* * * COLOMBIA * * * The "Mesa de Concertación del Movimiento de Mujeres", a national women’s coalition which includes different organizations, networks, trade unions, etc., participates in the Strike. On 8 March they will hold a Public Women’s Speakout "Colombian women interrogate the State" (Tribuna Pública de las Mujeres "Las mujeres colombianas interpelamos al estado"). One of their slogans is: Without women there is no peace – listen to our voices in the national speakout . (Una de las consignas será: Sin las mujeres, la paz no va que se escuchen nuestras voces Tribuna Pública Nacional.) They are demanding international support against the armed conflict in Colombia and the violation of human rights which particularly affects women, children and ethnic groups – torture, disappearances, arbitrary detention, ‘the dirty war’, impunity from prosecution, rape and sexual assault, exploitation and displacement. Between October 99 and March 2000, 1795 people have lost their lives: at least 53 are children and 144 women. |