Berta's Family Accuses the Government of Complicity in her Death

OPEN LETTER: WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE PART OF THE CRIME

[Versión original en español]

Family members of Berta Càceres condemn the prosecutor’s office for protecting the murderers. There is a financial connection between the director of the prosecution and the DESA lawyers. They believe that the Honduran state knew of the plan to assassinate indigenous leader Berta Càceres.

WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT YOU ALL ARE PART OF THE CRIME AND THAT YOU ARE HIDING THE INVESTIGATION FROM THE VICTIMS TO GUARANTEE IMPUNITY

Mr. President of the Republic, Juan Orlando Hernández,
Mr. Attorney General of the Republic, Oscar Chinchilla,

The family members of Berta Cáceres, COPINH, the Grassroots Social Movement Platform of Honduras (PMSPH) and the Articulación Popular Berta Cáceres, with Honduran society and the International community listening, writes to you to express and demand the following:

It has been almost a month since the crime against Berta Cáceres and Gustavo Castro. Up until now, what we know with certainty is that you as principal figures within the Honduran state and government have not fulfilled your responsibility to protect Berta’s life, despite her repeated denunciations of death threats and the fact that since 2009 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights told you that she was facing serious and real danger and asked for you to protect her. That means that you are already responsible for this crime and we hope that you will one day be brought before a court of law. 

It is incumbent upon you to explain and clarify several events that have taken place in the aftermath of the crime against Berta and Gustavo Castro, but this should be done first to the victims and then to others as you see fit. Among the main points that should be clarified are:

• Who came up with the hypothesis (the only one that you have made public), that the crime against Berta is related to a personal conflict or COPINH’s internal affairs?
• What actions have been taken with regards to the public officials who have failed or fallen short in their obligation to protect Berta Cáceres?
• What actions have been taken against police, prosecutors, witnesses and other people who in the first hours after the crime had already resolved the case, with egregious falsehoods, and insisted on accusing anybody in order to ensure impunity and reduce the National and International pressure that the crime provoked?
• What actions have been taken with regards to the manipulation of the crime scene and the investigative process that has been publicly condemned by numerous parties, including the victim, Gustavo Castro?
• Why do you insist on keeping Gustavo Castro in the country and violating his human rights despite collaboration with the investigation and willingness to continue collaborating from his home in Mexico?
• Why have you not attended to the requests made by the daughters, son, mother and other family members of Berta?
• Why don’t you accept an independent commission directed by the IACHR, to help with the investigation of the crime?
• Why do you refuse the active participation of the victims in the investigation via their legal representatives?
• What are you hiding, what are those who you are protecting afraid of, why do you insist on continuing to violate the rights of the victims? 
• What role does the FBI play in the investigation of the crime? In what ways has this body intervened?
• Who are and what is the experience of the people who are supposedly collaborating with the Honduran authorities?
• Are these FBI agents participating in the investigation to assure impunity for DESA, for USAID, for the U.S. Embassy in Honduras and for you as the government?
• What are and how do you explain the terms of the cooperation agreement between USAID and DESA, the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project developer and principle suspect in conceiving of and carrying out the crime against Berta? 
• How will you explain the degree to which the investigation is independent, when the current director of prosecutors, Arturo Duarte, who is an active participant in the investigation, has been a partner in the law firm that represents DESA and that made accusations towards Berta in the La Esperanza courts in 2013?
• Do you think that you can hide the fact that DESA’s lawyer, Juan Sánchez Cantillano, has been a partner and a personal friend of the current director of prosecutors Arturo Duarte and that this clearly compromises and lends to the manipulation of the investigation?

Mr. President and Mr. Attorney General,

Your attitude and the above-mentioned concerns give us reason to believe that you not only ceased to protect Berta, but that you may have known of the plan to assassinate her and today are part of the plan to ensure this crime remains in impunity. That is to say that all of the state’s actions and omissions with regards to the case of Berta Cáceres lead us to the assertion that there is a clear will on the part of the State to ensure that justice will not be served.

