On August 19th a popular national agrarian strike began in Colombia that still continues. Facing this mobilization of the peasants and popular sectors of Colombia the state has responded with repression.

The government has mobilised the Army, has installed a curfew in various parts of the country and has militarized Bogotá, with the end of impeding bigger demonstrations. In spite of that the national strike is having a large echo in the entire country.

The agrarian subject is at the origin of the armed and social conflict of the last 50 years. The struggle between the large landowners and the small peasants who have had their lands expropriated. In the current negotiating table on the island of Cuba between the Santos government and the guerrillas of the FARC the agrarian problem is one of the biggest problems at the time of reaching agreements.

The peasants and the popular sectors ask for the paralysation of the neoliberal policy promoted by the government, the paralysation of the Free Trade Agreements (FTA's) and advocate for an open and total dialogue in which the miners, carriers and workers are present to solve the crisis.

Up till today the consequences of this successful mobilization has left a very serious balance:

• 9 dead.
• More than 250 arrested.
• More than 500 individual and collective violations of human rights.
• More than 400 wounded, with 11 wounded by bullets.

Facing these serious facts, SORTU would like to express the following:

To express all of our solidarity with the peasants and popular sectors of Colombia.

To express our sorrow to all of the families who have lost a loved one or who have suffered the attacks of repression.

We call on the government of Santos to make a clear commitment to dialogue.

Only through dialogue and negotiation can integral agreements be reached.

Finally, SORTU calls on the citizens of the Basque Country to participate in the concentrations of support of the popular agrarian strike that will take place in the following days.

The Basque Country, September 4th, 2013.
International Area of SORTU.