[NOTE: Truer words were never spoken. There can be no peace
in Colombia without justice, and justice also means drastic changes in
the way Colombian society looks and functions. -DG]
"To end the violence, you need jobs and education. You can't change
everything with a march," said car- wash employee Henry Pineda, working
as the marchers passed by.
BBC
Monday, 25 October 1999
Millions march for Colombia peace Colombians unite
to protest at the continued fighting
Organisers estimate that up to 13 million Colombians marched on Sunday
to call for an immediate ceasefire in that country's 35-year-old civil
conflict.
Some two million people marched in the capital city of Bogota, while
nearly a million more took the streets of Medellin.
Protesters waved Colombian flags and small paper flags bearing the simple
slogan "No Mas". The anti-war protest took place as long-awaited peace
negotiations began in a rebel-held southern town.
Marchers in 15 cities and dozens of towns turned out to demand a ceasefire,
swift progress in peace talks and an end to violence against civilians
- the principal victims in the war that has left more than 120,000 dead
since 1964.
"We're fed up with all this violence. ... we want all the men of violence
to cease armed actions against unarmed citizens," said Francisco Santos,
one of the main organisers of the demonstrations.
Social worker Matilde Abril said she had to flee Casanare province because
guerrillas, right-wing militias and common criminals had made life there
too dangerous. "We don't even go back there anymore ... not even on vacation."
Peace talks began
As protesters took to the streets, government and guerrilla negotiators
from the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) convened in Uribe - a small
mountain town in the heart of the demilitarised zone - for their first
talks since mid-July.
The FARC, which has some 17,000 fighters nationwide, broke off talks
in protest at President Andres Pastrana's demands that international monitors
oversee talks.
While both sides boast that peace prospects are more promising than
ever, they are also cautioning strongly against expectations of a quick
resolution to the conflict.
Many Colombians are hoping the antiwar movement - unparalleled in the
South American nation where peace activists have been systematically killed
by extremists - will light a fire under the negotiators' feet.
Escalating violence
The protests come amid an escalation in violence that dampened much of
the optimism generated by recent moves to forge peace.
Many Colombians were jolted out of apathy by a surge this year in guerrilla
ransom kidnappings and the August assassination of comic and peace advocate
Jaime Garzon.
Not all Colombians were moved.
"To end the violence, you need jobs and education. You can't change
everything with a march," said car-wash employee Henry Pineda, working
as the marchers passed by.
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