©Amnesty International

Honduras: Deep failures in investigation into activist’s killing put many at risk

8 March 2016, 12:42 UTC

The catalogue of failures in the investigation into the death of a prominent Indigenous leader last week exposes the Honduran government’s absolute lack of willingness to protect human rights defenders in the country, said Amnesty International after a visit to the Central American country.

“Authorities in Honduras are saying one thing and doing another. They have told us they are committed to finding those responsible for Berta Cáceres’ death yet they have failed to follow the most basic lines of investigation, including the fact that Berta had been receiving serious death threats related to her human rights work for a very long time,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

“This shocking lack of action is sending the dangerous message that anyone can kill those who dare to confront the most powerful in society and get away with it. That authorities seem to be willing to trade lives for money.”

This shocking lack of action is sending the dangerous message that anyone can kill those who dare to confront the most powerful in society and get away with it. That authorities seem to be willing to trade lives for money.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
“The fact that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado is still refusing to meet with Berta Cáceres’ relatives, other human rights defenders and Amnesty International is simply inexcusable. Burying his head in the sand will only put the lives and safety of more activists in grave danger.”

Berta Cáceres, leader and co-founder of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Peoples Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), was shot dead on 3 March in her home in the town of La Esperanza, in the province of Intibucá, west Honduras. For years, she had vocally campaigned against the construction of the Agua Zarca dam in the community of Río Blanco.

So far, only members of COPINH were called to give testimony. Human rights activist Gustavo Castro, who was with Berta when she was killed, was prevented from leaving Honduras to his native Mexico even after giving testimony on several occasions and despite serious threats to his life.

None of the people who Berta denounced for their constant harassment and threats, including representatives of companies working in the area, have been called to give testimony.

According to Global Witness, Honduras is the most dangerous country in the world for activists working to defend Indigenous people’s right to land. Between 2002 and 2014, 111 human rights defenders were killed as punishment for their work – 12 in 2014 alone.

The fact that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado is still refusing to meet with Berta Cáceres’ relatives, other human rights defenders and Amnesty International is simply inexcusable. Burying his head in the sand will only put the lives and safety of more activists in grave danger.
Erika Guevara-Rosas.
In May 2015, Honduras passed a new law to protect human rights defenders and journalists. The law created a national protection system but to date its implementation has been utterly insufficient. According to official figures, only six human rights defenders and four journalists have been signup to the mechanism.

“Actions speak way louder than words. Having a program that barely benefits anyone is not going to resolve the human rights crisis Honduras is facing. Instead, authorities must ensure those who killed Berta Cáceres face justice and that all measures are put in place to protect human rights defenders across the country,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas.

An Amnesty International delegation in Honduras met with the Minister of Human Rights, Justice, Interior and Decentralization, as well as with high-level representatives of the Ministry of Security, Foreign Affairs, Attorney General Office and the Prosecutor’s Office. The team also meet with representatives of civil society.

Actions speak way louder than words. Authorities must ensure those who killed Berta Cáceres face justice and that all measures are put in place to protect human rights defenders across the country

Erika Guevara-Rosas.
Human Rights Defenders in Honduras

Honduras: Amnesty International's experts to meet authorities over attacks against activists (News, 7 March 2016)
Honduras: Brutal murder of indigenous leader, a tragedy waiting to happen (News, 3 March 2016)

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COPINH: URGENT DENUNCIATION, MARCH 6, 2016

The Council of Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) demands an investigation by independent and impartial experts to identify those physically responsible for the political assassination of Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores, General Coordinator of COPINH, as well as the intellectual authors of this crime. Specifically, we demand that the Honduran state sign an agreement with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) f to send independent experts to conduct a clean, impartial, and transparent investigation.

COPINH emphatically denounces the Honduran state’s manipulation of the investigation into the murder of our compañera Berta Cáceres Flores with the aim of criminalizing COPINH and repairing its own image, nationally and internationally. We denounce the state’s intention to obfuscate the political assassination of Berta Cáceres Flores by saying that it was a personal crime or a “crime of passion.” We denounce that the Honduran state is focusing its investigation on blaming members of COPINH.

We denounce the clumsy handling of the investigation, including rejecting the family’s request to the Public Ministry to have Berta’s autopsy performed in the presence of independent forensic experts. Investigators’ also seized the vehicle and shoes of Tomas Gómez, Coordinator of the organization, without any justification.

We denounce the Honduran state’s detention for 48 hours of Aureliano Molina Villanueva, a member of COPINH, despite the fact that witnesses state Aureliano was in San Francisco de Lempira, two hours from La Esperanza, at the time of the murder.

