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El asesinato de Berta Cáceres/Berta Cáceres' Assassination
General Coordinator/Coordinador, COPINH, Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras                      bertacaceres.org

Remembering the Heroism of Activist Berta Cáceres Four Years After Her Assassination: an Interview With Her Daughter  3/2/2020 Counterpunch: "Three years later, on March 2, 2016, gunmen broke into the home of Berta Cáceres and assassinated her. These men, and some of their immediate handlers, have been sentenced to prison terms that will run from 30 years to 50 years. Evidence presented in the court—including phone logs and WhatsApp conversations—shows quite conclusively that these assassins, many veterans of the Honduran army, acted on the orders of the executives of DESA. None of the owners of DESA, many of whom were on these WhatsApp chats, have been charged with the crime."

Dutch development bank funded projects tied to murder, land-grabs: report  10/15/2019 NL Times: "Dutch development bank FMO funded a number of projects involved in serious abuses, Trouw reports based on its own research. The newspaper identified at least seven projects that FMO funded in which the companies involved were connected to murder, intimidation, environmental damage, arbitrary arrests and land grabbing. The Trouw investigation is based on interviews with researchers, lawyers, civil society organizations, independent complaint committees and FMO itself. The bank, which is intended to stimulate economic growth in developing countries, is 51 percent owned by the Dutch state. During the construction of dams in Honduras and Panama, projects FMO was involved in as financier, opponents of the projects were murdered. The director of the Honduran company building the dam was arrested for such a murder. In Panama, protests against the dam were crushed by the local armed forces, resulting in multiple deaths and many injuries."

El asesinato de Bertha Cáceres: El gerente de la empresa acusado de ser el autor intelectual  10/4/2019 Dick Emanuelsson: "El señor Castillo es egresado de Westpoint, la misma universidad donde los agentes de la CIA, Inteligencia Militar y los diplomáticos estadounidenses son preparados para sus misiones en el mundo. Ha creado o ha participado en la creación de diez empresas en Honduras, además dos en Panamá. Incluso tiene a través de ellas nexos con el narcotráfico, denuncia Fernández."

Ambientalistas hondureños, los más vulnerables en América Latina  9/26/2019 Jornada: "En la mesa de diálogo Pueblos Indígenas y la Defensa del Medio Ambiente como Patrimonio Ancestral, Laura Zúñiga, hija de Berta Cáceres, ambientalista asesinada hace tres años en Honduras, señaló que los activistas sufren constantes agresiones. En el caso de su madre recordó que la mataron por organizar protestas contra megaproyectos que violaban los derechos ambientales y la tierra de las comunidades locales. Además realizar movilizaciones indígenas contra la construcción de una hidroeléctrica en el río Gualcarque, en territorio del pueblo amerindio lenca."

A deadly fight to preserve Honduran water ways, land  9/26/2019 Bay State Banner: "“The political system — the capitalist, patriarchal, neoliberal system — hasn’t gotten the pleasure of killing me yet,” she said. Lemus said many of her neighbors in Honduras have emigrated to the United States and Europe to escape state-sanctioned violence. “That’s why there are so many people fleeing our country,” she said. “It’s not because of gangs. It’s because we have a government that is giving our territory away.”"

Mother of assassinated activist Berta Cáceres speaks out against US-backed Honduran dictatorship  9/21/2019 Grayzone: "And four years have already passed and there still is not justice. Because only the people who shot her are prisoners, those who executed her. But on the other hand, those who paid them and gave them orders, they enjoy all the privileges of this incompetent government of [President] Juan Orlando [Hernández]."

Honduran Women’s Manifesto of Rebellion  7/3/2019 Encuentro de Mujeres: "In the rebel Garífuna territory of Vallecito, Iriona, Colón, Honduras, surrounded by elements of nature that nourish life and hope, 1,200 women and approximately 350 children gathered and embraced each other with life and words, arriving from Choluteca, El Paraíso, Copan, Olancho, Valle, Francisco Morazán, Gracias a Dios, Colón, Yoro, Cortes, Atlántida, Intibucá, Lempira, La Paz, Comayagua, and Santa Bárbara.We felt ancestors Margarita Murillo, María Enriqueta Matute, Berta Cáceres, Magdalena Morales and aunt Macucu with us in all of our actions as spirit, as thought and as strength. We felt the energies of our peoples, of the Tolupán, Lenca, Misquito, Garífuna, Pech, Maya Chortí and all other peoples in struggle, coming together after ten years of the coup d’état and the resistance of the Honduran people, of the women of Honduras."

7 Convicted In Assassination Of Honduran Environmental Activist  11/30/2018 NPR: "A Honduran court has convicted seven men of the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres, who was assassinated in a home in western Honduras in 2016. Cáceres had been leading opposition to the construction of a dam over the Gualcarque River, and her murder brought renewed attention to the dangers environmentalists face in Central America."

