Resistance and Repression on the Rise in Honduras
May 30, 2004

Last month, as America stood in an amnesic shock over images of its colonialist savagery, a tense showdown took place in the hills of Intibuca, Honduras between the Honduran police and a newly formed convergence of Honduran popular movements proclaiming something that the rest of us have yet to articulate – “basta ya.’ Calling itself the Regional Coordination of Popular Resistance (CRRP), the coalition formed unprecedented alliances among a broad spectrum of allegiances, joining campesino and indigenous movements with labor unions, agricultural federations and the local Catholic Church. In this, the latest chapter of Honduran popular struggle, the CRRP took its aim at both local corruption and exploitation as well as American empire expansion, and this past month it struck an impressive blow. Its gains, however, have not come without a price for local activists, as acts of intimidation and violence against movement leaders are on the rise.

A Friendlier, Happier Occupation

The actions began early on the morning of April 26, as the largest organization in the Intibuca CRRP, the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), moved into the regional Ministry of Education offices. As the bleary-eyed and bewildered police gathered, a band of co-conspirators broke away and headed for the municipal mayor’s office. Before the work day began, the CRRP was also occupying the regional joint office of the Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research, the Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock and the Honduran Corporation for Forestry Development.

Simultaneously throughout the day and sporadically during the weeks that followed, smaller CRRP groups blockaded the major thoroughfares, preventing contaminated potato seed from getting in and freshly cut lumber from getting out. In one instance, 500 sacks of GMO potato seed were confiscated.

Their demands were diverse and far-reaching and included a series of reforms in education, land and trade policy, as well as a profound shift in Honduras’ subordinate relationship with the United States. The CRRP demanded the resignation of a corrupt Director of Education who has a long history of hiring and firing teachers based on political allegiances. They demanded that the Intibuca potato, an icon of local patrimony, not be destroyed by an influx of genetically modified seed from foreign countries. They demanded that maquila workers in local factories be free from arbitrary dismissal and that the right to form labor unions be respected. They demanded agrarian reform and the cessation of mining and logging in the area, practices that are
destroying local habitats, water supplies and livelihoods. They demanded that the local
government stop exploiting economic desperation, inflating remittance taxes and pilfering the contributions of family members working in the US. They demanded an end to the misappropriation of public funds to private companies under the guise of “development.” They demanded a halt to privatization schemes underway for education, water and healthcare services. They demanded and the release of movement leaders being unjustly held in one of the world’s most notorious prison systems.

In an official statement issued May 1 expressing solidarity with anti-imperialist movements around the world, the larger National Coordination of Popular Resistance echoed the above demands, adding that their government must not sign away their futures by becoming a party to the imbalanced and exploitative Central American Free Trade Agreement. Their final demand was that their “country refrain from involving itself in conflicts that are in response to the interests of the government of the United States,” and that “American troops.. now entering our national territory be withdrawn.” This in response to a recent visit by Colin Powell to Honduras to enlist the Honduran government in the “war on terrorism.” It is believed that his visit furthered negotiations for a new US military base along the Mosquito coast.

Backlash

Almost immediately, death threats and acts of intimidation against various CRRP leaders abounded. Noel Pinel, President of the National Federation of Potato Producers (FENAPA), was charged with aggravated robbery and is currently awaiting trial.

Meanwhile, the CRRP’s demands were going unanswered and Honduran special police forces known as “Cobras” began entering the major cities in the region. Rumors spread that paramilitary units, consisting of security agents working for the logging firms, were being armed to fight local “terrorists” threatening commercial activity.

On May 20, eighty members of COPINH participating in a land recuperation in Tutule la Paz were awoken and arrested in the early morning hours by trucks full of police.

However, the resilience and organization of this newly forged alliance were underestimated. In response to the acts of intimidation, they established a constant presence outside of the county jail and increased the number of highway blockades.

Then, on May 22, representatives of the President’s office, the Ministers of Defense, Education, Transportation and Agriculture finally agreed to sit down to the negotiating table. After hours of deliberation, many of their local demands were met, including: the establishment of a “green belt” around the major municipal centers; the cessation of logging for a 40-day period of investigation, with community participation in conducting surveys; strict regulations regarding potato seed imports; the immediate firing of Director of Education Mario Roberto Cantarero; public audits of various local municipalities; a series of land reform resolutions; and the release of 77 of the 80 campesinos arrested during the land recuperation (the other three are to be
released any day now).

In an email update that evening, COPINH leader Berta Caseres reported:
Today we can scream VICTORIA!.. Tonight there are community festivals of
every kind and the people are collecting signatures on the agreements... but this
is only a recess, because it is now time to organize for the next big event: the
National March of the NATIONAL Coordination of Popular Resistance, from
every end of the country... So, please prepare actions in front of the Honduran
embassies in the US, because among other issues there is still more work to be
done on water and forest preservation, against the mines, and on the
EXPULSION OF GRINGO TROOPS FROM HONDURAS!! We do not forget
one struggle when another is won...This is the end of one battle, but not the war!!

Progress at a Price

As of this writing, however, things have once again grown tense for the CRRP organizers in Intibuca.

Professor Idalecio Murillo, a teacher involved with pushing for education reform within the CRRP, awoke on the morning of May 27, as bullets riddled his home. Luckily, no one in his family was injured.

Later on that evening, at around 11:30 pm, two armed men arrived at the COPINH offices, cocking their guns and trying to force their way inside. After banging on the doors and walls for almost a half an hour, they finally left, leaving 2 bullets on the front step.

Local law officers have all but ignored these incidents and have failed to accept petitions for police reports. Witnesses, after describing the cars and authors of these acts of violence, have inexplicably changed their stories within hours or days of the attacks. The organizers of COPINH and of other affiliated organizations fear for their safety and for their ability to continue struggling for a more just and inclusive model of development and against the imperialism and poverty that have ravished Honduras for generations.

To that end, it is crucial that the rest of the world celebrate their victories, join them in their struggle, and stay tuned so that both their progress, and the price they pay for it, do not go unnoticed.

For more information and an urgent action, please contact author at jespup (at) riseup.net.