Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) (

Lenca people.[1]

Known for its mobilizing capacity, it advocates for indigenous rights, participates in conflicts over resources, and opposes neoliberal economic policies, which it describes as "the pillage and re-colonization of our country." It has organized protests against water privatization, hydroelectric dams, and United States foreign policy.[2] Anthropologist Mark Anderson describes it as "a pivotal force within the ethnic movement" in Honduras.[2]

History

COPINH was founded as the Civic Committee of Popular Organizations of Intibuca (Spanish: Comité Civico de Organizaciones Populares de Intibucá) on March 27, 1993 by human rights defender Berta Cáceres (Lenca).[3][failed verification] Soon thereafter, the organization began to focus on the Lenca people. The organization's 2004 history describes how the Lenca "began to discover their indigenous face, a face of resistance and national identity."[2] In 1994, the organization affiliated with the Confederation of Autochthonous Peoples of Honduras (CONPAH). In the same year, Lenca activists from the group who wished to work more closely with the government and multilateral institutions created a rival Lenca organization, the National Indigenous Lenca Organization of Honduras (OLINH). By 1998, COPINH had adopted its current name.[2]

Among its early acts in 1994, COPINH organized a march to the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa demanding increased recognition of indigenous self-government through indigenous municipalities, a government moratorium on logging, and the investigation of violence against indigenous peoples, among other things. The Honduran government signed a 48-point agreement in response to the protests.[2]

In October 1997, some 150 Lenca protesters led by COPINH destroyed a prominent statue of Christopher Columbus in Tegucigalpa. Leaders Salvador Zúñiga and Candido Martinez accepted responsibility, defending the action as protesting a history of exploitation of indigenous peoples. Zúñiga declared, "It would seem that in this country clay leaders matter more than the real problems faced by indigenous people. If there is justice, we will be released, but we are not sorry for the act of dignity carried out on October 12."[4]

From 2013, Cáceres led COPINH and the local community in a year-long protest at the construction site of the DESA-backed Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam and project to prevent the companies from accessing the land by the

Honduran military opened fire on the protesters, killing one member of COPINH, Tomás García, and injuring three others, including his 17-year-old son, Alan.[5][6] The community reported regular threats and harassment from the company employees, security guards, and the military. In May 2014, members of COPINH were attacked in two separate incidents that resulted in two members dead and three seriously injured.[7]

In late 2013, both Sinohydro and the International Finance Corporation withdrew from the project because of COPINH's protests.

prisoners of conscience.[11] Dozens of regional and international organizations called upon the Honduran government to stop criminalizing the defense of human rights and to investigate threats against human rights defenders.[9][12]

After Cáceres was found shot to death at home on March 3, 2016, the

Inter-American Commission of Human Rights recommended precautionary measures for COPINH members.[13] In mid-March, authorities moved to evict a COPINH-led land occupation in Río Chiquito, located in Rio Lindo, Cortés department. While returning to his home, community leader Nelson Garcia (also a Lenca) was fatally shot four times in the face and killed.[14] A few weeks later, major international investors, the Netherlands Development Finance Co. (FMO), and FinnFund, announced they would suspend funding for the Agua Zarca project.[15]

The present

The danger continues for activists. In July 2016 Lesiba Yaneth, also a member of COPINH, was found killed. She had opposed the Aurora hydroelectric project, planned in the municipality of San Jose, in La Paz Province, Honduras. This project was very important to the government; "the vice-president of the National Congress, Gladys Aurora Lopez," was reported as having "direct ties" to it.[16] On July 8, Secretary of Security Julian Pacheco said that the government had failed to provide adequate protection for Cáceres, who had received death threats. The police and military are expected to protect human rights defenders. Three suspects were arrested within a week in the Yaneth murder.[16]

Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres, the daughter of the assassinated leader, Berta Cáceres, was elected general coordinator of the group in 2017.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Que es copinh - COPINH - Consejo Civico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras". Copinh.org. 10 December 2008.
  2. ^
    ISSN 1935-4932
    . Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  3. ^ a b c Matan a Berta Cáceres, líder indígena hondureña by La Prensa, 3 March 2016
  4. ^ Mejía, Thelma (1997-11-13). "Clay Leaders Matter More than Our Problems". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  5. ^ Gilber, John, "Under the Gun," Sierra, July/August 2017
  6. ^ School of the Americas Watch. "The Murder of Tomas Garcia by the Honduran Military". School of the Americas Watch. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Honduras: Asesinato y represión en San Francisco de Opalaca y Río Blanco". Resumen Latinoamericano. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Berta Cáceres – Goldman Environmental Foundation". Goldman Environmental Foundation. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  9. ^ a b Shoichet, Catherine E.; Griffiths, James; Flournoy, Dakota (3 March 2016). "Berta Cáceres, Honduran activist, killed". CNN.
  10. ^ Anaiz Zamora Márquez and Yunuhen Rangel Medina (3 January 2014). "Berta Cáceres dedicó su vida a la defensa del pueblo Lenca". Cimac Noticias. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Honduran Indigenous leaders at risk of unfair imprisonment". Amnesty International. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Pronunciamiento conjunto sobre la criminalización de defensores y defensoras de derechos humanos en Honduras". Center for Justice and International Law. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 15 October 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  13. Inter-American Commission of Human Rights
    . Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  14. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  15. ^ Rick Kearns, "A Win in Honor of Berta Carceres? Investors Pull Funding from Controversial Project", Indian Country Media, 6 July 2017; accessed 8 July 2017
  16. ^ a b Rick Kearns, "Another Activist Killed in Honduras, Ties to Slain Bertha Cáceres", Indian Country Today, 14 July 2016; 8 July 2017
  17. ^ "Environmentalists in Honduras, "neither ignorant nor anti-development"". Equal Times. Retrieved 2018-10-20.


Stub icon

This Honduras-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This organization-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Council_of_Popular_and_Indigenous_Organizations_of_Honduras&oldid=1213126108"