In "At What Cost?" - BY HOOK OR BY CROOK - Corruption and repression in Honduras  7/24/2018 Global Witness: "It took an independent group of international lawyers, GAIPE,132 to eventually shed light on who was responsible for Berta’s killing. GAIPE’s investigation concluded there was irrefutable proof that high-ranking DESA executives and employees, along with state agents, were involved in the planning, execution and cover-up of Berta’s murder."

Parte del documental Guardiana de los ríos, Berta Cáceres.  3/4/2018 Comisión Pro-defensa del Río Cuyamel: "Una pequeña parte del documental Guardiana de los ríos, Berta Cáceres. El Río Cuyamel no se presta, no se alquila, ni se vende, se DEFIENDE!"

Fake Honduran Twitter: the digital campaign against Berta Cáceres and COPINH  11/11/2017 Erin Gallagher: "A network of fake accounts tweeted a smear campaign against Berta Cáceres and COPINH three months before Berta was murdered. This was just one component of a larger campaign that was waged against COPINH for years due to their opposition to the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam project. A new report by an independent team of attorneys linked Berta’s assassination to the highest levels of Capital Energy Development SA de CV (DESA), the company whose hydroelectric dam project Berta and COPINH were protesting."

Who Ordered Killing of Honduran Activist? Evidence of Broad Plot Is Found  10/28/2017 NYT: "Now, 20 months after the killing, a team of five international lawyers has warned that the people who ordered it may never face justice. The evidence, the lawyers said, points to a plot against Ms. Cáceres that was months in the making and reached up to senior executives of Desarrollos Energéticos, known as Desa, the Honduran company holding the dam concession."

Another Attack on Honduran Rights Activist  7/12/2017 Consortium Newa: "Of course, we fear for our Bertha’s life, as we did with Berta’s life. But what’s the alternative? As Berta used to say to me, “What is our alternative? Do we just sit down and take it? Of course not.”

La Trampa de los Bancos  6/22/2017 Grass Roots International: "Desde el 2013, el Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras (COPINH) ha exigido el retiro definitivo de los bancos FMO, Finn Fund y el Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE) del proyecto “Agua Zarca” en el sagrado Río Gualcarque, por su vinculación al despojo y muerte en la comunidad de río Blanco. Hasta la fecha, ninguno de los tres bancos ha completado su salida del proyecto, a pesar de que los bancos FMO y Finn Fund la han anunciado desde mayo de 2016."

The Bank Trap: A Statement from COPINH on the Agua Zarca Dam Investors  6/22/2017 Grass Roots International: "Since 2013, the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) has demanded the definitive withdrawal of funds from the FMO [Dutch development bank], Finn Fund [Finnish development finance company] and CABEI (Central American Bank for Economic Integration, or Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica, BCEI, in Spanish) from the Agua Zarca project on the sacred Gualcarque River because of their association with displacement and death in the Rio Blanco community. To date, none of the three banks have completed their exit from the project, although FMO and Finn Fund banks have been announcing they will withdraw since May of 2016."

Politics of Death: 'Am I next?' Deadly waiting game for Honduras land activists  6/20/2017 Reuters: "Under an International Labour Organization (ILO) agreement that Honduras signed in 1989, the government is obliged to ensure projects on indigenous lands win "free, prior and informed consent" from locals. But Honduran indigenous leaders say this rarely happens."

Backers of Honduran Dam Opposed by Murdered Activist Withdraw Funding  6/4/2017 Guardian: "The international funders behind the hydroelectric dam opposed by murdered Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres are withdrawing from the project, the Guardian can reveal."

"Berta Didn't Die, She Multiplied": Indigenous Organizers in Honduras Call for Radical Transformation  5/15/2017 Truth Out: "The organization Cáceres founded 24 years ago, the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), continues multiplying, too. About a dozen new Lenca communities have recently joined the 200-plus communities already united in protecting their territories, waters, communities, and rights from the government and multinational corporations."

Berta Is Dead, but the Movement She Started Lives  4/7/2017 Truth Out: "On September 30, 2016, the State Department certified that government of Honduras is making improvements in human rights, thus allowing 50% of 2016 US aid to be released. (Please ask your congressperson to support the Berta Caceres Human Rights Act, calling for military and police aid to be cut until the Honduran government improves its record.) That was a flashing green light for the Honduran government to increase its brutality. Predictably, more murders, assaults, and arrests of indigenous and rural activists have followed."

Berta Cáceres court papers show murder suspects' links to US-trained elite troops  2/28/2017 The Guardian: "Leaked court documents raise concerns that the murder of the Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres was an extrajudicial killing planned by military intelligence specialists linked to the country’s US–trained special forces, a Guardian investigation can reveal."

