:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/3HEHPN7JKVHWLLYLC6VVTTOMRE.jpg "The ombudsman’s office appealed to the public for the protests to be peaceful")
The various reforms of the government of Gustavo Petro have aroused both support and criticism from the population, so that Colombia will experience several days of protests in the third week of February. In view of the panorama, the Office of the Mediator called for the mobilizations to be peaceful.
Sergio Fajardo opposed Gustavo Petro for the demonstrations called in favor of his reforms
He even said that these demonstrations would not do Total Peace any good because of the high risk of physical confrontation in the streets.
On Tuesday, February 14, supporters of the current administration marched through the main streets of Bogotá towards the Parade, located between the Congress of the Republic building and the Palacio de Nariño. Citizens responded to the president’s call when they arrived at the Casa de Nariño at 3:00 p.m. to listen to his speech in defense of his reforms.
According to the presidency, four filters were activated to reach the Plaza de Bolívar and two others for the Plaza de Armas. The logistics of the event ensured that 9,000 people could arrive before the departure of the head of state, who will speak extensively about the health reform, which was tabled on Monday February 13 and received various criticisms, including from the share of cabinet members. .ministerial head of the education portfolio, Alejandro Gaviria.
Live: Gustavo Petro came out on the balcony of the Casa de Nariño to defend his government’s controversial reforms
The Head of State socializes some of the reforms in front of thousands of demonstrators, social organizations and indigenous movements; Asoinca is also present in the mobilizations in favor of the national government
The second day of mobilizations was called by the opposition to the current government, led by Congressmen Paloma Valencia, María Fernanda Cabal and Miguel Polo Polo, of the Democratic Center. The meeting is fixed for 10:00 am in 12 cities on Wednesday February 15, one day after the day convened by the Presidency of the Republic.
Given this agenda, the control entity stressed the importance of respecting the different ways of thinking so that the marches can take place serenely. “The constitutional right of citizens to peacefully demonstrate and protest must be recognized as one of the main bulwarks of democracy,” the Ombudsman said in a statement.
Health reform: the Mediator calls for dialogue with the EPS
Carlos Camargo assured that it is necessary to promote the technical debate and to eliminate the ideological burdens of the debate
The head of the entity Carlos Camargo, He stressed that it is necessary “to avoid violent incidents or attacks on the fundamental rights of the people who are part of the said demonstrations, as well as of those who do not participate in them”. He also advocated avoiding provocations and attacks during the events.
“And prevent the destruction of public assets and blockages or paralysis of the supply of goods and services,” he added.
The official recalled that the right to demonstrate peacefully is “without a doubt an essential instrument in any democratic society”. These mobilizations allow citizens to denounce “violations of human rights, to express opinions and criticisms of public policies or to demand access to and quality of public services”.
Although this right is enshrined in the Political Constitution of 1999, Camargo specified that “it must be exercised conscientiously, with the best knowledge and information”. Thus, he called on the public to investigate the implications of the proposed reforms to avoid “falling into misinformation and biased opinions”.
The head of the ombudsman’s office underlined this danger because, on occasion, certain sectors “seek to use the population for their own interests” leading them to “radicalism”. Thus, the risk could generate ignorance of “legitimately constituted authorities or sow chaos and violence in the streets”.
On the other hand, Carlos Camargo urged the national and territorial authorities to activate the means of prevention of the use of legitimate state force, stipulated in the Decree 003 of 2021. These mechanisms would allow “the effective guarantee of the exercise of the right of peaceful demonstration and would favor dialogue, mediation and consultation”.
The entity, in turn, ordered 472 civil servants to accompany the protests that Colombia will live with 161 public defenders. These people will be responsible for receiving complaints from citizens who see their rights violated during the mobilizations.