BOGOTA, July 21 (UPI) -- Colombia's Independence Day, celebrated by hundreds of thousands of people in Bogota, was tinged with hope that strife in the country may end, revelers said.

Luis Alberto Gutierrez, a lawyer, told the BBC as he took part in Sunday's rally, Colombians are "struggling for liberty."

"First we got independence from the Spanish, now we want independence from those who oppress us with violence and kidnapping," Gutierrez said.

English teacher Marlen de Castillo told the British network Colombians "are stronger now than ever before."

"We have tasted freedom and working democracy and want more. And now the whole world is with us, is sharing our pain," de Castillo said.