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June 13th, 2016 
Awake Goy 
Print FriendlyAbove Photo: The Minga of Resistance for Life, Territory, Dignity, and Peace reached a deal with the Colombian government that will see the two sides sit down for formal negotiations this week. | Photo: Twitter / @acincauca
The government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced Sunday that it had reached a deal with striking peasants and that any further protest action would be suspended.
The deal obliges the government to sit down and formally negotiate with the campesino movement.
“The work that can be done with Indigenous and peasant communities will allow us to ensure a stable and lasting peace (by) ending inequality. Much remains to be done. We want to move decisively yet, at the same time, in a serious and responsible way with agreements that can be met,” said Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo.
Since May 30, tens of thousands of campesinos, rural workers, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities have been fighting against massive land inequality and privatization decrees, as well as the right to participate in the ongoing Colombian peace talks under the banner of the Minga of Resistance for Life, Territory, Dignity, Peace, and the Implementation of the Agreements.
According to government statement, the Minga’s demands will be central to the negotiations. Talks, which will include high level officials, will take place in Bogota at the headquarters of the Interior Ministry on Friday.
The protests, which took place in 27 districts throughout Colombia, faced a concerted stigmatization and repression campaign by the government.
The two sides previously reached a partial agreement on Friday that had the government recognize social protest as a right that must be respected and guaranteed by the state.
Colombian riot police known as ESMAD attempted to crush the strikers with lethal force, leaving three dead.
Source Article from https://www.popularresistance.org/striking-colombian-campesinos-reach-deal-with-government/
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