100s of thousands of Colombians to take to streets for peace process

2015-04-09 11:29:24

NEWS CENTER (DİHA) – Hundreds of thousands are expected to take to the streets of Colombia's major cities today for April 9, the day of remembrance for victims of the country's 50-year war, calling for advances in the peace process.

Six million have died in the clashes in the country involving state military forces, the FARC guerrillas and paramilitary groups and gangs. Since 2012, the FARC and the state have been involved in a peace process. The crowds taking to the streets in major cities like Bogotá, Cali and Medellín will be calling for the advancement of the peace process. The main event, in Bogotá, will involve memorial ceremonies, a massive peace concert and a football match for peace, according to ResumenLatinoamericano's report.

There is a serious lack of impunity in Colombia, where tactics including sexual violence, the use of children in war and forced migration have brought the effects of war home for every segment of society. Although independent reports commissioned as part of the peace process have shed some light on the long war, a sticking point in the negotiations is a truth commission, which the FARC has requested but the state refuses to form.

150,000 people were forcibly displaced in Colombia in 2012 alone, according to the UN. Laws to return land to displaced owners have remained ineffective in the country, which has one of the largest population of internally displaced people in the world. Millions of people are still waiting for justice and the right to return in the war-torn country.

(cm/nt)