It is clear that the Honduran state—the very state that sought to criminalize Berta Cáceres, the very state that gave an order for her arrest, and the very state that persecuted and threatened her—holds responsibility for her assassination and cannot be in charge of investigating itself. The state that persecuted Berta Cáceres for confronting the country’s economic and political elites clearly intends to manipulate the investigation in order to continue criminalizing and maligning her.

We know with certainty that the murder of Berta Cáceres was a political assassination meant to silence a national leader in the struggle against the neoliberal development model, based on destruction and death, imposed by the Honduran state. We hold the Honduran state and the political and economic elites responsible for seeking to silence Berta Cáceres’ struggle in defense of the environment, the indigenous Lenca people, and especially the Gualcarque River where the DESA company is trying for a second time to build an illegal and illegitimate mega-hydroelectric dam.

We denounce that early in the morning on March 2, the day of Berta Cáceres’ murder, witnesses saw hit men (sicarios) from DESA in a blue Ford 150 vehicle, in Siguatepeque near the turn for La Esperanza, and heard them speaking ill of Berta Cáceres. We denounce that on February 20, 2016, during COPINH’s protest against the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam, the Vice-Mayor of San Francisco de Ojuera (who is collaborating with DESA to promote the dam project) sentenced Berta Cáceres to death. On February 16, 2016, armed men followed Berta Cáceres and other COPINH members as they left Río Blanco, following them in a vehicle from Plan de Encima to Zacapa. And on February 25, during the forced eviction of COPINH Lenca families in Jarcia, Guinse, Intibuca, by the police and military, a member of the National Direction of Criminal Investigation (DGIC in Spanish) police unit harassed Berta Cáceres and told her that they wouldn’t be responsible if anything happened to her.

Berta received constant death threats for her work in defense of the Lenca people, including in the days leading up to her murder. We reiterate the denunciation made by COPINH on February 20, that DESA has contracted known criminals to work as paramilitary guards. One of them was involved in the murder of Bernardo Pérez and, in late December 2015, was detained for illegal possession of firearms but later set free after being openly supported with funds from DESA’s Chief of Security for Agua Zarca, Jorge Ávila. We reiterate our denunciation of the collaboration between DESA and the Honduran state to threaten the Lenca people, and we denounce the collaboration among private guards, police, military, and TIGRES (special forces) deployed in the area where the Agua Zarca dam is planned.

If the Public Prosecutor’s office really wants to investigate the murder of Berta Cáceres, they should confiscate and investigate DESA’s vehicles, specifically the blue Ford 150 that was seen carrying DESA hit men on the day of Berta’s assassination.

The Honduran state has prohibited Gustavo Castro Soto—who was a witness to the murder and also received a gunshot injury during the attack—from leaving the country. Gustavo is the Coordinator of Other Worlds/Friends of the Earth Mexico. He has already given his testimony to investigators. This morning he was stopped from boarding a plan to return to Mexico and we denounce the threats to his safety. We denounce that he is being brought back to La Esperanza, where his safety is in danger.

We demand an investigation of the economic and political elites behind the assassination of Berta Cáceres Flores, which will require independent and impartial experts.

We demand justice for Berta Cáceres Flores! We demand that her real killers be found! We demand that the state of Honduras stop manipulating the investigation and sign an agreement with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights immediately, so that they may start their impartial and transparent investigation.

We demand the withdrawal of DESA from the Gualcarque River and financial institutions such as FMO and Finnfund should also withdraw their funding and support from the Agua Zarca project.

We demand an end to the criminalization of COPINH and respect for the physical security of Tomas Gómez, Coordinator of COPINH, the rest of the members of the General Coordination team of COPINH, and all the members of COPINH in Río Blanco and in other communities.

We demand an end to the murder, persecution, militarization, and criminalization of all defenders of the Honduran people.

We reaffirm our struggle in defense of the environment and the Lenca people.

We reaffirm our defense of the Gualcarque River.

WITH THE ANCESTRAL FORCE OF LEMPIRA, MOTA, AND ENTEMPICA, WE RAISE OUR VOICES FILLED WITH LIFE, JUSTICE, DIGNITY, AND PEACE.

BERTA CÁCERES LIVES!

COPINH

(translated by Tanya Kerssen)

 

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Honduras pide apoyo de la ONU en caso de Berta Cáceres

Energy Company is Behind Berta Caceres' Death, Says Daughter 

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Energy Company is Behind Berta Caceres' Death, Says Daughter   This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:   "http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Energy-Company-is-Behind-Berta-Caceres-Death-Says-Daughter-nbsp-20160306-0013.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

Energy Company is Behind Berta Caceres' Death, Says Daughter

    Women protest the killing the Berta Caceres next to graffiti that reads "Berta lives, the fight continues."
    Women protest the killing the Berta Caceres next to graffiti that reads "Berta lives, the fight continues." | Photo: Reuters

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Olivia Zuniga Caceres said that the Honduran state is complicit in her mother's killing as retribution for her environmental activism. 