Berta Cáceres's name was on Honduran military hitlist, says former soldier  6/21/2016 The Guardian: "Berta Cáceres, the murdered environmental campaigner, appeared on a hitlist distributed to US-trained special forces units of the Honduran military months before her death, a former soldier has claimed. Lists featuring the names and photographs of dozens of social and environmental activists were given to two elite units, with orders to eliminate each target, according to First Sergeant Rodrigo Cruz, 20. Cruz’s unit commander, a 24-year-old lieutenant, deserted rather than comply with the order. Cruz – who asked to be identified by a pseudonym for fear of reprisal – followed suit, and fled to a neighbouring country. Several other members of the unit have disappeared and are feared dead."

Rep. Johnson introduces “The Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act”  6/15/2016 Hank Johnson: "In the wake of the tragic killing of the Honduran environmental and indigenous leader Berta Cáceres on March 2, 2016, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) introduced legislation that would suspend U.S. funding to the Republic of Honduras for their police and military operations, including funds for equipment and training, until the Honduran government investigates credible reports indicating the police and military are violating citizens’ human rights."

In Honduras, USAID Was in Bed with Berta Cáceres’ Accused Killers  5/27/2016 Counterpunch: "Less than three months before Lenca leader Berta Cáceres was brutally assassinated, the social arm of Desarollos Energeticos SA (DESA)–the Honduran company leading the Agua Zarca dam project Cáceres was campaigning against–signed a contract with USAID implementing partner Fintrac, a Washington DC based development contracting firm. The DESA representative who was present for the public signing of the USAID agreement was none other than Sergio Rodríguez, the company’s Social Investment Manager, who is now accused of Cáceres’ assassination along with another former DESA employee and individuals with military ties. The arrests also included Douglas Geovanny Bustillo, a retired military officer and the former head of DESA’s security detail. The trial against the accused murderers began on Monday."

Attacks and intimidation against participants and international observers at the International Meeting “Berta Cáceres Lives”  4/26/2016 Honduras Accompaniment Project: "The undersigned organizations, express our deep concern about the serious incidents that occurred on Friday, April 15 in the town of San Francisco de Ojuera -Department of Santa Barbara where a dozen people were injured."

Honduras: Gustavo Castro Soto and the Rigged Investigation into Berta Cáceres’ Assassination  3/23/2016 Upside Down World: "The sole eyewitness to Honduran social movement leader Berta Cáceres’ assassination on March 3, 2016 has gone from being wounded victim to, effectively, political prisoner. Now Gustavo Castro Soto may also be framed as the murderer of his long-time friend."

In Honduras The Killing Of Environmentalists Continues  3/22/2016 WBEZ, Chicago: "In Honduras, less than two weeks after the murder of human rights activist and environmentalist Berta Caceres, someone from the same indigenous group has been killed. Nelson Garcia was shot four times in the face in the Rio Chiquito community. His killing is the latest of a string of assassinations of indigenous and other political activists in Honduras who’ve opposed multinational corporate projects such as the Agua Zarca Dam."

Another Environmental Activist Slain in Honduras  3/21/2016 Nonprofit Quarterly: "Last week, another environmental activist in Honduras was brutally murdered outside of his home, less than two weeks after the death of renowned activist Berta Cáceres. Like Cáceres, 39-year-old Nelson Garcia was a member of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). The shooting came following the evacuation of approximately 150 families from the settled community of Rio Chiquito."

For Indigenous Peoples, Megadams Are ‘Worse than Colonization’  3/14/2016 Foreign Policy in Focus: "The power and resource grab going on throughout Latin America has roots stretching back to Spanish colonization. The river Gualcarque — with its deep spiritual significance for the Lenca people — was famously defended against Spanish invaders by indigenous resistance leader and hero, El Lempira. Although the form has evolved, the struggle against powerful foreign forces in the region has continued to this day."

US Activists: 'USAID Stop Funding Murder in Honduras'  3/14/2016 teleSUR: "The two D.C. residents, Jake Dacks and Nico Udu-gama, unfurled banners which read: “USAID stop funding murder in Honduras” and “Berta Caceres, Presente!” “We stand in solidarity with our dear comrade Berta and the Lenca people and all Hondurans who are valiantly resisting displacement in their territory,” said activist Jake Dacks in a press release."

The US role in the Honduras coup and subsequent violence  3/14/2016 National Catholic Reporter: "U.S. Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens, reflecting the broad consensus of international observers, sent a cable to Clinton entitled "Open and Shut: The Case of the Honduran Coup," thoroughly documenting that "there is no doubt" that Zelaya’s ouster "constituted an illegal and unconstitutional coup." Similarly, Ann-Marie Slaughter, then serving as director of Policy Planning at the State Department, sent an email to Clinton strongly encouraging her to "take bold action" and to "find that [the] coup was a 'military coup' under U.S. law." However, Clinton's State Department refused to suspend U.S. aid to Honduras -- as required when a democratically-elected government is ousted in such a manner -- on the grounds that it wasn’t clear that the forcible military-led overthrow actually constituted a coup d'état. Emails released last year by the State Department also show how Clinton rejected calls by the international community to condemn the coup and used her lobbyist friend Lanny Davis -- who was working for the Honduran chapter of the Business Council of Latin America, which supported the coup -- to open communications with Micheletti, the illegitimate interim ruler installed by the military."

