On the night of Wednesday, July 29, the student representative of the National University, Kevin Arriguí, was beaten and attacked with a stabbing weapon by a group of hooded individuals inside the institution’s campus, who also assaulted other students. In an interview with EL TIEMPO, Rector José Ismael Peña stated that this incident is part of “a planned operation of intimidation” that has been occurring towards some sectors of the educational community.
According to Peña, the threats and intimidations against community members are not limited to student leaders but also include administrators and professors, a situation that has increased on the eve of the dean election process to be held at the National University in the coming months.
What is known about this act of violence at the National University?
What we know is that some students came to the university to try to take down some banners that a union has around the campus against the administration. We have said that those banners should not be touched, that we will always respect the right to dissent. However, these students were, as I understand, taking down the banners when they began to be attacked and chased by some hooded individuals. What we know is that one of the students ran to a building and was chased there and was first attacked with a bottle that had just been broken for that purpose. For some reason, the bottle did not penetrate the student’s body. Then one of the attackers took a knife out of his pocket and, as seen in the images, stabbed him in the body as well. It seems that the jacket he was wearing protected him, so he was stabbed in the arms and legs. This is something that has completely shocked the entire university community, professors, staff, and students.
Where did it happen? And what can we know about the identity of the attackers? Are there any clues?
Regarding the location, the student ran to a building of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. That is where he was caught and attacked. Regarding the identities, I have no information. What we did do was execute security protocols; all the information from the cameras, vehicle access information at the gates, all that possibly relevant information was handed over to the authorities so that they, and they are already doing so, investigate and manage to arrest and prosecute those responsible for this terrible act.
Kevin Arriguí had already reported threats against him, and the university had also warned about intimidations against him and other members of the university community. What is known about those threats and whether they are related to the attack he suffered?
There are several investigations in progress and others that have already yielded results. One in particular was positive: in November last year, eleven criminals, terrorists, who used the university for these types of acts were arrested. None of those people were university students. They are being tried, are detained, and we hope that if they are guilty, they will be convicted.
How does this and other recent incidents differ from what has historically been experienced at the National University?
We are not talking about an act of vandalism; we are talking about a planned operation of intimidation. Over the last two years, there have been deans, professors, who have been threatened and have had to take refuge either in other institutions, have had to change their workplace or have their home as their workplace to protect themselves. It is a systematic thing, and we are precisely calling on the entire community to eliminate any dispute at this moment, to fully defend the university. What we hope is that the investigations continue and that soon those responsible can pay for this terrible act.
Are there more people at risk?
At this moment, we are in the process of selecting deans for the next two years. Two people have withdrawn their candidacy for dean and have expressed fear for their lives. That is, that aspiration, that withdrawal is precisely due to these types of acts. Last night and this morning, I received calls from two women, candidates for the deanship, who are very distressed by these situations they consider threatening. I ask all professors, all candidates for the deanship, please do not resign. To those who have submitted their resignation, please withdraw it. We will support you. It does not matter what you think, whether you are for or against any rule of the rector and this administration, we will protect everyone. This is our university, it is the house of knowledge, it is the house of knowledge construction and must be the house of dissent, disagreement, but amid peaceful discussions. And I repeat, my hypothesis is that this is orchestrated from outside and that the university community has nothing to do with these terrible acts.
Are there students linked to these incidents?
We must differentiate some student movements from years ago from a situation today that has nothing to do with a student movement. Here the student movement is a critical, thoughtful movement and, in that sense, completely removed from acts of terrorism. Now there are strange people who try to appear as students to create chaos and scare community members. The people, for example, who were armed taking over the Uriel Gutiérrez building two years ago, are in prison. The people who doused public servants with gasoline and threatened to burn them are in prison. And none of them were university students. These acts are not attributed to members of the university community. And if there were any, we will accompany the authorities so that they are judged and condemned according to the severity of the act.
Is there any known link between these people or others who have committed recent violent acts at the National University with any group?
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, those arrested in November last year were financed by the ELN. I have nothing different to state, I have no evidence or grounds to say otherwise. I hope that if these people who attacked this student have any kind of relationship, the National Prosecutor’s Office can identify the motives and clarify this for us.
What is the administration doing to protect people inside the campus?
In every campus in Colombia, it is forbidden to enter with weapons. Here we are talking about short stabbing weapons, a knife or a small weapon, as seen in the video. It is very difficult to detect if a person enters the university with a knife. We will, in any case, transform the university entry process to guarantee the community that it is in a safe environment. We have to increase and strengthen security measures so that all Colombian citizens, not only students, professors, or staff, feel safe.
And what will these new security measures be like?
We have a mechanism that stopped being implemented a couple of years ago, but we will implement it again, and that is that any Colombian or foreign citizen can enter the university as long as they identify themselves at the gate and a record is kept. We will implement controls so that they are identified and in this way criminals will know that at least their ID was recorded at a gate.
EDUCATION EDITORIAL