Memory of the Silenced: The Red Dance

2003-02-25

Runtime: 59 minutes

Released

In the mid-1980s, peace initiatives between the Colombian government and the guerrilla group, FARC, led the latter to disband after two decades of fighting and establish a legal-political party, the Union Patriótica (Patriotic Union). As the UP met with some successs in local elections, it became a target of right-wing death squads and paramilitaries. So far, 3,000 UP members have been murdered or have disappeared, making it a case of political genocide unparalleled in the world. The documentary "The Red Dance" views, through the memories of survivors and relatives of victims, this period of terror and assassination. While FARC has reverted to war, a petition is pending before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) regarding human rights violations by the State of Colombia.