Attempted violent eviction of campesinos in Lower Aguan

Members of the Authentic Movement for the Demands of the Campesinos of Aguan (MARCA) were victims of violent actions by the police, army and security guards in an attempt to evict them from the La Trinidad.

 

As of now, campesinos remain on the land. The opposition of the campesinos impeded the attempt eviction last night on lands in the possession of Rene Morales; however, we have learned from communication media and from testimonies collected directly from campesino leaders of this organization that repressive forces persist in the attempt to forcibly displace them, using heavy caliber weapons (M-60 among others) that have been used in other similar interventions.

 

 The campesinos that initiated the takeover at 7pm on Saturday have been surrounded by the repressive organs of the State and by security guards. The situation is critical for the campesinos who dennounce that they do not have access to food or water; and they are afraid for 9 of their colleagues (8 men and one woman) who at the present are considered to be disappeared.

 

It is unknown if there is a legal eviction order. Again, the military and security guards are participating in the operation with authorization from the police, which is the only institution permitted to intervene in these affairs.

 

Given these events, it is clear that the regime intends to demobilize the campesino organizations by subjection and exhausting their capacity to resist.  

 

The legal actions of MARCA are paralyzed as their case has been tied up in court for years.

 

There is no information on the part of the INA (National Agrarian Institute) about the legal situation of the lands in conflict (any investigation of the successive tract is not known), the legality of claims to the land, and the possession of lands in the hands of a foreigner such as Rene Morales, who according to the Constitution of the Republic cannot own land within 40 kilometers from the country’s borders or sea coasts.

 

A note from the directors of the cooperative of La Trinidad to the Coronel of the 15th Battalion, the Police Commissioner and the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation states "As you know we have been struggling with legal suits in the nations courts and tribunals since 1994 against the businessman Rene Morales (Oleoplamas de Centroamerica S.A. de C.V.) who in an illegal and unjust manner dispossessed us of our properties. We have taken possession of our lands but due to the corruption that exists in the tribunals of justice we have been evicted with legal orders that were obtained through corrupt decisions by prosecutors and judges….ultimately you, as police, army (15th Battalion), DGIC have lent yourselves to the commission of grave crimes such as the abuse of authority, since without a judicial order you have come to evict us in an illegal manner".

— From FIAN International – Honduras Section we reiterate that the agrarian conflict will persist as long as the regime does not make political decisions to resolve litigation and avoid continues conflict that will produce more loss of human lives.

Tegucigalpa, May 2, 2011

Translation – Voz de Abajo