Honduras: the White River, dyed with indigenous blood  3/14/2016 Open Democracy: "The murder of Berta Cáceres, a high-profile opponent of a hydroelectric project in Honduras, confirms the perverse connection between a private company, Chinese capital and the absolute contempt of local communities’ life."

Demonstrators demand Canadian government speak up for murdered Indigenous activist  3/14/2016 Rabble Canada: "The coalition of civil societies leading the demonstration demanded that the Canadian government, which entered into a Free Trade Agreement with Honduras in 2013, condemn the murder. An open letter signed by over 80 organizations from across Canada demanding an independent international investigation involving the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights was also delivered to ministry clerks. NDP members Hélène Laverdière, critic for foreign affairs and Cheryl Hardcastle, part of the Subcommittee for International Human Rights, were two of the signatories. "Change happens when citizens ban together and demand it," said Katarina Kahnert-Wolchak, a member of The Delta Now, a grassroots group led by students out of York University working in Solidarity with Honduran Indigenous-Garifuna communities on genocide and land rights issues."

Oxfam launches public campaign demanding company backers pull out of Honduran dam project  3/14/2016 Oxfam: "Oxfam supporters around the world are pressuring the backers of the Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras to withdraw, and demand an independent investigation into the murder of a local Indigenous leader who opposed the project."

Murder of mother linked to ‘green’ bank, mining companies and Hillary Clinton  3/14/2016 The Canary 

Honduras: Hay indicios para dar con asesinos de Berta Cáceres  3/12/2016 teleSUR: "Las autoridades informaron que todas las líneas de investigación planteadas para el esclarecimiento de los hechos y responsabilidades se encuentran abiertas."

Drugs, Dams, and Power: The Murder of Honduran Activist Berta Cáceres  3/11/2016 The Intercept: "Cáceres told her she was being “seriously harassed” by three local politicians who she believed were acting at the behest of Desarrollos Energéticos, SA (DESA), the private energy company behind the Agua Zarca dam. DESA is partially controlled by the controversial Honduran Atala family, whose members are involved in a variety of business ventures and suspected by many of having backed the 2009 coup. Best known among them is billionaire Camilo Atala, president of Banco Ficohsa, a regional bank that in 2014 acquired most of Citibank’s assets in the region, making it the largest bank in Honduras."

Berta Cáceres: her fight for human rights in Honduras continues  3/8/2016 Ecologist: "Early in the morning on 3rd March, the day of Berta Cáceres' murder, witnesses saw hit men from DESA in a blue Ford 150 vehicle near La Esperanza, and heard them speaking ill of Berta Cáceres. • on 25th February, 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 would not be responsible if anything happened to her. • on 20th February, during COPINH's protest against the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam, the vice-mayor of San Francisco de Ojuera publicly asked that Berta Cáceres be killed."

Hidroeléctricas: Berta Cáceres, en el Día de la Mujer  3/8/2016 La Estrella, Panama: "La mataron los que no defienden el ambiente, los que miran para otro lado, los que se prestan para realizar, pagar y abalar estudios de impacto ambiental ilícitos, los que firmaron esos contratos cobrando a los concesionarios privados el uso de nuestro recurso hídrico nacional a unos vergonzosos 0.0000383 de centavos por metro cúbico, los que se reparten y aceptan coimas, los que abusan de su autoridad, los que financian los proyectos, los que se repartieron las concesiones como barajas para jugar ‘Péscalo', el que calla, el que no denuncia, el que no sanciona, el que construye las hidroeléctricas destruyendo ríos, el que no custodia nuestro patrimonio arqueológico, aquel al que no le duele que dejen como caudal ecológico un mísero 10 %; dejando sedientas las piedras, el que defiende las hidroeléctricas sabiendo que ya no son rentables, el que no hace buen uso de la electricidad y las despilfarra, el que no dice ¡basta ya!"

Honduran Activist Berta Cáceres Died in Gustavo Castro Soto's Arms; Now His Life is in Danger  3/8/2016 Democracy Now: "At the time of her assassination, Cáceres was with Gustavo Castro Soto, another well-known environmental campaigner and coordinator of Friends of the Earth Mexico. He witnessed the shooting and sustained two bullet wounds. Now, human rights activists say the Honduran government is detaining Castro without cause and refusing him permission to return to his native Mexico."

Honduras: Deep failures in investigation into activist’s killing put many at risk  3/8/2016 Amnesty International: "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."

Slain Honduran activist Berta Caceres remembered at Ottawa rally  3/8/2016 CBC: "Berta was an extraordinary activist in Honduras who was assassinated in her home," said Rachel Vincent of the Nobel Women's Initiative, who helped organize the Ottawa rally. "And the echoes of that assassination have reverberated around the planet."

