Keep them from marching in the streets

National University student Óscar Leonardo Salas Ángel died yesterday, in a room he shared with our malarial friend. No one can say precisely what killed him - something metal punctured his eye and entered his brain. The investigation, such as it is, is ongoing. There were student protests yesterday after word of his death - a TransMilenio station bore the brunt of their frustration. Today classes were cancelled. Videos here: 1 2 3

(Don't worry, this photo is from the newspaper's website: El Tiempo.com)

Here's the part I don't understand: the officials hear there's going to be a protest at the national university so they show up in body armour, anti-riot gear, and tanks. What do they think is going to happen at that point? Then the kids throw some rocks, some bricks, even some explosives, then there's tear gas, and when someone gets hurt or killed it's hard to say just what happened, but it was incredibly easy to predict. As the head of the squadron says in the third video -- we were just maintaining the perimeter, trying to contain the protest, keep them from marching in the streets. The girl interviewed in the second interview responds: we just want to not be killed! We have the right to protest, whether or not you agree with us.