One of the daughters of Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres, an Indigenous leader who was killed earlier this week, said one of the hydroelectric companies her mother had been protesting is behind her death. 

“This is a political crime. We've said it and we vehemently deny that this was a crime of passion,” Olivia Zuniga Caceres told Radio HRN Saturday. 

According to Zuniga Caceres, the company DESA-SINOHYDRO, a Honduran-Chinese joint venture that has been planning to build a hydroelectric dam in the country, is to blame for the activist's death.

 

GALLERY: Assassination of Berta Caceres Sparks Outrage in Honduras 

DESA-SINOHYDRO aims to develop the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in Rio Blanco, a community in the western province of Intibuca. Caceres had long been protesting the dam and blocking its development, and received numerous threats from the company.  

“We hold that company and the Agua Zarca project responsible ... because she (Berta Caceres) always denounced systematic threats by that company,” Berta's daughter said.

Caceres was shot dead in her home in the early hours of Thursday morning.

While Honduran authorities claim they are investigating the murder, police reports initially labeled the attack an armed robbery despite repeated threats and the fact that her fellow leader Tomas Garcia was killed at the hands of the Honduran military in 2013.

ANALYSIS: Do Feminists Support Coups? Honduran Women on Hillary Clinton 

Referring to the investigation of her mother's killing, Zuniga Caceres said she was aware that “there are several people detained, but there are no answers, there are no masterminds or perpetrators that tell us with any certainty who is responsible for the crime.”

Zuniga Caceres also added that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was “a participant, accomplice and culprit in this political crime,” adding that her family plans to sue the Honduran government for the killing. They will also call on international investigators to be involved in the probe.   

“President Juan Orlando Hernandez, let me tell you: They killed Berta Caceres, but your government is dying,” said Zuniga Caceres.

WATCH: Honduras: Did Security Forces Fail in the Death of Berta Caceres

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: 
 "http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Energy-Company-is-Behind-Berta-Caceres-Death-Says-Daughter-nbsp-20160306-0013.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

Honduras: Corre la sangre indígena del Pueblo Lenca en su lucha contra el proyecto de la central hidroeléctrica que ahogará sus tierras

Honduras: Corre la sangre indígena del Pueblo Lenca en su lucha contra el proyecto de la central hidroeléctrica que ahogará sus tierras

Honduras: Calls Grow to Protect Witness in Berta Caceres Murder This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: "http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Honduras-Calls-to-Protect-Witness-to-Berta-Caceres-Murder-Grow-20160306-0040.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

News > World 
Honduras: Calls Grow to Protect Witness in Berta Caceres Murder

    Gustavo Castro was wounded during the attack in which they killed Honduran environmentalist Berta Caceres.
    Gustavo Castro was wounded during the attack in which they killed Honduran environmentalist Berta Caceres. | Photo: laprensa.hn

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The night Berta Caceres was killed, another activist escaped from the attackers.

Various human rights groups accused Honduran authorities of impeding Mexican activist Gustavo Castro Soto’s return to his country, where he is seeking protection until he testifies as the only witness of the assassination of Indigenous leader Berta Caceres. 

“We demand the Honduran state to immediately condemn the murder of Berta Caceres and to protect Gustavo Petro, another internationally-renown activist, who was injured during the events of Thursday's dawn,” said Friends of the Earth in a communique.

Castro Soto was heading toward the international airport of Tegucigualpa Sunday, in order to return to Mexico, but Honduran officials refused to let him fly around 5 a.m. local time, informed the organization Otros Mundos Chiapas – founded by Castro Soto.

RELATED: Energy Company is Behind Berta’s Death, Says Daughter 

The group added that Castro Soto's life was still in danger, as he became the only witness in the investigation over Caceres' murder, and that the Mexican Embassy in Honduras even had to drive him back to the Embassy in the official car in order to protect him. 

The reason why Honduran state officials would not let him leave the country remains unknown. 

Otros Mundos Chiapas, a human rights group, convoked a press conference on Monday on the issue.

Berta Caceres, the coordinator and co-founder of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras, or COPIHN, was killed by unknown assailants early Thursday morning at 1:00 a.m. local time inside her home in La Esperanza in the western province of Intibuca. 

Caceres was leader of the Lenca Indigenous community and was a staunch human rights defender. She won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015. Her assassination has rapidly sent shock waves across the country and sparked outrage over her death.
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This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: 
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“Utilizaron a mi hija para hacer proselitismo”: padre de Berta Cáceres

 http://www.laprensa.hn/sucesos/937107-410/utilizaron-a-mi-hija-para-hacer-proselitismo-padre-de-berta-c%C3%A1ceres