ONU destaca papel de la líder indígena Berta Cáceres  3/7/2016 teleSUR: "Durante el acto celebrado en La Paz (capital) indígenas peruanas condenaron el asesinato de la dirigente social y destacaron el valor de tantas mujeres, que como Cáceres, han tenido papeles importantes en la sociedad. La colombiana Ana Angarita otorgó de manera muy especial una mención post mortem a Berta Cáceres, una mujer que dedicó su vida a luchar por los derechos de los pueblos originarios de su país. A su juicio, Cáceres fue una "gran líder que ya había recibido amenazas de muerte por sus luchas"."

Berta Cáceres: Denouncing the structures of terror  3/7/2016 Huff Post: by Eric Holt Gimenez, Executive Director, Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy - "The point of terror, of course, is to immobilize people with fear. It is used to send a message to the peasant and indigenous communities being brutally displaced by the expansion of sugar cane, palm oil and soy plantations, by dams and by land speculators. The message is simple: do not resist."

Gustavo Castro en riesgo en la comunidad de La Esperanza, Honduras  3/7/2016 Movimiento Mesoamericano contra el Modelo extractivo Minero: "A pesar de todas las solicitudes a distintas instancias, para que esta nueva declaración se hiciera en las mejores condiciones paran su seguridad física y psicológica dentro de la Embajada de México o en Tegucigalpa, la Fiscalía General de Honduras decidió que se tenía que hacer en La Esperanza, lo que representa un alto riesgo para su integridad física y psicológica. Les pedimos exigir junto con nosotros la seguridad de Gustavo Castro durante todo el proceso de ampliación de su declaración y durante su llegada a la Embajada de México en Tegucigalpa. Exigimos al gobierno de Honduras que cumpla con su promesa de levantar la alerta migratoria que pusieron sobre su persona para que Gustavo Castro pueda salir inmediatamente de Honduras terminado este último proceso judicial requerido sin que haya ningún otro motivo ni acción que se lo impida."

Internationally Recognized Rights Defender Berta Cáceres Murdered in Honduras  3/7/2016 Truth Out: "Berta is someone that spent her entire life struggling, not just for Lenca indigenous people, but also for the Honduran social movement, women, for afro-indigenous peoples, for campesinos, and she was always one of the most outspoken activists. It is very clear that what she was and why she was doing it. And so, her killers and the Honduran state that failed to protect her, they've made a very strategic decision to take her life."

Mexicano dice que escenario del crimen de Berta Cáceres fue modificado  3/7/2016 La Prensa, Honduras: "Y es que mis declaraciones les estorban para culpar a quienes quieren meter a la cárcel. No escuché carros llegar ni irse cuando el asesinato; el escenario del crimen fue modificado y alterado; las pruebas de sangre y otras dejaron líneas en blanco que luego pueden ser alteradas; mandan a declarar a la mayoría a gente del Copinh y no a los sospechosos tiempo atrás de estar intentando asesinar a Berta… Pero llegaron para que viera fotos y videos e identificar al asesino que me encontré cara a cara, pero lamenté que todos los videos y fotografías eran de las marchas del Copinh, para que señalara quién de ellos había sido. Pero no me han mostrado las caras de los dueños de las empresas o sus sicarios."

Slain Honduran activist laid to rest as daughters call for independent inquiry  3/6/2016 CNN: "Earlier, Honduran Security Minister Julian Pacheco said police had made at least one arrest in the case and had an eyewitness to the shooting under witness protection. Honduras was the most deadly country for environmental activists last year, according to watchdog Global Witness. The country also has one of the world's highest homicide rates."

Alerta: manipulación de investigación en el crimen contra Bertita  3/5/2016 Pasos de animal grande: "La Plataforma de Movimientos Sociales y Populares de Honduras (PMSPH) y la Coalición Contra la Impunidad (CI), en relación al asesinato Bertha Cáceres, ALERTA a la comunidad nacional e internacional sobre los siguientes extremos."

Gustavo Castro, el mexicano lesionado en ataque a líder indígena de Honduras  3/5/2016 24 hrs Mexico: "Se trata del sociólogo y ex jesuita, Gustavo Castro Soto, integrante de la Organización Otros Mundos Chiapas/Amigos de La Tierra México, la Red Mexicana de Afectados por la Minería (REMA) y el Movimiento Mesoamericano contra el Modelo Extractivo Minero (M4), Es autor del libro Las Aguas Negras de la Coca Cola."

Communiqué des mouvements sociaux haïtiens à l’occasion du tragique assassinat politique de Berta Caceres tuée le 3 mars 2016  3/4/2016 CADTM: "Les organisations haïtiennes exigent que les droits des peuples indigènes du Honduras soient respectés en particulier des peuples Lenca et Garifuna qui luttent pour leurs droits à la terre face aux expulsions liées aux mégaprojets et aux entreprises de prédation des entreprises transnationales. Les droits environnementaux et ceux reconnus par la Convention 168 de l’OIT qui engagent l’État du Honduras doivent être respectés. Nous exigeons la libération des prisonniers, le démantèlement des groupes paramilitaires et l’arrêt des persécutions constantes contre les défenseurs des droits humains dans ce pays. La mort de notre amie Berta Caceres doit servir de point de rupture pour mettre fin à l’impunité et à la criminalisation des militants pacifistes, écologistes et féministes."

