Some 200,000 people protest against violence in Colombia (Roundup)

Apr 13, 2007, 18:07 GMT

Bogota - At least 200,000 people protested in the Colombian city of Cali against violence in the South American country following a bomb attack in the city.

'This demonstration is an example for the whole country, it is the first time. I have always regretted that Colombians do not protest against violence like for example Spaniards or many other Europeans,' said Interior Minister Carlos Holguin, in comments reported Friday.

On Thursday, demonstrators wearing white T-shirts and carrying signs with the words 'FARC-Murderers' took to the streets of Cali, the third-largest city in Colombia. The protest was organized by city authorities and by the governorship of the Valle del Cauca province.

On Monday, the explosion of a bomb before the police headquarters in Cali claimed the life of a passer-by and injured 34 people.

The authorities blamed the attack on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which has been fighting the central government for over 40 years.

FARC however denied Friday that they were responsible for the attack in Cali, blaming it instead on 'narco-paramilitary mafias.'

The Denmark-based news agency Anncol, which distributes information from the rebels, claimed that FARC are innocent despite the accusations made by the government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

'The Cali bombing was done by narco-paramilitary mafias which do not want to accept the tutelage of the government. It is state terrorism and mafia terrorism. In an opportunist and deceitful way, Uribe and the bourgeois media want to present (the demonstration) as a march against the rebels,' Anncol said in an editorial.

Anncol used to be based in Sweden, until Colombia requested that Swedish authorities close its office there.

FARC have carried out several attacks on police in Cali. On November 19, 2006 the rebels attacked a small police checkpoint, causing the death of one officer and injuring another.

FARC rebels finance their activities amongst other things through drug traffic, and continue to have substantial military strength and some 40,000 fighters despite all efforts to weaken them.

In the four decades of civil conflict, the government over the past year has moved to bring in and disarm some right-wing paramilitary groups who have been a major factor in the violence.