Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Andrés Mosquera/ eltiempo.com
Quibdo (Agenzia Fides) - Once again the Bishop of the Diocese of Quibdo, Mgr. Juan Carlos Barreto, wrote to the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, asking him to stop the violence in the area of Chocò. In his letter, sent to the President of the Constitutional Court, the Attorney and the Ombudsman, warns that "the situation of violence in Quibdo reaches high figures, that exceed the national average and have generated suffering, fear and pessimism among the inhabitants".
According to the note sent to Fides, 521 people have died in the city in the last five years. "This figure is alarming. This is why I ask for short, medium and long-term structural action in order to resolve the problems of insecurity and violence that this territory faces", the Bishop writes. Because of the difficult situation, it is clear that public policy in Chocó must change, emphasizes Mgr. Barreto. "Only a social investment plan and effective state action will be able to ensure the survival of youth".
Violence has not stopped even after the peace accords, this is why Mgr. Barreto continues to denounce the situation (see Fides 24/02/2016 and 23/05/2017). (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 01/09/2017)
AFRICA/DR CONGO - Cardinal Ambongo: “The situation in and around Goma is deteriorating day by day”
AFRICA/DR CONGO - Bishops of Bukavu Ecclesiastical Province: “Insecurity is endemic and the state is absent”
AFRICA/KENYA - Religion is an instrument of peace and not of war: the conclusions of the seminar in Nairobi promoted by the Dicastery for interreligious dialogue
ASIA/JAPAN - Bishop Berndt: "We learn peace and non-violence from the people in Okinawa"