Murder of activist Berta Cáceres sparks violent clashes in Honduras  3/4/2016 The Guardian: "The police initially reported the case as an attempted robbery, but the victim’s family believe the killing was an assassination ordered by people behind the dam project. Cáceres and other members of the group she founded – the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras (Copinh) – have been in conflict with the operators Desa, the local mayor, police and soldiers. Last week, members of the group were detained and threatened, Copinh said in a statement."

Capturan a sospechoso del crimen de Berta Cáceres  3/4/2016 teleSUR: "El Gobierno confirmó la captura en un comunicado emitido la noche del jueves en el que asegura que cuenta con dos testigos del suceso, entre ellos, el mexicano Gustavo Castro, director de la organización Otros Mundos Chiapas, quien se encontraba en Honduras para dictar conferencias sobre energías alternativas y resultó herido durante el ataque a Cáceres. "Un sospechoso del crimen” está bajo custodia policial, señala el reporte gubernamental, el otro testigo está bajo la figura de protección. "

Who Killed Berta Cáceres?  3/4/2016 Huff Post: "But we need to call out the actors who share a moral responsibility for the murder of our friend and partner: • the Honduran government, which leads the country with the world's worst track record of environmental killings, and which did not protect Berta Cáceres even though it had been ordered to do so by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights; • the dam builder, Desarrollos Energéticos S. A (DESA), which has close contacts with the country's security forces and has orchestrated an intimidation campaign against Berta Cáceres in recent months; • and finally, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), FMO, Finnfund and Voith-Siemens, the funders and corporations which underwrite the Agua Zarca Project with their loans and equipment contracts."

Remembering Berta Cáceres, Assassinated Honduras Indigenous & Environmental Leader  3/4/2016 Democracy Now: "In our worldviews, we are beings who come from the Earth, from the water and from corn. The Lenca people are ancestral guardians of the rivers, in turn protected by the spirits of young girls, who teach us that giving our lives in various ways for the protection of the rivers is giving our lives for the well-being of humanity and of this planet. COPINH, walking alongside people struggling for their emancipation, validates this commitment to continue protecting our waters, the rivers, our shared resources and nature in general, as well as our rights as a people. Let us wake up! Let us wake up, humankind! We’re out of time. We must shake our conscience free of the rapacious capitalism, racism and patriarchy that will only assure our own self-destruction."

Garífunas protestan por la muerte de Berta Cáceres  3/4/2016 El Heraldo, Honduras: "Miembros de comunidades garífunas se manifestaron la tarde de este viernes en las calles de La Esperanza, Intibucá, en demanda que se esclarezca el crimen de la activista hondureña Berta Caceres. "No mas impunidad", exclamaron los manifestantes, provenientes de Atlántida y Colón, al nororiente de Honduras."

Una multitud despedirá con cariño mañana a dirigente Berta Cáceres  3/4/2016 La Prensa, Honduras: "El cariño que cosechó la ambientalista Berta Cáceres con su labor en pro del medio ambiente y la defensa de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas se ve reflejada en el velatorio que se lleva a cabo en el barrio El Calvario de La Esperanza, Intibucá. Es una despedida multitudinaria. Las personas tienen que hacer fila para poder ver el férretro y decirle las palabras de adiós a la lidereza que luchó con coraje y valentía por los derechos de los demás."

Cohep rechaza señalamientos por asesinato de Berta Cáceres  3/4/2016 El Heraldo: "El Consejo Hondureño de la Empresa Privada (Cohep) rechazó este viernes, a través de un comunicado, los señalamientos en su contra por la muerte de la líder indígena y defensora del medio ambiente, Berta Cáceres. Cohep reaccionó luego que en las redes sociales circulara un video donde la expresidenta de ese ente, Aline Flores, acusara a Cáceres de boicotear e impedir junto a un grupo de campesinos un proyecto de energía renovable."

Berta Cáceres, Honduran activist, killed  3/4/2016 CNN: "But even as authorities vowed to investigate and apprehend whoever is responsible, activists pointed to the killing as a troubling sign that officials haven't done enough. Honduran authorities were supposed to protect Cáceres, La Via Campesina -- an organization representing peasants, farmers and indigenous groups -- said in a statement. "That same state of Honduras took measures to persecute Bertha Cáceres for her struggle against foreign companies that destroy natural resources," the group said."

Cientos de indignados activistas velan a ambientalista asesinada en Honduras  3/4/2016 Publinews: fotos

Assassination of Berta Cáceres sparks outrage  3/4/2016 Common Frontiers: with list of supporting organizations - "On October 1, 2014, Canada implemented a Free Trade Agreement with Honduras despite opposition from civil society and labour organizations. The deal provided diplomatic and economic backing to an undemocratic government responsible for widespread human rights abuses, political violence that has generated massive inequality. We call on the government of Canada to condemn the murder, and to call on the Honduran government to support an independent, international investigation into the murder."

