Manifesto of the Committee of Friends of the Spanish Republic
Creator: Comité de Amigos de la República Española
Source:
Archivo General de la Administración, Sección 10, Número 15, Caja 54/3110
Date Created: 1937-05-31
Extent: 1 item
4.65338, -74.08363
As in other countries across the world, many Colombians who were horrified by events in Spain established initiatives to send their support to the Spanish Republic. The first such group that appears in the documentary record is the Comité de Amigos de la Republica Española established in Bogotá during April 1937. The committee initially comprised 55 members made up of communist, socialist and Liberal representatives. The governing board included individuals who were closely linked to the Alfonso López government although the committee itself was an unofficial organization. In their manifesto, the group expressed its ‘solidarity and unconditional adhesion to the legitimately constituted Government’ in whose suffering they shared because those who attacked it were ‘the same murderers and inquisitors of America’.
As well as stating their support for Republican Spain, the Comité de Amigos also implored the Colombian public to join the transnational struggle to defend Spanish democracy. They ended their manifesto with the call: ‘People of Colombia! Fight for the cause of the legitimate government of Spain. Follow the enduring example of the brave Mexican and Yankee workers! Convert your sympathy – until now passive – into a powerful material and intellectual solidarity!’ As part of this campaign, the committee published a bulletin based on propaganda material received from the Spanish Legation and organized various events to support the Spanish Republic that brought leftist political and intellectual leaders together with Colombian workers. For example, on 8 June 1937, members staged a public demonstration in Bogotá to protest against German and Italian’s aerial bombardment of civilian targets in Spain. The group remained active until the end of the civil war.
CE