Jump to content

Berta Cáceres

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by FeanorStar7 (talk | contribs) at 15:28, 13 March 2016 (→‎External links: change birth cat to align with text; seems unclear what year she was born). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Spanish name 2

Berta Cáceres
File:Berta Cáceres interview 2015.jpg
Cáceres in 2015
Born
Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores

(1971-03-04)4 March 1971 (or 1972 or 1973; see references)
La Esperanza, Honduras
Died3 March 2016(2016-03-03) (aged 44)
La Esperanza, Honduras
Cause of deathMurder by shooting
NationalityHonduran
Occupation(s)Environmentalist, indigenous rights activists
Years active1993–2016
Known forwork to defend Lenca people habitat and rights, Río Gualcarque for which she won the Goldman Prize
ChildrenOlivia, Berta, Laura, Salvador

Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbeɾta isaˈβel ˈkaseɾes ˈfloɾes]; 4 March 1971,[1] 1972,[2] or 1973[3] – 3 March 2016)[4][5][6] was a Honduran environmental activist and indigenous leader of the Lenca people,[7] and co-founder and coordinator of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).[8][9][10] She won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015 for "a grassroots campaign that successfully pressured the world’s largest dam builder to pull out of the Agua Zarca Dam" at the Río Gualcarque.[11]

She was assassinated in her home by armed intruders, after years of threats against her life. Twelve environmental defenders were killed in Honduras in 2014, according to research by Global Witness, which makes it the most dangerous country in the world, relative to its size, for activists protecting forests and rivers.[12]

Early life

Cáceres was born in La Esperanza (Intibucá).[13] She grew up surrounded by the violence of Central America in the 1970s, and with a role model of humanitarianism, her mother, Berta Flores, a midwife and social activist who took in refugees from El Salvador and cared for them.[14][15]

She studied education at university and graduated with a teaching qualification.[13]

Activism

In 1993, as a student activist, Cáceres co-founded the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), an organization which aims to support indigenous people's rights in Honduras.[16] She led campaigns on a wide variety of issues, including illegal logging, plantation owners, and the presence of US military bases on Lenca land.[17][18] She supported feminism, LGBT rights, as well as wider social and indigenous issues.[19][20]

In 2006, a group of indigenous Lenca people from Río Blanco asked Cáceres to investigate the recent arrival of construction equipment in their area.[11] Cáceres duly investigated and informed the community that a joint venture project between Chinese company Sinohydro, the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, and Honduran company Desarrollos Energéticos (also known as DESA) had plans to construct a series of four dams on the Gualcarque River.[21] The developers had breached international law as the local people had not been consulted on the project, and the Lenca people were concerned that the dam would compromise their access to water, food and medicine, and therefore threaten their traditional way of life.[12][22] Cáceres worked together with the community to mount a protest campaign. She organized legal actions and community meetings against the project, and took the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.[12]

From 2013, Cáceres led COPINH and the local community in a year-long protest at the construction site to prevent the companies from accessing the land. Protesters were regularly removed from the site by security officers,[12] and on 15 July 2013, the military opened fire on the protesters, killing one member of COPINH and injuring three others.[23] The community regularly complained of threats and harassment from the company employees, security guards, and the military, and in May 2014, members of COPINH were attacked in two separate incidents that left two members dead and three seriously injured.[24]

In late 2013 both Sinohydro and the International Finance Corporation withdrew from the project because of COPINH's protests.[11] Desarrollos Energéticos continued, however, moving the construction site to another location to avoid the blockade.[12][21] Other local business leaders supported the project, and criminal charges were laid against Cáceres and two other indigenous leaders. They were charged with "usurpation, coercion and continued damages" against DESA for their roles in the protest, allegedly inciting others to cause damages to the company.[25] In response to the charges, Amnesty International stated that, if imprisoned, Amnesty International would consider them prisoners of conscience,[26] and dozens of regional and international organizations called upon the Honduran government to stop criminalizing the defense of human rights and to investigate threats against human rights defenders.[27]

On 20 February 2016, over 100 protesters were detained by security while protesting, and threats against the organisation began to increase.[12][28]

