by Elizabeth Hallett
Editor’s note: July 5th Roberto David Castillo, former head of the Desarrollos Energeticos (Desa), which ran the now bankrupt $50 million Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam project, was found guilty of co-collaborating in the order to murder Berta Caceres.
The long-term struggle for effective prosecution of those involved in illegal corporate extraction – that ruins the environment and replaces nothing for those who live in areas rich in resources – depends upon the deeply committed human rights activists who hold a vision for a sustainable future. This conviction is a hard-won victory for all who have a passion for truth in reporting and for justice.
The following statement is from the InterReligious Task Force on Central America (IRTF):
“In June of this year, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, (DFC), which provides funding for private-sector mega-projects, reversed course and withdrew its pledge loans of $35.7 million in loans for the Río Jilamito Hydroelectric Dam Project.
Since May 2017, the Wide Movement for Dignity and Justice (MADJ) in northern Honduras has been organizing local residents in a peaceful resistance effort called the Honorable Encampment in Defense of Río Jilamito. Some of the organizers have been criminalized (i.e., false criminal charges). A lawyer was assassinated after defending the local mayor who opposes damming up their river. Since the disputed presidential election in November 2017, military and police have raided MADJ’s headquarters, waged assaults on and surveillance of their members, and have threatened Martín Fernandez Guzmán, MADJ’s General Coordinator. Some MADJ members have been murdered by state security forces and paramilitaries during the ongoing post-electoral crisis.”
The necessity of international solidarity
Defending air, land and water comes at a heavy price in Honduras, which consistently ranks in the top five deadliest countries for environmental defenders. These rare victories—like this withdrawal of millions of dollars of international financing for the Río Jilamito Dam—do not just pop up out of nowhere.
They come as the result of years of organizing on the ground in Honduras (e.g., Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, Movement for Dignity and Justice) and strategic partnerships with solidarity organizations in North America (e.g., Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective, SOA Watch, Honduras Solidarity Network, IRTF). The longtime presence of groups like IRTF is essential for building the movement for long-term structural change—creating the new normal.
Pearl Chen, a full time IRTF environmental justice fellow, wrote to supporters this spring: “[once I] started organizing through Sunrise-Cleveland and IRTF, I loved it and found myself wanting to spend all my time contributing to the movement.” She explains her passion for promoting clean water access and equity:
“People, in many cases, are putting their entire lives on the line in the struggle for liberation; that is why I have started volunteering with the Honduras Solidarity Network to defend the political prisoners of Guapinol…These eight are defenders of the Guapinol River, their community’s primary source for drinking water. They were violently removed and arrested for their peaceful participation in a legitimate protest camp meant to resist the mining of the national park where they reside…[a mining project] which is funded by the US company Nucor Steel. The Guapinol case…highlights the restrictions that exist in Honduras regarding freedom of association, assembly, and the right to protest against environmentally destructive extractive projects imposed without the consent of affected communities.”
Peace House salutes the work of the IRTF, The Honduras Solidarity Network and the many other human rights organizations working to defend the environment and those who work for environmental justice in Honduras.
