An interview with Berta Caceres of COPINH
By Bryan Rogers y Gloria Jiménez
In July of 2013, Lenca leader, Tomás Garcia, who was unarmed, was murdered by Honduran Military forces at the main gates of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam as the indigenous Lenca people were protesting its construction on their ancestral lands. There are three key Honduran military officers involved who have direct ties to U.S. military training.
The trial was held in La Esperanza, Intibucá, Honduras and on the final day of the hearing on December 8, 2015, Berta Cáceres from COPINH (the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras) spoke to Witness for Peace outside of the courthouse.
What will COPINH do if this is another case of impunity?
Given how the supposed justice system operates in Honduras, impunity is rather likely. More than 100 indigenous leaders, men and women, have been murdered with impunity and for many years individuals in power have been implicated in these murders, all of which occurred while defending their land, culture, spirituality, in defense of Mother Nature’s communal goods. And the case of Tomas Garcia and Alan could be yet another disgrace in which we’ve been living, which is the product of all the marginalization more>>>
