An estimated 1,500 artists and supporters united in protest Tuesday against the death threats sent to 12 theater groups one week ago in Bogota, reported Colombian media.
The colorful, musical, and dramatic group marched through the heart of Bogota from Parque Nacional to Plaza de Bolivar, to defend their right to express their culture and demand more protection from Colombian authorities.
The threats, made public last week, allegedly told the groups that they were a target because “of being human rights defenders through (their) artistic activities” and that they should leave the Colombian capital immediately. The letters were directed at groups in Bosa, Kennedy, Tunjuelito, and Cuidad Bolivar, reported Luis Vicente Estupiñan from the Teatro la Disidencia theater group. The group responsible for sending the threats was allegedly the neo-paramilitary group “Aguilas Negras.”
Santiago Trujillo, director of the Instituto Distrital de las Artes (Idartes), said that the Bogota mayors office is “volunteering the security for these groups, because artistic expression is a manifestation of liberty and critical thinking that we should respect and conserve, and we cannot permit that they are threatened.”
The Colombian Ministry of Culture also responded to the threats stating “these organizations, through their word and their artistic and creative proposals…contribute to the construction of politics of peace and co-existance, rejecting violence in all of it’s forms. Therefore, it is contradictory that they are a target of death threats.”
The ministry also confirmed last Friday that they had contacted local and national authorities in order to take the necessary measures to guarantee the security and well-being of the theater group members.