By: Priscila Néri, Posted: Dec 18 08

Regions: Colombia

Issues: Armed conflict, Indigenous peoples, Mass killings

Tags: Aida Quilcue, Alvaro Uribe, Assassination, cauca, Consejo Regional Indigena del Cauca, Human Rights Defenders, land rights, minga, Protests, violence

Edwin Legarda, the husband of indigenous leader Aida Quilcué, from the Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (CRIC) (Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca), was shot and killed by soldiers of the Colombian Army at a roadblock this past Tuesday in the southwestern part of the country.  The UN has strongly condemned the death and called on  local authorities to investigate the crime and "urgently implement mechanisms to protect the work of indigenous leaders" in Colombia. 

CRIC believes the assassination was meant to target Aida, who has gained national exposure by helping lead several protests against the Colombian government in the past months.  The  marches - organized in various districts of Colombia - demand an end to violence against indigenous activists and the return of ancestral lands to indigenous communities.

Here's Aida speaking at one of these rallies on November 25 in Bogotá (she starts at 4:20).  This video was originally uploaded to YouTube by user Lcondorkogi:

Many of these protests have been met with violence by Colombian forces.  This video from CricColombia documents some of those abuses over the past year (please be advised of graphic imagery):     

If you're interested in learning more about CRIC's history and goals, watch this interview Aida Quilcué gave to Italian group ASUD last month:

Visit CRIC to see photos of the protests, receive the latest updates, and learn how to get involved. If you have more footage or information about this case, please share it with us in the comments section below.