Giles Clarke/Global Witness/dpa Fighting deforestation
Environmental activist Juán López was murdered in Honduras on September 14. Those suspected of involvement were arrested in early October. What can you say about the person who was killed?
Juán López is a defender of common interests and natural resources in the Colón department. Together with local residents, he organized the defense of the Guapinol River from corporate interests. The Honduran state does not protect the lives of defenders of the common good; Juán López is just one of many murders in recent years. In Honduras there are many concessions for hydroelectric power generation, mining and deforestation. When people organize against it, they reap repression, criminalization and murder. López’s incident occurred a day before Honduras’ “Independence Day” celebrations. But there is no independence in Honduras.
What do you mean by that?
Foreign companies have settled here, exploiting our resources and transporting them abroad. After the murder, people demanded justice for López for a whole month.
Who do you blame?
Adán Fúnez, mayor of the district city of Tocoa, is responsible – together with the EMCO group of companies. State authorities protect companies. Fúnez is a member of the ruling Libre party (Libertad y Refundación – Freedom and Refoundation, jW) by President Xiomara Castro. Environmental activist López is a member of the same party.
Now there have been arrests in the case. Does it provide satisfaction to society?
Due to pressure from the public, three people were arrested in early October and transferred to prison last week. However, society also demands that the intellectual perpetrators of these crimes be prosecuted, not just the perpetrators.
Castro’s government has been in power for almost three years. How do you think it’s performing so far?
During the “dictatorship” (the period of the National Party government after the 2009 coup, jW) we have hope that with Castro and Libre, a government will come to power and rule for the people. After almost three years, it doesn’t look like that. Killings continued, as did repression of environmental activists and workers. Just this Friday there was a brutal police operation that left four people injured against workers at a maquila, a clothing factory in Puerto Cortés, who were demanding their rights. And the National Party reports directly to President Xiomara Castro. We are also witnessing an alarming militarization or remilitarization of the regions most affected by extractivism.
It seems the government is drafting a law banning open-pit mining. How far has the progress gone?
In theory, Castro announced this publicly after he took office, and it was part of his election campaign. But so far nothing has happened. There has not been a single mining permit revocation, none of which was caused by deforestation. Fighting and oppression continued.
How do you assess the events surrounding Defense Minister José Manuel Zelaya who has now resigned after a visit to Venezuela in early September? America leveled accusations of drug smuggling, and the government declared plans for a coup.
Drug trafficking has infiltrated all corners of Honduras. Lawmakers, promising candidates and mayors have been bought off and engaged in criminal transactions. As sad as it is, we have to realize that the Libre side is no exception. Perhaps not the entire party, but individuals, including those in important positions, behaved like the National Party and the Liberal Party.
