Berta's death sentence was written eight years ago: COPINH on the 8 year anniversary of the coup d'etat

8 YEARS OF THE COUP

COPINH IN RESISTANCE

[Original en español]

The assassination of Berta Cáceres was planned eight years ago, during the 2009 coup d’état, a death sentence for all social movement leaders fighting the destruction of the common natural goo

d and indigenous communities of Honduras. With the coup d’etat, a mafia installed a criminal military dictatorship that continued on and deepened the process of depriving the Lenca and indigenous communities of Honduras of the right to make decisions about our own territories. The installed regime, through death and with the bloody hands of its repressive military, financed by the United States, has implemented the most far-reaching project of displacement against Lenca communities to date. The Lenca communities organized in COPINH and lead by sister Berta Cáceres have denounced the approval, without any community consultation, of 49 hydroelectric and other exploitative projects in our territories, forced upon us through the terror and violence imposed by the coup d’etat.

New death threats in Rio Blanco against COPINH members

Alert: COPINH demands respect for the lives of Lenca people in Río Blanco

[Original en español]

COPINH urgently communicates to the national and international community our serious worry about the defenseless state of the Lenca people in Río Blanco, faced with armed men and constant threats. We insist that the authorities take immediate action to protect the physical wellbeing and lives of COPINH members in Río Blanco, who continue to defend their ancestral territory against the invasion of people linked to the DESA corporation.

In recent months, and especially in the past few weeks, the threats against COPINH members have intensified, especially while they are working on their ancestral lands in Vega del Achiotal and Vega del Culatón, sites where the DESA corporation has invaded Lenca territory to build the Agua Zarca project.

The Madrid family, who is originally from santa Bárbara, illegally took over Lenca territory and sold part of it to the DESA corporation. Several of these people have been employees of the DESA corporation and have been put to work threatening members of COPINH, including our sister Berta Cáceres. We remind you that one of them threatened that they were going to “set things straight with Berta one way or another” just a few months before her assassination and they warned to look out for the consequences.

We denounce that Franklin Madrid has pointed firearms at COPINH members in Río Blanco and fired into the air close to COPINH members while they worked their ancestral landsb. The frequency of the threats is increasing and the COPINH members are in a state of complete vulnerability against the armed men who are openly threatening and intimidating them. Today, June 21^st, in the morning hours, several armed men once again threatened COPINH members while they were working at Vega del Culaton. We alert that one of the armed men threatened to kill at any moment the children of Francisco Javier Sánchez, Coordinator of the Indigenous Council of Río Blanco and member of the General Coordination of COPINH.

COPINH has filed complaints with the authorities regarding the threats and destruction of the corn crops, nonetheless, to this day those responsible continue to be free. Instead of penalizing those who make violent threats, the police have instead accompanied them.

We also denounce the responsibility of the Municipality of Intibucá for having illegally granted land rights on ancestral Lenca territory at the Vega del Achiotal, facilitating the invasion of Lenca territory.

We demand that the authorities take immediate action to secure the life and physical wellbeing of the Lenca people of Río Blanco and to resolve the situations denounced by COPINH. We call on the national and international community to speak with the Honduran authorities and embassies to demand that they Honduran state take immediate action and prosecute those who are threatening the Lenca people with firearms.

·         Oscar Chinchilla, Attorney General - 504-2221-3099

·         Julian Pacheco, Secretary of Security – 504-9456-3699

·         National Human Rights Commission (CONADEH)

Tegucigalpa: 504-2231-0204, central@conadeh.hn

Intibucá: 504-2783-0039, intibuca@conadeh.hn

No more martyrs!

We demand immediate action before it is too late.

Berta lives on, COPINH is still strong!

With the ancestral strength of Berta, Lempira, Mota and Etempica, we raise our voices full of life, justice, dignity, freedom and peace!

From Río Blanco, Intibucá, June 21^st, 2017

FIRST HEARING IN CASE OF ASSASSINATION OF BERTA CACERES

Calling on national and international organizations: Preliminary hearing in case of Berta Cáceres set to begin

[Original en español]

The preliminary hearing for one of the most renowned human rights cases in Latin America in recent memory – the case of Berta Cáceres - will take place this Wednesday June 7th, in the First District Court in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

The hearing comes after two previous continuances due to failure to provide evidence to all parties to the judicial process and in the midst of numerous irregularities in the investigation, which has been under the exclusive control of the Attorney General.  

The purpose of this hearing is to formalize charges against four of the eight men detained thus far: Mariano Díaz Chávez (Major in the Armed Forces), Sergio Rodríguez (Technical and Environmental Manager for the DESA corporation), Douglas Bustillo (former Security Chief for the DESA corporation) and Elvin Heriberto Rápalo (the supposed hitman).

The purpose of the case brought by COPINH and the family of Berta Cáceres is to take a broader look than the case brought by the Attorney General and thereby demonstrate that the assassination is not an isolated incident carried out by individual interests but rather part of a systematic attack against COPINH and its general coordinator.

This crime is part of a plan to destabilize the organization by criminal structures along with private corporations, state agents, international financial organizations and hired criminals.

It is important to recall that a year and three months after the deplorable assassination of our sister Berta Cáceres Flores and despite heavy national and international pressure and ongoing mobilization, the Attorney General’s investigation is replete with deceit and irregularities, which are coming to light as a portion of the file is opened to supplement information from previous hearings.

COPINH calls on all national and international organizations to join us in taking action and echoing our outcry, since this hearing is part of a process full of irregularities that could lead to the case ending with impunity.

With the ancestral strength of Berta, Lempira, Mota, Iselaca and Etempica we raise our voices full of Life, Justice, Freedom, Dignity and Peace!

La Esperanza, Intibucá, June 5^th, 2017

BERTA LIVES ON, COPINH IS STRONG

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