Honduras human rights journey
Posted Jan. 25, 1998 Honduras
human rights journey: SPAN
El
Decalogo del COFADEH
COPIN protests U.S. military exercises,
backs Zapatista cause in
Chiapas, Mexico
Strategic Pastoral Action special report:
A Lenca indigenous
organization in Honduras has expressed solidarity with the Zapatista
cause in Chiapas, Mexico, and has urged the U.S. to end its military
exercises in Honduras and close its military base at Palmerola.
Representatives of COPIN, the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous
Organizations, drew links between the Mexican military incursion in
Chiapas and the U.S. presence in Honduras and said in both countries
indigenous organizers have been killed, including 40 Honduran indigenous
community leaders since 1980, in their efforts to achieve justice and
dignity.
COPIN's statements were made during an interview with a human-rights
delegation from SPAN/--Strategic Pastoral Action on January 9, 1998. The
demands for an end to U.S. military maneuvers were made again by letter
and by protest to the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa on January 12. SPAN
was given a copy of the letter.
Peaceful efforts of reconciliation of complaints against Honduras and
U.S. government and private interests have been met with promises of
restoration of lands and redress of grievances, but these promises have
been repeatedly broken, COPIN leaders told the SPAN delegation.
Key issues include severe economic repercussion from IMF/World Bank
structural adjustment programs, CIA involvement in Honduras death
squads, the environmental destruction resulting from current U.S. "New
Horizon" military exercises which encroach on traditional Lenca lands,
and the pattern of broken promises after accords were reached.
Particularly cited by the COPIN leadership was the "symbol of the new
conquerers" — the IMF, World Bank and U.S. AID programs in Honduras —
which COPIN leaders said help hold Latin Americans in hostage with huge
annual debt payments and support for economic policies that continue to
keep the poor and the indigenous people in extreme oppressive
circumstances.
The pattern of U.S. military and CIA involvement in Latin American
affairs was also cited, particularly the use of the Palmerola military
base and other Honduras sites as a staging areas for U.S. interference
in popular struggles, especially those in El Salvador by the FMLN, the
U.S. contra war against the Sandinista goverment in Nicaragua. Also
noted was U.S. training of personnel aligned with death squads,
including the infamous Battalion 3-16 in Honduras.
In their letter presented to the U.S. embassy during protests on the
week of January 12 in Tegucigalpa COPIN expressed "profound
preoccupation"with the U.S. "New Horizon" military maneuvers that are
being currently conducted "especially in the Lenca territory of
Honduras," including those in the western province of Intibucá.
The military exercises cause psychological and environmental damage,
and though posed as a humanitarian effort to build roads, schools and
health clinics, are also conducted with armaments that "bring death,
dissolution and violence" and include the presence of soldiers that are
trained to kill, COPIN leaders noted in the letter and in the interview
with SPAN.
The letter also contained special greetings and concern for illegal
immigrants, indigenous people and blacks in the United States.
Separately, COPIN representatives expressed sympathy and solidarity with
"indigenous brothers" aligned with the EZLN uprising in Chiapas, Mexico.
Members of the COPIN executive committee that met with the SPAN
human-rights delegation included Jorge Daniel Rodgriguez, Bertha Isabel
Cáceres, spouse of Salvador Zuniga, COPIN president who has been jailed
for his actions, and Eduarda Jeronimo G, a Chorti indigenous leader.
SPAN is a U.S. human rights organization based in upstate New York
and has sent and been represented in delegations to Nicaragua, Honduras,
Cuba and Mexico in the last seven years.
The text of COPIN's letter to the U.S. embassy follows in Spanish:
Sr. James Creagan
Embajador de los Estados Unidos en Honduras
Reciba del Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas,
COPIN, nuestro atento saludo, esperando coseche éxitos en sus labores
diplomaticas en nuestro país. El motivo de la presente es para
manifestarle nuestra profunda preocupación por las maniobras militares
que la armada de su país está desarrollando en el territorio de
Honduras, especialmente en el territorio Lenca de Honduras, esta
preocupación se base en lo siguiente:
1. Porque somos un pueblo pacifista, que en la realidad no vemos
razones para que su armada movilece 4,000 efectivos a nuestras zonas, ya
que la presencia armada del ejército de su país causa enormes daños
psicologicos a nuestro pueblo, a nuestros niños, mujeres y ancianos que
estan acostumbrados a ver el verde de la naturaleza de nuestras montañas
y campañas, no asi el verde de combate, del soldados entrenados para
matar, entre los cuales hay algunas que ya tienen enorme experiencia.
2. No entendemos porque su gobierno y su país que es uno de los más
desarrollado del mundo y que se facta de ser democraticos a esta altura,
no entiendo que la soberania de los paises es sagrada y que ningún
ejército, por poderoso que sea, tiene el derecho de maniobrar en suelo
ajeno, tratando de intimidar a seres humanos mucho menos como nuestro
pueblo que es de vocación pacifista.
3. (Lo siguente párrafo fue redactado por COPIN antes de la
presentación al embajador) Nuestra preocupación es mayor por cuanto no
olvidamos los nefastos consecuencias de la presencia norteamericana en
el valle de Palmerola, en Comayagua y en general en toda Honduras ...
4. No estamos opuestos a que ciudadanos Norteamericanos visiten
nuestras comunidades y aporten el desarrollo y aprendan de nosotros,
siempre y cuando sean civiles y que sus propósitos sean de Paz,
intentando que tenemos que forjar un mundo de cooperación equidad
coexistencia pacífíca, en donde todos entendamos que somos hermanas y
hermanos, hijos y hijas de us solo Dios corazón del cielo ye de la
tierra.
5. Estamos absolutemente de acuerdo en realidad en acciones civicas,
humanitarias, pero no creemos que una acción civica y humanitaria tenga
que ser en el marco de maniobras militares con armas, ya que las armas
traen muerte y desolución y violencia.
Aprovechamos también la presente para suplicarle encarecidamente su
intervención ante su gobierno para que se trate con justicia y con
respeto a nuestros hermanos y hermanas que han inmigrado a su país,
tratando de resolver problemas de pobreza y inseguridad en nuestra
patria y que se resuelva la situación de ilegales lo más pronto posible.
De igual manera le patentizamos nuestro profundo cariño.
A los ciudadanos estadunidenses de buena voluntad, especialmente a
los indígenas hermanos nuestros, descendiente de Geronimo, Toro Sentado,
Caballo Loco y otros grandes patriotas de esa nación. Igualmente a los
negros de país que continuan levantando las banderas de Martin Luter
King y Malcon X entre otros.
De ustedes con las más muestras de consideración y estima.
Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas (COPIN).
***********
This article is copyrighted by SPAN (c)1998 and may be reproduced if
credit is given to Nonviolent Ways Project.
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