(Recasts with new date, marches, deaths, possible talks) By Patrick Markey BOGOTA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Thousands of indigenous Colombians marched on Thursday to press their demands against President Alvaro Uribe, and labor unions protested in the capital Bogota, where five small blasts panicked residents. Indigenous protesters with traditional staves, banners and mock coffins snaked toward Cali city, where leaders want talks with Uribe on promises to protect their lands, defend them against violence and reject a U.S. free trade agreement. In Bogota, where several thousand state employees marched against Uribe's economic management, five small explosions left in trash cans or tied to lampposts slightly wounded at least 11 people, police said without commenting on those responsible. Authorities say three indigenous protesters have died during more than a week of demonstrations near Cali. Uribe says they were killed when a homemade bomb exploded, but community leaders say security forces shot the victims. "If he has the will to meet with the indigenous communities and the social movements, then let's do it in Cali," said Ayda Quilcue, a member of the Cauca province indigenous leadership. The deaths came as Uribe, a key U.S. ally, lobbies U.S. Democrats for the trade deal he says will consolidate gains made against leftist guerrillas. But Democrats want him to better protect rights, especially those of labor leaders. Uribe late on Wednesday acknowledged a police officer had opened fire with his rifle on the protesters but he said medical exams showed victims did not die from gunshots. The statement came after a video was broadcast showing a uniformed man opening fire, but his target is unclear. Uribe offered talks with indigenous communities at the weekend. Police have clashed for days with the indigenous groups, who authorities say have blocked a key highway, using homemade weapons, sticks and machetes. At least 32 police have been wounded and one lost his hands in an explosion, Uribe said. Authorities have accused the FARC rebel group of helping provoke violence, a charge indigenous leaders reject. Colombia's long rebel conflict has eased as the FARC has been driven back into remote areas and Uribe has negotiated the surrender of thousands of paramilitaries who once committed massacres and stole land in the name of counter-insurgency. Colombia has 85 indigenous ethnic groups with a population of around 1 million who have been among the most victimized people in the country's four-decade conflict. Violence still displaces thousands of people each year.
A bust in honour Manuel Marulanda, the former leader of Colombia's largest guerrilla movement FARC, is inaugurated in Caracas September 26, 2008. A Venezuelan community group will dedicate a public square ...