Threats and human rights concerns

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights included "Bertha Cáceres" (sic) on its 28 June 2009 list of people under threat during the 2009 Honduran coup d'état.[29] The following day it issued precautionary measures (MC 196-09) in defense of her and other activists, while acknowledging reports that military forces had surrounded her home.[29]

During the campaign against the dam, Cáceres and other organisers were frequently intimidated by the military and on one occasion their vehicle was searched while traveling to Rio Blanco. Cáceres claimed that during this search a gun was planted in the vehicle; the organisers were subsequently arrested on weapons charges and detained overnight in jail.[30] The court placed Cáceres under preventative measures, forcing her to sign in at the court every week and preventing her from leaving the country. The measures were in effect until the case was dismissed in February 2014.[31]

Recognition

Cáceres was awarded the Shalom Award by the Society for Justice and Peace at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in 2012, and she was a finalist for the 2014 Front Line Defenders Prize.[13] In 2015 she won the Goldman Environmental Prize.[11]

Death

Cáceres was shot dead in her home by armed intruders on the morning of 3 March 2016.[32][33] Mexican environmental activist Gustavo Castro Soto was also injured in the incident.[34] A COPINH statement indicated Castro was wounded by two gunshots, to the cheek and the hand.[35] Cáceres is survived by her four children with ex-husband and co-leader, Salvador Zúñiga.[13][34]

Prior to her death, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had recommended so-called "precautionary measures" for Cáceres because of the threats that had been made against her.[36] Under these measures, the Honduran government was required to protect her. On the day of her death, Cáceres was not under any protection; the Honduran security minister stated that she was not at the place which she had named as her home.[12] She had recently moved into a new house in La Esperanza.[28]

Justice for Berta Cáceres! protest in Washington, D.C.

In 2013, Cáceres had told Al Jazeera:

The army has an assassination list of 18 wanted human rights fighters with my name at the top. I want to live, there are many things I still want to do in this world but I have never once considered giving up fighting for our territory, for a life with dignity, because our fight is legitimate. I take lots of care but in the end, in this country where there is total impunity I am vulnerable... When they want to kill me, they will do it.[37]

In April 2015, the international human rights organization Global Witness highlighted Cáceres' case as emblematic of the severe risks faced by environmental activists in Honduras, the country with the most killings of environmental and land defenders per capita in the world.[38]

Reactions

Berta Isabel Zúñiga Cáceres, the 25-year-old daughter of Berta Cáceres, said in an interview she holds the company that wanted to build the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam responsible for her mother's death, that it is "very easy to pay people to commit murders in Honduras, but those who are behind this are other powerful people with money and an apparatus that allows them to commit these crimes" and that "they had paid assassins on several occasions to kill her."[39]

Cáceres' death was widely condemned, with calls for an investigation coming from the Organization of American States (OAS),[40] the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras,[41] and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.[42] Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández declared the investigation of the murder a priority,[43] and Luis Almagro, the Secretary General of the OAS, reiterated the OAS's previous call for special protection of indigenous human rights defenders in Honduras.[40] Other expressions of support came from actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, Canadian environmentalist Naomi Klein, Amnesty International, singer René Pérez of Calle 13, former Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba, Oxfam, the Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, and Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.[21][28][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]

A group of around 100 COPINH members marched to the provincial police station after her death, to demand an independent international investigation into her murder.[28] There was a protest at the Harry S. Truman Building, in Washington, D.C.[6] On 4 March 2016, students at the National Autonomous University of Honduras staged a protest over Cáceres' death, angry over the level of protection offered to her during her lifetime, demanding an independent investigation and throwing rocks while police used tear gas in violent clashes during the protest.[49] Protests were also held outside the Embassy of Honduras in Bogotá, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Vienna, Berlin, and Barcelona.[51][better source needed][52]

Investigation

On 3 March 2016, the day of her death, government officials performed an autopsy of Cáceres' body without oversight, even though her family had requested an independent forensics expert.[53] The same day, the government began its investigation and activated its Violent Crimes Unit (Unidad de Delitos Violentos) on the case, which coordinates its work with the United States.[54] COPINH member Aureliano Molina Villanueva was detained on 3 March as a suspect in the killing,[55] which COPINH denounced, calling it an attempt to falsely blame him.[35] On 5 March, Molina was released for lack of evidence linking him to the crime.[55] Security guard José Ismael Lemus was also detained and released.[55] Judicial orders require José Ismael Lemus and attack survivor Gustavo Castro to remain in the country as the investigation continues.[55]