Interrogan a tres personas tras la muerte de Berta Cáceres  3/4/2016 La Prensa, Honduras: ""Debido a la insistencia de los compañeros de que (Aureliano Molina) no atendiera dicho requerimiento, fue acompañado por su padre Aureliano Molina y su cuñado", sigue diciendo el comunicado. "En este momento el Copinh se encuentra en estado de alerta, temiendo por la integridad de Gustavo Castro y los integrantes de la organización que viven en constante acoso por oponerse al despojo de su territorio". Agrega que "fue llevado a la Jefatura Policial de la localidad y hasta el momento está detenido como supuesto sospechoso del asesinato. Se ha preguntado cuáles son los cargos que se le imputan, respondiendo a la organización que no hay dichos cargos pero se tienen 24 horas para hacer la investigación"."

Cepal exige justicia por muerte de Berta Cáceres  3/4/2016 El Heraldo: "Un cartel en Ciudad de Guatemala exige justicia por el asesinato de la dirigente indígena hondureña Berta Cáceres. EFE. Un cartel en Ciudad de Guatemala exige justicia por el asesinato de la dirigente indígena hondureña Berta Cáceres. EFE. Santiago, Chile La Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (Cepal) condenó el asesinato de la dirigente indígena y líder ambientalista hondureña Berta Cáceres y exigió que se haga justicia."

Berta Cáceres: Un alma indomable  3/4/2016 ADITAL: "Durante toda mi vida he estado consciente de lo que puede pasar estando en esta lucha, como también estoy consciente de que nos estamos enfrentando a un poder oligarca, banquero, financiero y transnacional, así como al mismo Estado de Honduras y a sus cuerpos represivos, que históricamente se han plegado a los intereses de las grandes empresas transnacionales. ¡No me doblegarán!” (Berta Cáceres, junio de 2013)."

Murdered While She Slept: Shocking Death of Berta Cáceres, Indigenous Leader and Activist  3/3/2016 Indian Country: "Cáceres was the Director of the National Council of Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), which has been in the forefront of protests against the dam being constructed by the DESA Company of Honduras. Cáceres and other activists assert that the Agua Zarca project would cause great harm to the Lenca community known as Rio Blanco through displacement of the people and environmental damage to an area considered sacred by the Lenca. In a press statement from 2013 Cáceres outlined the reasons for the protests. “There is a displacement of the population that has traditionally lived on those lands, practically an eviction,” Cáceres said. “...DESA [of Honduras] and SINOHYDRO (a transnational Chinese hydroelectric project builder no longer involved in the project) have exerted brutal pressure against the communities, with maneuvers such as co-opting leaders and the offering of bribes, and on the other hand repression, systematic harassment, and the occupation of the territory by the army, the police and security guards and gang members."

Berta Cáceres, una mártir más de los grupos ambientalistas  3/3/2016 La Tribuna, Honduras: "“Despertemos, despertemos humanidad”, fue el grito de la líder indígena, Berta Cáceres, durante la entrega del premio Goldman Environmental que marcó la lucha de la ambientalista hondureña."

Indigenous Activist Berta Caceres Murdered  3/3/2016 Prensa Latina: "According to sources contacted by the multi-state Telesur channel, the attack against Caceres, a coordinator of the Civic Council of Indigenous People Organizations of Honduras (Copinh), took place in the early hours of the morning, when several armed men forced down the door of her home, shot her and wounded her brother, Awarded the Goldman Prize in 2015, the highest recognition for environmental activists, Caceres was also a renowned human rights defender. She fought the expropriation of the ancestral lands of the Lenca people and the establishment of U.S. military bases on their territory, which is located in western Honduras. Her last fight was directed against a hydroelectric project in the town of Rio Blanco, approved by the government without a prior consultation."

Honduran Indigenous Leader Berta Cáceres Assassinated, Won Goldman Environmental Prize  3/3/2016 Democracy Now: "According to Global Witness, Honduras has become the deadliest country in the world for environmentalists. Between 2010 and 2014, 101 environmental campaigners were killed in the country. In 2015 Berta Cáceres won the Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s leading environmental award. In awarding the prize, the Goldman Prize committee said, “In a country with growing socioeconomic inequality and human rights violations, Berta Cáceres rallied the indigenous Lenca people of Honduras and waged a grassroots campaign that successfully pressured the world’s largest dam builder to pull out of the Agua Zarca Dam."

Hypocrisy surrounds the murder of Berta Cáceres in Honduras  3/3/2016 The Guardian: "She is the latest in a long line of victims in Honduras since a coup, sponsored by the US and supported by the then secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, overthrew the reformist President Mel Zelaya in 2009. Human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, trade unionists, gay rights activists and political opponents of subsequent regimes have been singled out for abduction, disappearance, torture and murder in a climate of almost complete impunity. Particularly shocking is a femicide rate that increased by 260% between 2005 and 2013. In 2014, 513 women were killed and in 2015 it was estimated that a woman lost her life every 16 hours. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, impunity “perpetuates the social acceptance of violence against women”."

