Tuesday, November 11, 2014

43 Crosses for 43 Martyrs


Students of the Universidad Nacional planted 43 crosses today to memorialize the 43 protesting Mexican university students who were kidnapped, 'disappeared' and apparently murdered recently. The student protesters had been detained by police, who killed six students and then handed the rest over to a criminal gang, who reportedly murdered the students, then burned their remains and dumped them into a river. Most incredibly, the town's mayor and his wife were apparently working with the criminal gang. 

The closest parallel in Colombian history is probably an April 1984 episode during which police entered campus and reportedly beat and murdered student protests.


The sign says 'They buried us alive, but didn't know that we were seeds,' a quote from Uruguayan journalist, novelist and poet Mario Benedetti.






Below is a mural near the Plaza del Ché on Bogotá's National University, commemorating a May 1984 episode when police entered campus and allegedly beat and murdered student protesters.

'Let us not forget.' A memorial to students murdered by police during May 1984 protests on the National University campus in Bogotá. 
A plaque memorializing students killed by police during the May 1984 protests.
By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

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