In a 5 March press conference, Cáceres' four children—Olivia, Berta, Laura, and Salvador—expressed their lack of confidence in the Honduran government investigation; they described her death as a political act, and called for an international investigation into the homicide.[56]

On 6 March 2016, President Hernández asked UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra´Ad Al Hussein to accompany the investigation into Cáceres' death.[54]

In the days following the murder, an Amnesty International (AI) delegation met with the Minister of Human Rights, Justice, Interior and Decentralization and representatives from the Ministry of Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General's Office, the Prosecutor's Office, and civil society, as well as Cáceres's family members.[57] Amnesty criticized President Hernández for his refusal to meet with Cáceres' relatives, human rights defenders, and AI. Amnesty condemned "the Honduran government's absolute lack of willingness to protect human rights defenders in the country" and noted that the Honduran authorities had failed "to follow the most basic lines of investigation, including the fact that Berta had been receiving serious death threats related to her human rights work for a very long time." [57]

References

  1. ^ "En memoria de Berta Cáceres: una mujer e indígena excepcional". Diario El País (Spain) (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Bert Cáceres, hondureña que entregó su vida en defensa del ambiente". La Prensa. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Berta Cáceres festejaría hoy su cumpleaños". Diario La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  4. ^ Newmedia, RTL. "Honduras: assassinat de la militante écologiste Berta Caceres". RTL Info. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  5. ^ Gustavo Palencia and Enrique Pretel (3 March 2016). "Environmental and indigenous rights leader murdered in". Reuters. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Remembering Berta Cáceres, Assassinated Honduras Indigenous & Environmental Leader". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  7. ^ Redacción/EFE. "Matan a Berta Cáceres, líder indígena hondureña". Diario La Prensa. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  8. ^ "To Defend the Environment, Support Social Movements Like Berta Cáceres and COPINH". Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Berta Cáceres: "Green Nobel." Also, Galeano on The Right to Delirium". Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Cáceres, Threatened Honduran, Wins Biggest Enviro Award". Radio Free. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d "Berta Cáceres - Goldman Environmental Foundation". Goldman Environmental Foundation. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Malkin, Elisabeth; Arce, Alberto (3 March 2016). "Berta Cáceres, Indigenous Activist, Is Killed in Honduras". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d Xiomara Orellana (3 March 2016). "Berta Cáceres, un ícono étnico que les dio voz a los indígenas". La Prensa (Honduras). Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  14. ^ "Honduran Indigenous Leader Berta Cáceres Assassinated, Won Goldman Environmental Prize". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres murdered, family says". The Tico Times | Costa Rica News. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  16. ^ "Council of Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) (via Rights Action) | Cultures of Resistance". culturesofresistance.org. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  17. ^ Watts, Jonathan (19 April 2015). "Honduran indigenous rights campaigner wins Goldman prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  18. ^ "International condemnation of the murder of indigenous leader Bertha Cáceres in Honduras". Transnational Institute. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  19. ^ "Internationally-recognized rights defender Berta Cáceres murdered in Honduras - FSRN". fsrn.org. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  20. ^ Mackey, Danielle Marie (11 March 2016). "Drugs, Dams, and Power: The Murder of Honduran Activist Berta Cáceres". The Intercept. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  21. ^ a b c Shoichet, Catherine E.; Griffiths, James; Flournoy, Dakota (3 March 2016). "Berta Cáceres, Honduran activist, killed". CNN.
  22. ^ Carlton, Jim; Althaus, Dudley. "Prize-Winning Activist Berta Cáceres Killed in Honduras". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  23. ^ School of the Americas Watch. "The Murder of Tomas Garcia by the Honduran Military". School of the Americas Watch. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  24. ^ "Honduras: Asesinato y represión en San Francisco de Opalaca y Río Blanco". Resumen Latinoamericano. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  25. ^ Anaiz Zamora Márquez and Yunuhen Rangel Medina (3 January 2014). "Berta Cáceres dedicó su vida a la defensa del pueblo Lenca". Cimac Noticias. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  26. ^ "Honduran Indigenous leaders at risk of unfair imprisonment". Amnesty International. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  27. ^ "Pronunciamiento conjunto sobre la criminalización de defensores y defensoras de derechos humanos en Honduras". Center for Justice and International Law. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  28. ^ a b c d Berta Cáceres, Honduran environment and human rights activist, murdered Published by The Guardian, 3 March 2016
