On May 19, PBI-Colombia tweeted: “Today PBI accompanied NOMADESC in Loma de la Cruz and Punto Resistencia in Cali in their work of monitoring and verifying violations of the human rights of protesters in the National Strike.”

Loma de la Cruz is a hilltop in the city of Cali with a park and an artisanal market with kiosks with traditional homemade goods and small food places.

Infobae has reported that Loma de la Cruz (hill of the cross) has been renamed Loma de la Dignidad (hill of dignity) during the national strike. That article also notes that this past weekend it was the site of peaceful and artistic events, including a symphonic cacerolazo (a popular form of protest normally associated with the banging of pots and pans). A short video of that symphony playing ‘Bella Ciao’ is here. The gathering was also an occasion for people to make donations to the artisans impacted by the strike.

And the BBC has explained: “In Cali, the third-largest city in the country, what was once Puerto Rellena, a popular spot famous for its sausages is now the base of the most insurrectionary version of the strike.” It similarly has been renamed Puerto Resistencia.

A week ago, The Guardian also noted that Cali “has become the center of Colombia’s anti-government protests”, that “47 people have died during the unrest, with 35 deaths in Cali” and that Colombia’s president had “announced that more soldiers and police officers would be dispatched to the city to lift blockades.”

United Nations and Organization of American States human rights experts have stated: “We are deeply distressed by the excessive and unlawful use of force by police and members of the ESMAD (Mobile Anti-Riot Squad) against peaceful demonstrators, human rights defenders and journalists across Colombia.”

PBI-Colombia has been accompanying NOMADESC and other organizations throughout the national strike. For a photo-journal compilation, please see PBI-Colombia accompanies human rights defenders during the #ParoNacional national strike.

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