www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, DECEMBER 2003Struggle of Hondurans continuesBelow we print excerpts from a talk given in Chicago by Berta Caceres, an indigenous Honduran woman active with COPINH (Civil Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras). * * * COPINH is an alliance of 400, mostly indigenous communities in Honduras. At least 80% of Hondurans are living in poverty and there is a high incidence of infant mortality, disease and poor health. When COPINH was founded 10 years ago, the struggle centered on land. Recently we have integrated ourselves into the global struggles against Plan Panama and the FTAA. We confront transnationals that seek to re-colonize our land and the U.S. military which has had bases on our land for over 100 years, from which they invade our brother and sister countries. About 30% of the land in Honduras is owned by transnational corporations that export our products to the world. Another 30% of the land is going to transnational mining companies. Our Congress may soon approve of building hydroelectric dams. In my department there would not be a single river without a dam. We have struggled against the privatization of water and now against the hydroelectric dams, the concessions they want to give to corporations for our land and the areas of tourism they are planning with Plan Panama--the mark of death to our communities. Along with the policies of free trade we see increases of militarization and a return to the 1980s rates of violence in our areas. Just among Black and indigenous leaders there have been 50 deaths due to the struggle to defend the land, water and communities. No one has been put in prison for these assassinations. Five more were recently killed who were environmental justice activists. The landowners, police and investigators have collaborated in the assassinations. Despite our limitations the Honduran people have constantly mobilized for the rights of our land, water and lives. We've created a new process of unity among women's groups, the indigenous, urban, and student groups--among those who never had unity before. We've taken over the Capital for hours and coordinated this with the takeover of highways and other sites. As COPINH, we've struggled for eight years and as a result not one brick has been laid to dam our rivers. The national process of unity we've been creating has allowed us to call the whole of the Honduran people into resistance against privatization. As a result, entire municipalities have said they will not allow water to be privatized. These actions have been a big hit against neoliberalism, the IMF, World Bank, Bank for Central American Investment and the transnational corporations. In many regions they won't even let the planners of the transnationals come in. The people raise their arms with machetes, a traditional symbol of resistance, to keep them out. Building unity has not been a perfect process. But we are all learning from each other. We indigenous groups especially are making others learn and unlearn about us. Secondly, unity among women and men is primary. We are very self critical in this regard because we can't have unity where men dominate our struggle. We can't reproduce the problems of the power structure within our own struggle. Women must be more involved in the organizations and in the leadership. Colin Powell is coming to visit Honduras and we know it is not just for a visit. It is to continue the militarization of our country. This is why it's important for you to involve yourselves in this struggle. We need you to be our voice in Miami because we may not be able to be there. That's why it's important for you, who are in the stomach of the beast to fight against the FTAA. We usually don't ask for solidarity. Solidarity is something that is freely given. But our country has been so invisible that I must ask for your solidarity today. |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
