Friday, April 15, 2011

Opposing university privatisation in Columbia






This is what was going on yesterday afternoon (14/04/2011)  in Bogota, Colombia, at the Universidad Nacional (best national state university)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ4T6IE1Z3o

The students are protesting about privatisation of Universities.
This follows huge national protests on the 7th of April all over the country agains neoliberal policies put forward by President Santos's government. Santos was the director of the ICO, International Coffee Organization a few years ago in London, and ex-minister of defence under ex-president  Uribe's fascist government. Santos also had a very friendly meeting with Cameron and Co. before he (Santos) got elected last year - amongst suspected fraud.

People on the left in black are students who sympathize with the ELN (Ejercito de lIberacion Nacional - a smaller guerrilla group who were founded by liberation theology priests and academics) They are throwing "potato bombs" at the ESMAD (brutal riot squad) to stop them from going into the University.
Students are calling ESMAD "cerdos"...(pigs) and are filming until ESMAD comes over with teargas...
Note: In Colombia the ESMAD teargas canisters are filled with nails and glass in contravention to human rights treatment of protesting civilians...

For those Spanish speakers...here's a 30 mins documentary about ESMAD violence...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U78FQpn4fP8

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