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| Share this action alert on your Facebook page or your Twitter account! Justice for Honduras - End U.S. Military Aid and Training SOA graduate involved in criminalization of Indigenous leader Berta Caceres On Friday, May 24, Berta Caceres, the General Coordinator of the Indigenous Lenca organization COPINH,  and Tomas Gomez of COPINH’s community radio station, were traveling on rural dirt roads to reach the Indigenous Lenca community of Rio Blanco when they were stopped by 15-20 soldiers. The whole area had been militarized just two weeks before in response to the area-wide mobilization against a hydroelectric dam being illegally built in the Indigenous Lenca community of Rio Blanco. The First Battalion of Engineers, commanded by an SOA graduate, occupied the area to protect the interests of the company and enable dam construction to continue in direct violation of ILO Convention 169 and the will of the communities in the area.Despite the military’s presence, evictions, sabotage to COPINH’s vehicle, death threats against community leaders, and intimidation, the resistance to the dam continued to grow as the Rio Blanco community neared 2 months of blocking the dam entrance. When Berta and Tomas drove the winding dirt roads to Rio Blanco on May 24, as they had many times before in COPINH’s now well-recognized vehicle, the military was waiting for them. They were on an isolated dirt road, where anything that occurred would be the word of at least 15 soldiers against that of Berta and Tomas. The COPINH leaders were ordered to stop and get out of the car. The soldiers proceeded to search their vehicle in detail, even poking their fingers in the engine, and found nothing. However, that did not matter in their pre-planned operation to criminalize Berta and weaken the struggle against the Agua Zarca dam: they simply claimed to have found a gun and then called the police, who took Berta and Tomas to jail. Berta was arrested and kept in jail overnight, finally being conditionally released after dozens of international phone calls inquiring for her safety. But first, she was charged with “illegally carrying weapons,” a charge that can result in time in prison. Subsequently, she was also charged with attempting against the internal security of the state of Honduras. Two-time SOA graduate Col. Milton Amaya, the Commander of the First Battalion of Engineers, made accusations about Berta Caceres to the press, resulting in several news articles that claim the well-known social movement leader was illegally armed. This is part of a broader strategy by the military and Honduran oligarchy to criminalize and defame social movements by painting them as armed or operating outside the law. Click here to continue reading. November 22-24, 2013 at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia Mobilize your community for the November Vigil Year after year, Honduras continues sending more and more soldiers to be trained at the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC) in Fort Benning, Georgia.  As the ongoing repression by Honduran military forces against the Honduran people show, it is more important than ever to close the SOA/ WHINSEC and demand a change in US foreign policy.Click here for more information about the organizing for the November Vigil at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia!Stay tuned for an email about local organizing to close the SOA and to resist U.S. militarization, that you can carry out in your community! |