  29. ^ a b "Precautionary Measures Granted by the Commission during 2009". Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Organization of American States. 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  30. ^ Gynther, Brigitte. "SOA graduate involved in criminalization of Indigenous leader Berta Caceres | SOA Watch: Close the School of the Americas". School of the Americas Watch. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  31. ^ "Honduras: Update - Dismissal of case against human rights defender Ms Berta Cáceres". Front Line Defenders. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  32. ^ "Honduras Indigenous Leader Berta Caceres Assassinated in Home". TeleSur. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  33. ^ "Energy Company is Behind Berta Caceres' Death, Says Daughter". TeleSur. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  34. ^ a b José Meléndez (3 March 2016). "Mexicano es herido en asesinato de líder indígena hondureña". El Universal (Mexico). Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  35. ^ a b COPINH (3 March 2016). "Comunicado de Ayer de COPINH: Berta Caceres Vive!!!". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  36. ^ "Pueblo hondureño repudia el asesinato de Berta Cáceres". TeleSur. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  37. ^ Nina Lakhami (24 December 2013). "Honduras dam project shadowed by violence". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  38. ^ Global Witness (April 2015) How Many More? (pdf)
  39. ^ Hija de Berta Cáceres: Ella era una luchadora firme. La Prensa Honduras edition, 4 March 2016, retrieved 8 March 2016
  40. ^ a b "Secretario de la OEA condena asesinato de Berta Cáceres". La Tribuna. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  41. ^ "Berta Cáceres, Human Rights, Environmental Activist Killed In Honduras". Latin Times. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  42. ^ "La ONU condena el asesinato de la líder indígena hondureña Berta Cáceres". HispanTV. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  43. ^ "Gobierno de Honduras condena el vil asesinato de Berta Cáceres". El Heraldo. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  44. ^ Harriet Alexander (4 March 2016). "Honduran environmentalist Berta Caceres murdered in her home". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  45. ^ "Calle 13:"El asesinato de Berta Cáceres multiplicará la lucha"". La Prensa. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  46. ^ "Piedad Córdoba condena asesinato de líder social Berta Cáceres". TeleSur. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  47. ^ "Alcaldesa de Barcelona: "Asesinos de Berta no callarán su vuz ni su lucha"". NotiBomba. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  48. ^ "Venezuela:Nicolás Maduro reacciona por muerte de hondureña Berta Cáceres". El Heraldo. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  49. ^ a b correspondent, Jonathan Watts Latin America (4 March 2016). "Murder of activist Berta Cáceres sparks violent clashes in Honduras". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  50. ^ "On The Assassination Of Berta Caceres In Honduras". www.leahy.senate.gov. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  51. ^ "Justicia por Berta en Colombia: manifiestan en las afueras de la embajada de Honduras". comunitariapress.wordpress.com. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  52. ^ "Proteste nach Ermordung von Aktivistin Berta Cáceres in Honduras" (in German). Amerika 21. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  53. ^ Silvio Carrillo, Remembering Berta Cáceres, Assassinated Honduras Indigenous & Environmental Leader. Democracy Now, 4 March 2016, retrieved 8 March 2016
  54. ^ a b "Gobierno de Honduras pidió al Alto Comisionado investigue crimen de Berta Cáceres". El Heraldo. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  55. ^ a b c d "Intibucá: Liberan a sospechosos por muerte de Cáceres". Tiempo. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  56. ^ Lagos, Augustín (5 March 2016). "Hijos de Berta Cáceres exigen que comisión internacional investigue el crimen". El Heraldo. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  57. ^ a b Amnesty International (8 March 2016). "Honduras:Deep failures in investigation into activist's killing put many at risk". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Berta Cáceres.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Berta_Cáceres&oldid=709863911"