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Reporting you will not find in El tiempo, RCN, or Caracol.

http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/2534.cfm

Colombia's Student Movement Resists
Elizabeth G. Walsh, North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), October 24, 2006

Students of the University of Antioquia try to give flowers to riot police during a May, 2006 protest in Medellin, Colombia, against the recent statements of President Alvaro Uribe relating them with rebel groups. (Photo: Gerardo Gomez / AFP-Getty Images)

On the morning of Oct. 5, Julián Andrés Hurtado, a 29-year-old student leader at the University of Valle in Cali, Colombia, died from gunshots to the head. Julian, who was just one week away from graduation, served as a student representative to the academic council of his school, the largest public university in Cali. The attack on Hurtado, which occurred in his neighborhood at midnight the night before he died, marked the one-year anniversary of massive student protests following the assassination of Johnny Silva, another student leader who was killed—many suspect by the police—on the university’s campus.

Students at the University of Valle responded to the news of Hurtado’s death immediately, gathering on campus and releasing a communiqué declaring, “It is clear that this act is political … we are dealing with a crime of the state.” Three thousand students left the campus to protest, and immediately upon entering the street, found themselves fired upon by gunmen concealed in a black car with tinted windows. Fortunately, no one was injured in this attempt.

Colombian university student leaders such as Hurtado are no strangers to threats. In July threats arrived by email to members of the National University Federation, from a source calling itself “Free Colombia 2006-2010,” accusing them of being “guerrillas dressed up as students.” The threats expressed support for the hard-line policies of President Álvaro Uribe and warned the students to leave their universities and homes.

The same month student leaders and members of the Colombian Association of University Students at the University of Cauca received threats from the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the country’s largest right-wing paramilitary group, which is supposed to have been completely demobilized in a peace process with the government. And just before Uribe won a second term in May, blacklists naming students, professors and alumni arrived to the University of Antioquia in the city of Medellín. These threats accused those named of being members of the FARC and ELN guerrilla groups and were signed by the “Self-Defense Forces of the University of Antioquia.” The threats follow a typical pattern in Colombia, in which the human rights activists critical of the government are accused of being guerrillas dressed in civilian clothes, an accusation that even President Uribe has made of civil society organizations opposed to his military policy of “Democratic Security.”

In response to Hurtado’s death, the Colombian Association of University Students posted a call to action on its Web site: “We call on all university students to mobilize on Oct. 12 … to denounce this assassination and continue with the work of defending public universities. This is the best tribute we can make to our compatriot Julian Andrés.” Oct. 12 was the date Hurtado was to graduate.

A group of students at the National University in Bogotá, the largest public university in the country, answered this call. By mid-morning, students had gathered in the fine arts building, located just inside the university’s main entrance, to prepare themselves. They wore hoods and dressed entirely in black and donned gas masks or scarves to cover their faces. Some made small explosive devices as other students carried out desks, tables and chairs to use as barricades. Students, professors and even the building’s security guard continued with their activities amid the black-clad students; that is, until the moment the explosions began.

Protests such as these—called “pedreas,” for the rock throwing done by protesters—are common at the university. Some weeks the university is closed for days on end, and every couple years or so it is shut down for months at a time. Both students and professors take the closures in stride, in some cases even planning ahead by distributing readings beforehand or arranging alternate meeting places off campus.

The explosive devices used by the protesters—called “potatoes” by the students—make loud booms but are incapable of doing damage to property. Nonetheless, the elite anti-riot unit of Colombia’s national police (ESMAD) immediately arrived on the scene. They ordered the university to be shut down and began launching teargas canisters at the students. (In fact, it is common to see an ESMAD battalion waiting in a park just across the street from the university, before a protest has even begun.)

Meanwhile, another group of hooded protesters lined up in the center of the university’s main plaza, officially called “Che plaza.” Other students gathered around to watch, shielding their faces with scarves from the teargas that had already begun to fill the air. For the rest of the day explosions sounded and teargas continued to poison the air for blocks around the university.

Legally, neither ESMAD nor any other entity of the police or military may enter the campus without a special order from the university president. Thus, demonstrations such as these normally turn into standoffs between small groups of protesters standing within the university gate, and a larger group of armored police with gas masks, plastic shields and heavy-duty batons. The ESMAD agents frequently fire teargas canisters over the fence, while others sit atop huge black armored vehicles and pump water to spray through the fence from the tank-like trucks.

Last March, Oscar Leonardo Salas, a student at a small public university in Bogotá and a poet, was pronounced dead after being hit in the eye by a projectile during a clash between ESMAD agents and students protesting Colombia’s “free”-trade negotiations with the United States. Oscar was the sixth student to die in a clash between students and ESMAD since 2001.

