Melbourne protest demands an end to state terrorism in Colombia!

On March 6, a rally was held to commemorate the International Day of Tribute for the Victims of Human Rights Abuses. This international day of action was called by the Colombian National Movement for Victims of the State. Around 40 people gathered on the steps of Parliament House in support of the victims of paramilitarism, demanding a just, fair and free Colombia and an end to state terrorism.

The rally was supported by the Victorian Trades Hall Council, Colombia Solidarity Network, Latin American Solidarity Network, Colombia Demand Justice Campaign and Peace and Justice for Colombia.

Speakers included Australian Council of Trade Unions president Sharan Burrows, Denise Gaucci, a human rights activist who had recently spent time in Colombia, and Jesus Gonzales, a political refugee and once human rights director of the Central Trade Union Federation of Colombia, who demanded all paramilitaries be prosecuted and for Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to be brought before the International Criminal Court.

From GLW issue 743