Colombia: Displaced people evicted from protest camp

Thousands of displaced Colombians living in a protest camp in a park in central Bogotá are the target of an eviction plan by the local authorities, who admit they are overwhelmed by the influx of people fleeing violence in the countryside. Riot police in heavy protective gear entered the Tercer Milenio park at dawn on Thursday. They encountered some resistance, but the leaders of the displaced people kept things calm, according to a local TV channel. The mayor's office has given the campers five days to move to government shelters. These people, displaced from their homes by the armed conflict, have been camping in part of the Tercer Milenio park for the last four months as a protest against the authorities for not providing them with assistance. "They want to get us out of the park, but we won't go, even when they send in the ESMAD (riot police)," Miriam López, who left the municipality of La Gabarra in the northeastern department (province) of Norte de Santander when her husband was killed nine years ago, told IPS. "The murderers gave us five minutes to leave our homes," said López. "It was terrible. That's why, until the government really solves the situation, we're staying here."