Honduran Indigenous activists visit Europe to call for action
From April 19 to May 5 a delegation of four Indigenous Lenca activists from Honduras will be visiting five European countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Finland, Germany and Spain) to engage with Members of Parliament, policy makers and NGOs, discuss with financiers, join national protests at financiers and talk to media and the general public about the repression and impunity in their country. The main goal of the delegation’s visit is to stop the involvement of these countries in the Agua Zarca projects and other projects impacting the indigenous Lenca people in Honduras.On March 2, 2016, Berta Cáceres, the internationally-renowned Honduran human rights and environment defender and Lenca indigenous leader, was murdered, after leading for several years the struggle against a hydroelectric project along the Gualcarque River, also known as the Agua Zarca Project.
Impression of Berta Cáceres by www.onehemisphere.se
The delegation will be coming to Europe in order to denounce this murder, call on Dutch development bank FMO and Finland- based FinnFund to withdraw from the Agua Zarca project and call on the German companies Siemens and Voith to give up their plan to sell turbines to the Agua Zarca project. Given the ongoing persecution and murders of members of environmental and human rights organisations, they also call on the EU to suspend security aid to Honduras, and push for an independent investigation led by a commission of experts from the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, into Berta’s murder.
For more details and background information see:
2-pager about the purpose and the nature of the visit of the delegation.
News item 16 March: FMO's suspension of activities in Honduras is just the first step
News item 5 March: Brave humans rights defender Berta Cáceres murdered
Specific activities of the delegation in the Netherlands:
- Thursday April 21st from 5-6 PM: Special procedure: dialogue between COPINH delegation and Members of Dutch Parliament
- Friday April 22nd at 2 PM: a demonstration (open to anyone) in front of the FMO headquarters, Anna van Saksenlaan 71, 2593 HW, The Hague
- Monday April 25th at 8 PM: a public debate (open to anyone) titled ‘Honduras in focus: The struggle of human rights defenders’ in Studio/K, Timorplein 62, 1094 CC, Amsterdam
- On Monday April 25th and Tuesday April 26th the delegation will have meetings with the Dutch Ministry and FMO.
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