UP marches to remember victims (political genocide)

UP marches to remember victims
Oct 10, 2014 posted by Joel Gillin

The leftist Colombian political party Patriotic Union (UP) marched on Thursday to honor the thousands of victims killed over the years from their movement in what has been called a “political genocide.”

PROFILE: Patriotic Union

Activities to remind the country, in particular the youth, of what occurred to the UP during the 1980s and 1990s at the hands of right-wing paramilitary and state agents are scheduled to take place until Saturday.

Chants of “we are the survivors” were reportedly among the rallying cries heard Thursday by UP members and supporters who braved the rain to pay tribute to the party.

The UP was formed in 1985 by the Communist Party and FARC rebels as the guerrilla group was moving away from war and towards politics while negotiating peace with the Colombian government.

Being utterly destroyed by the assassination of its members, with estimates of UP victims reaching as high as 5,000 victims, the party lost its legal status in 2002 and was only reestablished in 2013.

More:
http://colombiareports.co/marches-remember-victims/