We want to reaffirm that, as victims, the family, COPINH, the PMSPH and the Articulación Popular Berta Cáceres, we are determined to seek and obtain truth and justice in this crime. For that reason we urge you to resolve the requests that the victims have already placed before you on your desks:

• Accept the intervention of an Independent Commission of international experts guided by the IACHR to contribute actively to the investigation and clarification of the crime against Berta and Gustavo Castro.
• Respect the rights of the victims to participate actively in the investigation already being carried out by the Attorney General’s office
• Respect and guarantee the life and other rights of the victims, of COPINH and of the legal team that accompanies them, in particular by ensuring that they can continue with their legitimate defense of the human rights of indigenous peoples.
• Respect the right of victim Gustavo Castro to return to his country, from where he will continue to contribute to the investigation as necessary
• Cancel once and for all the concession of the Gualcarque River to the DESA corporation, along with all other illegitimate concessions affecting the Honduran territory.
• We demand that you cease your campaign against Berta’s family, COPINH and the Honduran social movement. It is you who are responsible for the economic and human disaster that the country is living through; it is you, along with the political and economic class that has brought our country to the pinnacle of corruption, violence and ineptitude.
• Finally, we reaffirm our unbreakable commitment to continue demanding and building a Honduras where justice and dignity prevail for all victims, which is to say, for the vast majority of Hondurans. 

March, 2016
BERTA CÁCERES LIVES

No Resting or Forgetting

POSITION OF THE NATIONAL NETWORK OF WOMEN DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS IN HONDURAS – NO RESTING OR FORGETTING…

[Original en español]

Berta Cáceres, our sister compañera from COPINH, our ally in the effort to build an anti-patriarchal practice within our territorial struggles against capitalism and racism, the one we sought out to shape and build this network that links us as rights defenders and feminists, Berta our compita with her own unique expressions to describe danger level with dog metaphors, the one who backed down discouragement by saying no se agüite - “don’t give in,” Berta Cáceres the one who called upon us to re-found ourselves first, to live out a different kind of power starting with ourselves and our organizations and communities, a power different than the formal one we know, one that is like she was, against the system. All of those Bertas who are really one, who are us, now, we renew her commitment through the struggle of COPINH, sparking many actions through the National Network of Women Defending Human Rights in Honduras, part of the Platform for the Grassroots Social Movement of Honduras, PMSPH.

This past March 17th-18th the streets of Tegucigalpa filled with color, chants, spirituality, drums, and cries for justice during the “Berta Cáceres Vive” National Indigenous Peoples Mobilization. The Garífuna, Lenca, Pech, Tawaka, Miskito, Maya-Chortí, Tolupán peoples joined together and made their presence felt in front of numerous government offices, only a few of which even sent out a low-level official. We denounce that, rather than offering the answers they owe for illegal water and mining concessions, for impositions in violation of ILO Convention 169, they lashed out and claimed that we would be liable for the withdrawal of financial backing by international organizations. They refused to admit that it is their state policy of exterminating human rights defenders, youth and poor women that truly makes this country unsafe for those of us who live in it. That it is the fault of their own disgusting attempt to sell the country off to the highest bidder.

The heat of this concrete city gleamed on the faces of the peoples making the pilgrimage through its tree-less streets, past its public officials. “The trees and breeze are gone,” said Miriam Miranda,

a genuine leader of OFRANEH and PMSPH. “The trees and breeze are gone, but there are people resisting here, in this other recuperated territory,” were her provocative words at the National Autonomous University of Honduras where the indigenous peoples entered triumphantly as the national heroes that they are to applause, cries of emotion, memories of Berta on everyone’s minds, present as always and as never before, her face painted on the walls, on banners, in chants, on the bodies of the young women and men who understand that their studies should translate into a commitment to struggle.

Through these days of mobilization and continuing through March 20^th we organized and received a visit from a high level International Delegation with participation of representatives from the European Parliament, from Argentina’s Plaza de Mayo mothers of the disappeared, from the Mexican congress, from Jubilee South, Diálogo 2000, Grito de los Excluidos, environmental networks and social movements for water and land, key figures from different struggles and opposition parties, making up a group of people who came together with the Honduran grassroots social movement to demand justice for Berta Cáceres. The International Delegation was not received by most of the governmental offices with which appointments had been requested from the Offices of the European Parliament in Brussels, the first expression of their lack of political will to discover the truth about the killing of our compañera.

The Delegation’s presence and its commitment to follow up on the demand for justice are extremely important. Their Preliminary Report clearly expresses concern about the serious lack of accountability, the lack of an independent judicial system, the lack of respect for international law displayed by the mega-project concessions and the lack of legal justification to place compañero Gustavo Castro in danger, to not treat him as a victim and witness in the case.

