Tag: Human Rights

By Honduras Accompaniment Project

Ecumenical Vigil in Front of the US Embassy in Honduras

Tegucigalpa.- An “Ecumenical Vigil for political prisoners and for those who are politically persecuted Honduras” was held in front of the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa. An international religious delegation from the United States participated in the vigil which was organized by the Convergence against Continuism and the Committee for the Liberation of Political Prisoners. Seventy five people participated in the delegation including religious leaders and migrants’ rights defenders.The international delegation, which ends its visit to the country on March 24th, has visited different regions where they learned about the reality that communities resisting extractive industries are facing and the human rights violations that are forcing people to flee their homes and country.The Coordinator of the Committee of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras, (Cofadeh) and member of the coordination of the Convergence against Continuism stated, “We are here to tell the government of the United States to suspend economic assistance for security and defense because that last thing our country has is security and defense. We do not want more militarization because it only leaves us with more pain.” She said that they had come to the US Embassy to protest because “the dictatorship of Juan Orlando Hernández has consolidated due to the determination of the government of the United States in our country”.Reverend Deborah Lee, Executive Director of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity said, “There is great strength among you here, in the streets, in the countryside, in the valleys and in the mountains; you inspire us and we will take your strong message to our Government. We are here to learn from the people, not from what the government says; we are here to listen to your histories and testimonies, which we will take to the leaders of our government because together, at your side, we can amplify your voices in the United States.”Read the full article:http://defensoresenlinea.com/ecumenical-vigil-in-front-of-the-us-embassy…

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By Honduras Accompaniment Project

So that it never happens again.

Journalist Giorgio Trucchi interviews 82 year old Hernán Guevara Gutiérrez, 82 years old, a survivor of the “House of Terror”. Under the National Security doctrine in the 80’s, Hernán was taken to a house in Amarateca, just outside of the capital, “property of a high ranking military officer that had been converted into a place of torture and death. That house now belongs to Cofadeh, and they want to convert it into a Museum of Memory. Cofadeh continues to demand justice for 184 disappeared in Honduras and for thousands of people who were murdered in the 70’s and 80’s. The impunity is total and absolute. Honduras was the first state to be condemned by the Inter American Court of Human Rights for the forced disappearance of social movement leaders.” At the conclusion of the interview, Hernan states, “This history marked me forever. The saddest thing is to see that almost nothing has changed. What is happening today is practically the same as what happened during those years.” See the full interview.
http://defensoresenlinea.com/so-that-it-never-happens-again/

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By Honduras Accompaniment Project

UN Report on Honduras registers concern for militarization and human rights violations

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras presented its report for 2018. The OHCHR in Honduras reiterated concern regarding the militarization of public security and impunity for crimes during the post-electoral repression. The report highlighted a “pattern of criminalization of human rights defenders, including indigenous, campesino and environmental activists.” To read the full report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HY84yNMEhw3JfHiNTB434eS_d6pBH8o1/view

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By Honduras Accompaniment Project

Rep. Johnson Commemorates the Death of Berta Cáceres

March 1, 2019 Press ReleaseTomorrow, we commemorate the death of renowned Honduran indigenous leader and environmental activist Berta Cáceres. Three years ago, Berta Cáceres was murdered in her home by people connected to the state security forces at the behest of dam construction company DESA. Berta was a champion in the fight against the invasion of indigenous lands by corporate entities, and a co-founder of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) – an organization dedicated to the defense of the indigenous Lenca people. Her death was a tragedy that rattled both her community and advocates worldwide. On this third anniversary of Berta’s murder, Congress must redouble its efforts to ensure that U.S. funds are not going to foreign governments who use our aid to silence labor, human rights, and indigenous activists with their military and police forces. I stand alongside the countless advocates and champions fighting on the front lines every day for the protections of Hondurans, and as a Member of Congress, I will continue standing with them to achieve a better, safer Honduras. ### https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-johnson-co…

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By Nicaragua Libre

Newsletter – December 2018

“The Friendship Office stands with partners in the region in affirming the need to search for peaceful solutions and in rejecting U.S. threats, sanctions and intervention. For Nicaragua, this includes opposing economic and military intervention and the Nica Act, sponsored by the same right wing extremists that supported the coup in Honduras.”Please see the full Newsletter here.

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By Honduras Accompaniment Project

COFADEH ALERT: VIOLENT EVICTION OF THE ENCAMPMENT FOR LIFE IN GUAPINOL

COFADEH calls for demilitarization of communities following the violent eviction of the peaceful, Encampment for Life in El Guapinol, where people have sustained 88 days of peaceful resistance to mining operations that will impact a critical watershed supplying 14 communities with water. “1500 members of the Army, Cobras, the National Preventative Police and paramilitaries arrived in a violent manner, heavily armed with rifles, shields, clubs and tear gas bombs to confront a defenseless and peaceful population.” See the full alert and take action here:

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By Honduras Accompaniment Project

COFADEH ALERT: Hate Campaigns precede death

The Committee of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras issued an ALERT warning of a pattern of de-legitimization and hate campaigns targeting human rights defenders, journalists and social movement leaders throughout the country. COFADEH warns that hate campaigns sow fear, undermine efforts to promote human rights and often precede the murder of leaders as in the case of Berta Caceres. See the full ALERT here.

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By Honduras Accompaniment Project

Dr. Dana Frank publishes a new book: The Long Honduran Night

Dr. Dana Frank, historian, journalist, author and colleague has published an important new book. The Long Honduran Night, is a story of resistance, repression, and US policy in Honduras in the aftermath of a violent military coup.This powerful narrative recounts the tumultuous time in Honduras that witnessed then-President Manuel Zelaya deposed by a coup in June 2009, told through first-person experiences and layered with deeper political analysis. It weaves together two perspectives; first, the broad picture of Honduras since the coup, including the coup itself, its continuation in two repressive regimes, and secondly, the evolving Honduran resistance movement, and a new, broad solidarity movement in the United States.Although it is full of terrible things, this not a horror story: this narrative directly counters mainstream media coverage that portrays Honduras as a pit of unrelenting awfulness, in which powerless sobbing mothers cry over bodies in the morgue. Rather, it’s about sobering challenges and the inspiring collective strength with which people face them.TO ORDER: contact dana@haymarketbooks.org

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By Honduras Accompaniment Project

9 Years After the Coup, an Interview with Berta Oliva

“What we see today is the continuation of the 2009 coup de ’tat in which the national elites, transnational capital and corrupt policies carry forward the same project of dispossession and looting that has destroyed the institutions of this country. Nine years later, Honduras continues to be submerged in a deep political, economic, social and institutional crisis that is far from being resolved. The objective was to stop the opening of Honduras towards progressive governments and movements in Latin America and to take absolute control of the country, its institutions and resources.” Read full interview – attached.

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