Protest has been part of the institutional character of the National University in Bogotá since its founding in 1848. As the flagship campus of the national public university system, La Nacional has been one of the most important sites of intellectual debate in the nation. Dissent takes many forms at the university: from independent journalism and artistic expression to non-violent marches. But the pedreas are the most visible forms of protest, though certainly not the most representative of the student body as a whole.

According to a survey recently conducted by the independent student paper of the National University, while a majority of the university’s students (85 percent) consider the reasons for these protests valid, only 25 percent of those surveyed agree with the method of pedreas. Nearly half of students surveyed preferred less confrontational forms of protest, including marches and the blockading of university buildings. More than 80 percent answered “yes” to the question if students should use alternative methods of protest. Considering the potentially violent persecution of any form of political dissent on Colombian campuses, these figures reflect the resiliency of the activist spirit among university students.

The reasons for student protests vary, and often include opposition to Colombia’s domestic and international policies. But recently, the issue that has provoked the most demonstrations (and activism of all forms) at the National University has been a major reform effort undertaken by the university administration in cooperation with the national government.

Critics say the reforms will undermine the quality and structure of undergraduate education at the university by making the “free market” the prime arbiter of the way the educational system functions. One of the principal reforms involves shortening the duration of undergraduate programs. Proponents say shortening the programs will make the educational experience more streamlined and intensive. The student movement, meanwhile, contends this reform will reduce the quality of public education and put graduates from private universities at an even greater advantage, making graduate studies necessary—something only a minority of students at the National University could afford. Announced two years ago, the reforms immediately sparked student outrage—particularly, since they were formulated without student or faculty participation.

Resistance to the reforms has taken diverse forms, including pedreas and other confrontational methods of protest, but has primarily been characterized by non-violent acts such as marches, symbolic actions, and the circulation of materials explaining the reforms and the reasons for opposing them. The student movement has also been engaged in ongoing dialogue with the university administration in an effort to represent the student body and influence the decision-making process.

More than two years after their proposal, the reforms are still underway. The student movement at the National University continues to resist them, while students at universities across Colombia work to make their voices heard amid continual and oftentimes brutal repression.

Elizabeth G. Walsh is a Fulbright scholar and freelance writer living in Bogotá. This article was originally published on NACLA News, a new source of news and analysis on Latin America and the Caribbean produced by the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA).

By cali373 on Jan 8, 2007, 13:35 in Politics & the war.

goin_south says on Jan 8, 2007, 21:14:

alright! Colombia is indeed 'catching up with the USA' Sounds like the Sixties, all over again.

Cali373, thanks. Yes, this is indeed some unusual reporting. At least, it is an unusual to read something of this nature on PBH.

Why Not Colombia?..........Stay Tuned, for more.... utterly worthless, self-indulgent gobbets of nonsense.

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Desideria (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Jan 9, 2007, 04:42:

Do you mean that none of the above has been reported in Colombian dailies as it happened?

If so, is it for lack of interest,because student unrest and manifestations is No News or because of the ferreous self-censorhip Colombiannewspapers practice?

Cheers,
Desi

"Soy el que siempreanda de noche en el vecindario, sé cuando ladra el perro, sé cuando canta el gallo sé cuando estan dormidos los muchachos de mi barrio..." (From the joropo "El pajarillo")

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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juancegomez says on Jan 9, 2007, 08:55:

I doubt that the incidents themselves were not reported Because I personally remember reading about the cases of Julián Andrés Hurtado, Johnny Silva and about the threats at the Universities of Cauca and Antioquia, so the fact is that they did receive some media coverage in at least a few of the news outlets that cali373 disqualifies. Unless I'm imagining things, that is, but a quick Google search confirms it:

http://www.rcn.com.co/noticia.php3?nt=10862

http://www.elpais.com.co/paisonline/notas/Octubre052006/atentado.html

http://www.semana.com/wf_InfoArticulo.aspx?idArt=100133

http://www.eltiempo.com/nacion/cali/2006-10-05/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3272810.html

http://www.eltiempo.com/nacion/cali/2006-08-23/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3180683.html

http://www.eltiempo.com/nacion/cali/2006-12-19/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3371382.html

http://www.rcnradio.com.co/noticia.php3?nt=12851

I could go on, but that's enough to show that cali373's headline is a an exaggeration, or at the very least inaccurate.

That specific kind/style of reporting may or may not be found, but the events themselves were indeed covered. So that's that.

One other thing, however, is that this statement is rather questionable:

"The explosive devices used by the protesters—called “potatoes” by the students—make loud booms but are incapable of doing damage to property."

Most/some of them, perhaps, but others are quite capable of doing so. It depends on exactly what materials are employed in them and exactly where they hit.