The National Network of Women Defending Human Rights in Honduras denounces the extreme vulnerability of leaders and community members of Río Blanco organized as part of COPINH, who, after the assassination of Berta Cáceres, were dispersed by the DESA corporation’s private security as they walked around the Agua Zarca dam facilities and were later stopped and stripped of their bus by police as they mobilized from their community to Tegucigalpa to participate in the National Mobilization of Indigenous Peoples.

We call upon our people in general, upon the grassroots social organizations, upon the peoples of the world in solidarity with struggles for defense of indigenous territorial stewardship, to participate in the action that will take place in Río Blanco, on the banks of the Gualcarque River, to carry out a spiritual ceremony in memory of Berta Cáceres on the 22^nd Anniversary of COPINH’s founding, Sunday March 27th.

Let the sacred waters of the Gualcarque River continue to run, let people build territorial autonomy, let us defend the right to defend rights.

Tegucigalpa, March 22^nd, 2016.

National Network of Women in Defense of Human Rights

redefensorashn@gmail.com
http://redefensorashn.blogspot.com/ 
http://comunicacionredefensoras@gmail.com
http://www.redradio1.caster.fm
tw: @redefensorashn 
FB: Red Nacional de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos en Honduras

Honduran State Impeding Justice in Assassination of Berta Cáceres

Statement from Berta's daughters, son and COPINH

Tegucigalpa, March 17th, 2016. 15 days after the assassination of Berta Cáceres Flores, the Honduran authorities have yet to hear the voices of those of us who demand justice via an independent and impartial investigation.

This past March 6th, the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IACHR) issued protective measures to safeguard our lives and well-being as Berta’s family members and members of the Civil Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), and also to guarantee us the right to defend human rights free from threats to our safety. At the same time, the IACHR asked for an effective investigation of the assassination of our leader, the defender of the Lenca people, the common good and our natural resources.

In search of consensus to implement the protective measures issued by the IACHR, we, Berta’s daughters and son, COPINH and our legal representatives, have participated in meetings with the Secretary of Public Safety, senior leadership of the National Civil Police and the secretary and subsecretaries of Human Rights, Justice, Government and Decentralization. We have presented written, concrete demands regarding the investigation of the assassination, our physical protection and the necessary measures to stop the ongoing violence against the Lenca people. Thus far we have not received any formal response from the authorities regarding our proposals.

Likewise, we asked for meetings with the President of the Republic, Juan Orlando Hernández, and with the Chief National Prosecutor, Oscar Fernando Chinchilla, neither of which has even responded to us.

Regarding the investigative process, we appeal to the Honduran government to request technical assistance from the IACHR, forming a group of people with experience and a recognized history of criminal investigation to provide technical support for internal investigations and be empowered to actively participate in all due dilligence, as well as suggest corrections and issue condemnations, among other functions. This, we believe, would guarantee a transparent, independent and impartial investigation that upholds the right to truth and justice.

On their end, the Secretary of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation, as well as the National Public Prosecutor, put out press releases about the counsel that will be provided by the United Nationals High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) through its representatives in Honduras. According to the Public Prosecutor, under the framework of said support, they would be asking for that body to “certify the transparency and strict adherence” of the prosecutor’s office to its constitutional and legal mandate during the investigative process. They also ask for its “accompaniment to confirm the objectivity and impartiality of the entire investigative process.”

In light of these public statements by the authorities, this past March 16th Berta’s daughters and COPINH representatives participated in a meeting with Ms. Silvia Lavagnoli, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) in Honduras and Mr. Félix Gómez, functionary of that same international body, in order to learn about the extent of their participation in the investigations. They expressed that their mandate does not include carrying out a criminal investigation and that they do not have the experience to do so and will not directly participate in the process. They clarified that they will be observing from a human rights perspective and from that lens will formulate recommendations to the State.

It is troubling that the Honduran government, nonetheless, seeks to confuse the national and international community about the nature of the UNHCR’s participation in this case. It is clear that this international body is not competent to participate actively in an independent and impartial investigation of Berta’s assassination but the State insists on diverting attention in order to avoid the arrival of an international presence that could in fact carry out that objective.

