 2,000 bodies was discovered alongside the base. Shortly afterwards, Jhonny Hurtado, a local peasant human rights activist who testified to the delegation was shot dead outside his home. In 2010 a Human Rights Hearing was held in the town, with over a thousand people gathering to give testimony of the abuses they had suffered at the hands of paramilitaries and state forces. Following the hearing one of the organisers, Norma Irene Perez, was shot and killed.
The July 2010 Human Rights Hearing
