Facebook fuels anti-FARC protests in Colombia

Thousands of people dressed in white are chanting slogans against the FARC. The crowd is led by this 31 year old engineer. He says people are here to tell the world that the FARC does not represent Colombia. The guerillas are a terrorist organization that uses drug money and kidnapping to finance its operations. For over 40 years they have fought the Colombian government which they claim is led by an abusive elite. But this crowd is a new kind of enemy for the FARC. This man explains how it all began: he says in late December he saw how the FARC failed to release two hostages and made other lies. His facebook group, 1 million faces against the FARC, became an instant hit. As the group gathered momentum, they decided to organize a demonstration. The mainstream media backed the group and gave it free publicity. On Monday, millions of people took to the streets in hundreds of cities around the globe. In Bogot-, Colombia’s capitol around 1 million participated and schools took the day off to encourage students to attend. The facebook group has also sparked new examples of internet activism. This man is a journalist in Bogot- where he created 1 million faces against the paramilitary. He encouraged his group members to participate in the demonstrations. In this crowd, demonstrators expressed many emotions. These two children asked the guerillas to release their parents from captivity. Later music played. The FARC described the protests as a farce which doesn’t describe the Colombian people’s will. But two days before the protests, the guerillas announced they would release three hostages due to their delicate health situations.