We also are aware that the participation of authorities linked to the U.S. government (the FBI) will be limited and, beyond that, we do not consider this a substitute for our demands of independence and impartiality.

The Honduran authorities are not listening to our demands for justice. Because of this, we denounce a lack of political will to guarantee an investigation that is transparent, independent and consistent with the highest of international standards. It is evident that the official discourse is detached from reality. Every day that passes we watch with pain and impotence as justice continues to lose the battle against impunity due to the State’s apathy.

We publiclly declare our lack of trust in the work being done by the Attorney General and we hold the authorities responsible for impeding our right to participate in the investigative process.

Finally, we reiterate our demand for #JusticeForBerta through the participation of a group of independent, experienced, international experts. 

Olivia, Bertha, Laura and Salvador Zúniga Cáceres

Civil Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH)

With the accomaniment and legal representation of the Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y la Justicia and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)

Why We Mobilize with Berta Today - OFRANEH

March 17th, 2016 marks the beginning of a massive mobilization spearheaded by indigenous and black Hondurans and accompanied by the rest of the Honduran social movements aimed at shutting down Honduras's capital city of Tegucigalpa until demands are met for justice in the assassination of Berta Cáceres. One of the primary conveners is the Fraternal Black Organization of Honduras, OFRANEH, which has led the struggle for years amongst Honduras's Garífuna population and has worked closely with Berta and COPINH for many years. The following is their statement on the purpose of the mobilization and encampment that just began. [Original en español]

Why we mobilize with Berta today

Berta is not dead. Her spirit lives in all of the rivers of Honduras and the world that are threatened by a backwards idea of development that favors the blood-thirsty political and business elite, whose antiquated vision calls the death of rivers “clean energy.” We have walked alongside Berta on many paths and the struggle to defend our territories and cultures in the face of the devastating aggression of neoliberalism has been one of our most important bonds. They want to convert the natural resources on indigenous lands into commodities to be auctioned off, without any consent from our peoples, who they see as just statistics that can be dismissed.

Honduras since the coup d’état has become a political laboratory, where the ruling elite have used hideous techniques of social containment and control to get rid of us and maintain their fierce grip on power, making use of the intentionally-provoked violence and bloodshed that is embedded in our society. The execution of Berta is a desperate act by a villainous government that has been unable to neutralize her spirit of struggle or defense of the Lenca people’s territory from the bankers and business people who traffic in death.

Berta’s struggle was rooted in the defense of the Lenca territory and culture and the empowerment of women.

The central axis of her activities revolved around the Right to Prior, Free and Informed Consultation. It is a right that has been scorned by the various government administrations, which haven’t thought twice about their attempts to give away territory and put our cultures up on the auction block.

The assassination of Berta has corroborated her own denunciations of the persecution that the “authorities” and executives of the DESA Corporation carried out against her for years. Now it seems that her death is being used as a pretext to intensify the strategy aimed at destroying COPINH and annihilating its leaders.

We Demand:

• An exhaustive investigation by an independent international panel into the assassination of Berta Cáceres
• The immediate withdrawal of the DESA Corporation from Lenca territory and the cancelling of all concessions for hydroelectric dams, mining projects, extraction of hydrocarbons, and Special Development Regions on indigenous lands
• Demilitarization of indigenous lands
• Unconditional freedom for our brother and compañero Gustavo Castro
• Immediate passage of the Law for Prior, Free and Informed Consultation, created by the Indigenous People’s Observatory with direct collaboration by Berta Cáceres
• Nullification of unilateral decrees regarding extractive and hydroelectric projects in indigenous territories
• Re-working of the Alliance for Prosperity, which is a false solution to the migration conflict
• Recognition of COPINH as the organization responsible for the oversight of its territories.

Berta lives on and the struggle continues.

Sambo Creek, March 17^th, 2016

Fraternal Black Organization of Honduras, OFRANEH

Continua la movilización de los pueblosEl pueblo Garifuna realiza ceremonia en las cercanías de casa presidencial.

Posted by Red Nacional de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos en Honduras on Thursday, March 17, 2016

Action at Honduran Consulate in Chicago for Berta Cáceres / Manifestación frente consulado hondureño de Chicago para Berta

Video and photos of 3/7/2016 action for Berta at Honduran consulate of Chicago

Video y fotos de manifestación frente consulado hondureño de Chicago el 7 de marzo, 2016