Month: April 2013
Honduras: Exhumations in the Aguán in Search of the Truth
National and international media gathered in the Committee of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH) office for the announcement of the exhumation of human remains found in the Paso Aguán plantation, in the jurisdiction of Trujillo, Colón. The initiative arose as a result of reports by the Unified Campesino Movement of the Aguan (MUCA) on April 3, when the discovery of a body in what appears to be a clandestine cemetery in the Paso Aguán plantation, in the community of Panamá, was reported.
Chile: A Carnival in Defense of Water Sweeps through the Streets of Santiago
More than 100 environmental, social and indigenous organizations protested Monday in the Chilean capital to demand that the state regain control over the management of water, which was privatized by the dictatorship in 1981. “Our main demand is the repeal of the water code that is denying us the right to have water to live,” said Teresa Nahuelpán, an activist with the Movement for the Defense of the Sea in Mehuín.
New Wave of Attacks against Land Rights Activists in Guatemala
While the world watches the historic case against the generals Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, indigenous peoples and human rights defenders are suffering persecution very similar to that perpetrated in the 1980s. As Guatemala begins to chip away at impunity for egregious human rights violations of the past, we must ensure that cycles of repression and violence do not repeat against current-day activists working to create a more just and inclusive society.
Defending Rio Blanco: Three Weeks of the Lenca Community Roadblock in Honduras
Source: SOA Watch It is now evening and dark at the patch of earth where Rio Blanco community members have gathered to defend their territory from companies that seek to privatize and profit from the […]
Argentina: No to Mining
A small town in Patagonia is at the heart of the anti-mining struggle in Argentina. Ten years ago it voted against a proposed gold and silver project, and now – a decade later – it has mobilized to reaffirm it’s rejection of mega-mining projects.
Paraguay’s Colorado Party Back in Power
(IPS) – Paraguay’s right-wing Colorado Party, which ruled the country for 60 years until 2008, will return to power under President-elect Horacio Cartes, who won Sunday’s presidential elections by a wide margin. Cartes, a tobacco […]
Genocide Trial of Former Dictator Ríos Montt Suspended After Intervention by Guatemalan President
Source: Democracy Now! A historic trial against former U.S.-backed Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity came to an abrupt end Thursday when an appeals court suspended the trial […]
“The Capacity not to Stop Dreaming”: An Interview with María Suárez Toro
María Suarez Toro is a Puerto Rican and Costa Rican journalist, feminist scholar, university professor, peace and women’s human rights activist with decades of experience working with liberation movements in Central America. María was one of 25 participants on a human rights delegation in Honduras from March 16-25. The delegation met with community members and social movement activists fighting against issues including mining, monoculture agriculture, mega-tourism, “model cities”, land theft, displacement, and labor exploitation. At the end of the delegation Upside Down World spoke with María and asked her to reflect on what she saw and heard, while giving additional historical and political context based on her past experiences fighting for social justice.