In southern Colombia, clashes between demonstrators and security forces resulted in the death of a policeman and a peasant. The demonstrators protest against the Chinese oil company Emerald Energy which would not have kept its commitments in terms of local development. 76 police officers had been detained for more than 24 hours by the native guard and were released on Friday March 3 at the end of the afternoon.
The 78 police officers and six employees of an oil company held since Thursday by demonstrators in the south-west of Colombia have been released by the indigenous guard, President Gustavo Petro announced on Friday.
The native guard is the security service of indigenous communities, armed with sticks and normally not very violent. But on Thursday, the anger boiled over. Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in history, sent a delegation to negotiate with the protesters, reports our correspondent in Bogota, Marie-Eve Detoeuf. Officials from the Colombian government, the ombudsman’s office and the attorney general’s office visited the region on Friday morning to defuse the crisis.
” I will personally go to dialogue with the peasants about their needs, their complaints, ask them, but I remind the whole urban rural peasant popular movement that this government belongs to them and that violent actions not only destroy the possibility of a progressive popular government and , but also peace “, insisted the Colombian president.
Dispute since November
Protests against oil company Emerald Energy began in November. The protesters accuse the company of not having kept certain promises made to the inhabitants of the region, such as the construction of infrastructure and 40 km of paved roads.
Gustavo Petro has made peace with armed groups his government’s priority. Maria Fernanda Cabal, senator and leader of the hard right, criticized him for his conciliatory attitude on Friday. ” We will bring complaints against these savages, these terrorists, disguised as native guards. They will be punished. They are not going to take our country from us, despite the complacency of this government “, she launched.
Does the country need a social policy or a security policy? The question divides right and left in Colombia.