Colombia’s inspector general urged the government of President Ivan Duque to engage in dialogue with participants in anti-government protests on Thursday amid growing concerns over possible violent repression.
In a passionate editorial published on his website, Inspector General Fernando Carrillo, said that “a strong democracy cannot panic over social protest. It does not delegitimize it, much less belittle it, stigmatize it or distort it with propaganda based on fear.”
A democratic government understands that the way out of the crisis is not arbitrary force, but social dialogue that prevents us from reaching the paths without return that lead societies to the abyss of tyrannies, populism and bloody revolutions.
Inspector General Fernando Carrillo
Carrillo dismissed conspiracy theories of top government officials that protesters or foreign infiltrators would be seeking violence and urged Duque to see the protests as “an opportunity to listen to the heartbeat of public opinion.”
A strong democracy recognizes the legitimacy of social protest and makes it an opportunity to listen to the heartbeat of public opinion, to tune in to new times and to straighten its path. And depending on the decibels reached by the citizen chorus and the size of its claims, a visionary leader holds in his hands a menu of peaceful solutions to crises, including effective social responses to old problems.
Inspector General Fernando Carrillo
At the same time, the inspector general called on the political and social leaders promoting the national strike and the protests to reject extremism and violence.
The strike called by various social and political actors on 21 November should be seen as an opportunity to establish a large social dialogue table leading to a broad political consensus, an opportunity for the country to get rid of extremism. It cannot be seen as a D-day to measure the State’s capacity to respond through violence, but as a D-day to strengthen democracy through dialogue.
Inspector General Fernando Carrillo
According to Carrilo, Thursday “is not the day to ignite Colombia. It’s not the day of the hooded men hiding their faces to demolish institutions, but the day of the citizen to demand them to be strengthened and deliver social justice.”
The inspector general, who has played an active role in the country’s ongoing peace process, said that his office will guarantee that the national strike “will be a protest to demand social responses without violence and not a fatal ambush on democracy.”