Honduran Indigenous Group Sues Mayor over Hydroelectric Project  11/30/2015 teleSUR: "The people of Lenca, the country's largest indigenous group, had planned a peaceful protest in front of San Francisco de Ojuera City Hall against the works initiated on the river Gualcarque without their consent. However, officers from the National Police temporarily detained the buses transporting the activists, while bulldozers had “broken” the public roads leading to San Francisco de Ojuera, creating ditches of almost two meters (see photos), claimed the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, known as COPINH, in a statement. The organization informed it filed a lawsuit against DESA Corporation and against the city's mayor, Raul Pineda, who they claim sent bulldozers to break the road."

Mensaje de Berta Caceres a la población hondureña  11/24/2013 Observatorio de las Mujeres: "Berta hace un llamado a la resistencia para poder enfrentar el fraude electoral que se venia pronosticando y hacer frente a la oligarquía del país que quiere destruirlo. Proclama continuar con la unión de las personas, para continuar con la refundación del país juntos y a no dejarse vencer;seguir en la lucha "sin darle tregua a la presión" Para escuchar su mensaje…

Honduras: Bertha Cáceres teme que la asesinen luego de elecciones generales  11/19/2013 SiBCI: "El pueblo indígena Lenca ha recibido ataques y amenazas de muerte por parte del Ejército y la Policía Nacional de Honduras. La última agresión ocurrió a principios de noviembre, cuando un grupo de policías, con pasamontañas y sin identificarse, ingresó violentamente a la comunidad de La Tejera en Río Blanco. La denuncia la confirmó Bertha Cáceres, coordinadora del Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras (Copinh), durante el programa Caribe Nuestro de la Radio del Sur. Ella explicó que los policías encañonaron a los residentes del poblado. “Llegaron con armas gringas, israelíes, sin identificación, sin orden de cateo, entraron a las casas, amenazaron a las ancianas y ancianos, los golpearon, les botaron sus enseres, los niños vivieron momentos de mucho terror”. Los policías amenazaron con realizar una matanza en esa comunidad indígena si los Lenca seguían oponiéndose al Proyecto Hidroeléctrico Agua Zarca en el Río Gualcarque. “Las amenazas son reiteradas."

Indígenas emplazan a ministro a aclarar su posición sobre hidroeléctrica  10/30/2013 SERVINDI: "El Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras (COPINH) exigió al ministro Luis Green, de la Secretaría de Desarrollo para Pueblos Indígenas y Afrohondureños (SEDINAFROH), que aclare públicamente su postura hacia el conflictivo proyecto hidroeléctrico Agua Zarca."

Berta Cáceres Is Still Alive  10/20/2013 Truth Out: "Honduran authorities want Berta Cáceres in prison. Even more, they want her dead. Berta, as she is fondly known by her many friends in Honduras and beyond, is a Lenca indigenous woman, and one of the founding directors of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). She is now the face of social movement resistance in Honduras, which in recent months has seen an escalation of state repression against social movement leaders, indigenous peoples’ organizations, environmentalists, and political dissenters. She went into hiding on September 20. But as I write, against all odds, Berta Cáceres is still alive. COPINH, one of the strongest voices in Mesoamerica for the defense of indigenous peoples’ rights, was founded in the early 1990s to fight logging companies in the territories of the Lenca people. After decades of struggle, COPINH has expelled dozens of logging operations from Lenca territories, recovered over 100 indigenous communal land titles, and served as a critical voice in international forums advocating for the right of indigenous communities to give or withhold their binding consent to any megaprojects planned for their territories. Today, COPINH is struggling against a mega-complex of four large dams in the Gualcarque River basin, called the Agua Zarca dam project, being undertaken by a Chinese corporation called Sinohydro and a Honduran company called Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA)."

Agua Zarca, Honduras: la negación del derecho a la consulta y la Criminalización de los Pueblos Indígenas  8/13/2013 OFRANEH: "El asesinato el pasado 15 de julio de Tomas García y las heridas infrigidas a su hijo Allen García, a manos de elementos de las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras, señalan la violencia estructural existente en Honduras y el inicio de una clara ofensiva en contra de los pueblos y comunidades que se resisten al saqueo de su territorio y la madre tierra. Previo al asesinato de Tomas Garcia, comenzó una campaña de intimidación y criminalización de los líderes(as) del Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras (COPINH), cuando el pasado 25 de mayo les fue plantada un arma en el vehículo que se conducían Bertha Cáceres, Tomás Gómez y Aureliano Molina pretexto que ha servido para perseguir a las voces que con valentía vienen defendiendo a los pueblos indígenas y sus territorios."
 
 

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