Rights activists and indigenous protesters clashed with riot police in Tegucigalpa Oct. 20 following the murder of two prominent campesino leaders—the latest in a wave of repressive terror. The protest at the Public Ministry was called to demand justice in the case of José Ángel Flores and Silmer Dionosio George of Unified Campesino Movement of the Aguán (MUCA). The two were slain by unknown gunmen Oct. 18 as they left a community meeting in Tocoa, Colón department. Tocoa is in the Lower Aguán Valley, the center of a longstanding conflict between campesinos and large landowners accused of acquiring their lands in contravention of Honduras' agrarian reform laws. The two activists were supposedly under protective measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The orders were issued in May 2014 for several campesino leaders in the Aguán following a wave of killings and death threats. (Human Rights Watch, HispanTV, Oct. 21; Honduras Solidarity Network, Oct. 18)
Honduran company cited for human rights violations
A coalition of human rights organizations issued a letter Feb. 12 urging international corporations to suspend their trade transactions with Corporación Dinant, a company in Honduras that manufactures consumer products and sells snacks, cooking oils as well as processed foods throughout Central America. The organizations cited severe human rights violations against local farmers and unethical business practices related to Dinant’s palm oil production as the reason for this suspension.
In their joint letter, human rights organizations stated that Corporación Dinant’s activity and the expansion of its palm plantations in the Aguan Valley have involved human rights violations for decades. These violations include land grabs, intimidation, prosecution, and even the murder of local peasants and rural communities who opposed Dinant’s land expansion. Organizations also highlighted the use of violence by security forces and other armed groups allegedly linked to Corporación Dinant. (Jurist)