FIAN HONDURAS
(Food First Information & Action Network)
International Human Rights Organization for the Right to Food
(Food First Information & Action Network)
International Human Rights Organization for the Right to Food
Communiqué
A few minutes ago, Guadalupe Carney leaders have reported that army troops and police officers are taking the community under their own methods of preparation of military actions that have raised fears amongst the residents.
The Guadalupe Carney is a settlement of agrarian reform located on land occupied by the Regional Military Training Center (CREM) which trained members of the armies of Honduras, El Salvador and the Nicaraguan contras during the 80s.
The 5.700 hectares which were bought from Temistocles Ramirez after paying him 17 million dollars that were charged to Honduras' foreign debt, were titled as public land.
In 1991, during the government of Rafael Leonardo Callejas, a Municipal Law was issued that allowed the sale of national land and land owned by the commonality by the local government. The city of Trujillo, therefore, sold the CREM lands to local ranchers for only 20 to 30 Lempiras per hectare, resulting in the total sale all of those lands for about 50,000 lempiras.
A heist could only be invalidated in part due to the struggles of farmers with the support of the Society of Jesus in the department of Colón, at that time, under the direction of Jesuit priest Pedro Marchetti. Fortunately, the legislators did not notice that the lands were under State title and did not consider them within Law of Municipalities.
The farmers settled there by the National Agrarian Institute (INA) aproved the whole process required by the Land Reform Act and all that remained in waiting line was the compensation to illegal buyers, which so far is 106 million lempiras paid by the State of Honduras.
For almost ten years there has been confrontation between the peasants and those who illegally occupied land. By now, about 20 people have been killed in that conflict.
Now the farmers have taken over 800 hectares planted with oil palm by Miguel Facussé originally included in the lot occupied by the CREM and according to peasant leaders of Guadalupe Carney, they belong to them.
These historical facts are well known to the prosecution of human rights, the security ministry and certainly by the INA, because national and international organizations have recurred to them, when violent clashes have been provoked, in order for them to investigate the facts or to rush compensation and avoid greater evils.
Again, we ask the Human Rights organizations at international level, governments, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU) to intercede in order to avoid further bloodshed in the country.
We ask international human rights bodies their immediate presence to verify the constant human rights violations against peasants and human rights defenders in Lower Aguan, who in a direct and systematic way, are victims of patterns of persecution, harassment, and death threats permanently during the regime of Porfirio Lobo Sosa as the continuation of the de facto regime emerged on 28 June.
Tegucigalpa MDC, April 23, 2010
Gilberto Ríos Gilberto Rios
Secretario Ejecutivo Executive Secretary
The farmers settled there by the National Agrarian Institute (INA) aproved the whole process required by the Land Reform Act and all that remained in waiting line was the compensation to illegal buyers, which so far is 106 million lempiras paid by the State of Honduras.
For almost ten years there has been confrontation between the peasants and those who illegally occupied land. By now, about 20 people have been killed in that conflict.
Now the farmers have taken over 800 hectares planted with oil palm by Miguel Facussé originally included in the lot occupied by the CREM and according to peasant leaders of Guadalupe Carney, they belong to them.
These historical facts are well known to the prosecution of human rights, the security ministry and certainly by the INA, because national and international organizations have recurred to them, when violent clashes have been provoked, in order for them to investigate the facts or to rush compensation and avoid greater evils.
Again, we ask the Human Rights organizations at international level, governments, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU) to intercede in order to avoid further bloodshed in the country.
We ask international human rights bodies their immediate presence to verify the constant human rights violations against peasants and human rights defenders in Lower Aguan, who in a direct and systematic way, are victims of patterns of persecution, harassment, and death threats permanently during the regime of Porfirio Lobo Sosa as the continuation of the de facto regime emerged on 28 June.
Tegucigalpa MDC, April 23, 2010
Gilberto Ríos Gilberto Rios
Secretario Ejecutivo Executive Secretary
Cc: Cc:
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
cidhoea@oas.org cidhoea@oas.org
EU Presidency
web@eu2010.es web@eu2010.es
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
magiluz@cejil.org magiluz@cejil.org
Copenhagen Initiative for Central America and Mexico (CIFCA)
cifca@cifca.org cifca@cifca.org
Political Studies Institute for Latin America and Africa
iepala@iepala.es iepala@iepala.es
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
cidhoea@oas.org cidhoea@oas.org
EU Presidency
web@eu2010.es web@eu2010.es
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
magiluz@cejil.org magiluz@cejil.org
Copenhagen Initiative for Central America and Mexico (CIFCA)
cifca@cifca.org cifca@cifca.org
Political Studies Institute for Latin America and Africa
iepala@iepala.es iepala@iepala.es
klaus.welle@europarl.eu
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