The issue of police/ESMAD brutality in some of these incidents is real and clear (in fact, there have been incidents of police brutality against RCN/Caracol cameramen, which they have also reported), but the protesters themselves are not all immune from their own share of brutality either. Not all protesters are peaceful, and not all policemen are equally brutal. So forgive me if I don't find all forms of "resistance" equally valid (just as I do not find all forms of law enforcement to be).

What was going on down here, for example? Several students were manufacturing explosive devices at the Universidad del Atlántico, and the bombs/papas blew up in their own face. That doesn't sound like something that is "incapable of doing damage to property", and in fact was quite capable of doing damage to human beings.

I quote: "Se fabrican dos clases de 'papas'. Una para generar ruido, esa solo aturde. La otra, a la que se le echan pedazos de hierro, tuercas, clavos, grapas, es la que se le lanza a los antimotines de la Policía".

http://www.eltiempo.com/tiempoimpreso/edicionimpresa/justiciaimpreso/2006-10-26/ARTICULO-PRINTER_FRIENDLY-PRINTER_FRIENDLY-3298789.html

http://www.fac.mil.co/?idcategoria=15052

I doubt it was a chemistry experiment gone wrong. Their motivations may allegedly be just, but I don't see what can justify the existence of such deadly devices that can hurt and kill their own creators. Apparently Elizabeth G. Walsh spoke a bit too soon, at least on that count.

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cali373 says on Jan 9, 2007, 13:30:

Thanks JuanG for reminding me to always be more thorough in research, and yes my emotions got the better of me. Yes I did see some coverage on the above mentioned media and it was reporting style I mostly refer to. In my opinion, especially the Colombian major media outlets are disproportionately biased to support the Colombian government stance, which ever is it is. I also disagree with the use of these exploding devices for any civil protests. Just the presence of a protest in Colombia is enough to raise awareness even though I think the smaller local newspapers cover them more thoroughly than the national papers and overwelhmingly more than the television news. Soccer seems to get most of the televison news coverage, but I have to keep in mind that I only watch Caracol international and that what I see there. I have never seen a mention of any protest on that channel. Perhaps I missed it. What seems obvious on that channel is that if the FARC does something it will be big news, if the AUC does something it will not get the same type of attention. For example, the recent bombing in Bogota at the military academy, the channel covered it extensively and especially the next day covering Uribe's entire speech blaming the FARC. On the print media is where I read about doubts of the evidence pointing to the FARC. I honestly suspect foul play but I do not have any proof. Uribe conveniently found a way out of an humanitarian prisioner exchange, which he always opposed. Which to me is no justification to prevent a prisioner swap, considering that neither side declared any kind of cease-fire for the swap.

Smile if you are a thinker!

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juancegomez says on Jan 9, 2007, 14:36:

cali373 Well then, you're right as far as reporting style is concerned. But while that does seem to be lacking, especially in the televised media (the print media and the radio usually do seem more critical), several protests do end up being mentioned, at the very least, and that helps to create at least a bit of awareness.

As for differences in FARC/AUC coverage, that may indeed have political overtones, but also consider this other element: I've noticed that small-scale bombings/violence in the rural countryside done by FARC/ELN doesn't really get that much more airtime (if any) than similar paramilitary acts of rural violence. When both of them harm relatively small numbers of people in remote areas, there's very little coverage. Most urban citizens probably remain pretty oblivous to the events if they're not actively looking for information.

It's the bombings and crimes in urban areas that seem to get most of the attention, or particularly violent acts that claim unusual numbers of victims (or attacks of military significance). Most of the day-to-day violence somewhere in the rural countryside, however, tends to receive limited coverage, perhaps because there's the perception that it's a constant reality, something that isn't really a novelty for most people, the victims excluded.

As for the bombing at the U. Militar, I'm still not decided about it...I suspect that the FARC are not incapable of it, even if I'm also open to the possibility of foul play, as you've put it. I wouldn't be surprised, either way.

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cali373 says on Jan 17, 2007, 07:16:

More good reporting http://www.eltiempo.com/nacion/caribe/2006-10-06/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3273479.html

http://www.cpj.org/regions_07/americas_07/americas_07.html#colombia

I have never heard of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, but what caught my eye is what I have seen so far, Their commitment to journalism. They also critisize Chavez's actions against freedom of the press.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070116/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_chavez_vs_tv

Smile if you are a thinker!

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juancegomez says on Jan 17, 2007, 08:33:

Yes It's quite tragically evident that journalism is under a lot of pressure in Colombia, including death threats and different forms of attacks from multiple sources (politicians, mafias, guerrillas, paramilitaries, authorities, individuals, etc.).

In spite of that clear and present danger, however, you can still find decent journalism from different angles if you look for it.

So the CPJ's denouncing a few of those cases (though they might as well update their current status more frequently) is necessarily a good thing, just as the fact that several of them are also mentioned by the Colombian press itself (see the link you posted).

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