¡Millones se concentran a favor de La Paz en Colombia! Millions will March for Peace in Colombia!
Colombians take to streets to protest kidnappings
Millions around the World send a clear message to FARC against Kidnappings! Artists Unite in Concerts to support the Freedom Loving People! A Great Day for Democracy!
Demonstrators march during a protest against kidnapping in Bogota, Sunday, July 20, 2008. Thousands of Colombians wearing white T-shirts and holding signs that read in Spanish ‘Free them now’, marched in several major cities to demand the immediate release of those who are still held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
400 THOUSAND MARCH IN MEDELLIN
MILLIONS THROUGH OUT THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD
Sun Jul 20, 2008
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombians took to the streets in large numbers on Sunday to protest kidnappings that have plagued the country during its 44-year-old guerrilla war.
Declaring that this year’s Independence Day should be renamed “Freedom Day” for 2,800 people held captive in remote jungle and mountain camps, thousands were expected to march in cities throughout the country.
They called on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and other outlawed groups to stop taking hostages and lay down their arms.
The marches will further pressure the FARC, which has suffered recent severe setbacks as a result of President Alvaro Uribe’s U.S.-backed military offensive.
Uribe is seen as a hero by many Colombians for going on the attack against rebels who have been fighting the state since the 1960s. His popularity topped 90 percent after the dramatic rescue of 15 high-profile hostages on July 2.
Related demonstrations were held cities around the world including Paris, where recently-released captive Ingrid Betancourt addressed an emotional crowd ahead of a concert by Colombian pop star Juanes.
Public wait for the arrival of Franco-Colombian Politician Ingrid Betancourt during a concert in celebration of Colombia’s independence day and to support a march against kidnapping at Trocadero plaza near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sunday, July 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician released in the July 2 operation after more than six years in captivity, called on the rebels to talk peace with Uribe, whose father was killed in a botched FARC kidnapping in 1983.
¡400 MIL MARCHAN EN MEDELLIN!
(Rafaelmartel.com) Se comienzan a a concentrar miles de colombianos en Bogotá y la mayoría de la ciudades del país para manifestarse en contra al secuestro y a favor de la paz. Este es uno de los más contundentes golpes políticos a la FARC de parte del valiente pueblo colombiano. Hoy hacen historia y contagian al resto del mundo, donde una han inspirado una fuerte solidaridad manifestada a través del mundo donde se unen a los colombianos múltiples nacionalidades. La iniciativa de los colombianos este 20 de julio del 2008 es también una señal de fuerte respaldo hacia el presidente Alvaro Uribe.
Venezuela se une a la marcha por La Paz
Comienzan a congregarse en el Centro Lido para marchar por los secuestrados colombianos
20 de julio de 2008
Desde tempranas horas de la mañana de este domingo se congregan venezolanos y colombianos en frente al Centro Lido para marchar hasta la plaza Brión de Chacaito para conmemorar la Independencia de Colombia y elevar un grito a favor de la liberación de todos los secuestrados de la nación neogranadina.
Se espera que a partir de las 11 de la mañana comience un concierto promovido por la Embajada de Colombia con la participación del Binomio de Oro, la Billos Caracas Boys, los Melódicos, entre otras agrupaciones.
Carolina Arenas, miembro de la organización Generación Activa por Venezuela, dijo que “estamos aquí para apoyar a Colombia, para felicitarlos por la operación de liberación de secuestrados y para también pedir que liberen a los venezolanos cautivos”.
Por su parte, otro miembro de esta organización, afirmó que entregarán un documento al embajador de Colombia, Fernando Marín Valencia, para ratificar la voluntad de paz entre las naciones vecinas y “unirnos como pueblos”.
To watch video of the concert and more of today’s demonstrations go to:
Rafael Román Martel 