Garifuna Land & Rights Defender Receiving Death Threats in Honduras

Garifuna Leader Faces Death Threats if he Does Not Leave Triunfo de la Cruz Community

The territorial defender assured that he will not give in to threats and will continue to help the community and the organization. "I don't owe anything to anyone nor do I live off anyone, I am very independent. I don't have to leave my house," he affirmed.

López Álvarez won a case against the State of Honduras before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in February 2006 after his right to personal liberty, right to personal integrity and right to judicial guarantees and judicial protection were violated, following an arbitrary illegal detention, which ended up resulting in his imprisonment in a detention center for 6 years and 4 months.

THE VULNERABILITY OF THE GARÍFUNA PEOPLE

The origin of the problems that the Garífuna people face in Honduras lies in the government's disrespect for their communal territory and the State's failure to comply with the Triunfo de la Cruz and Punta Piedra rulings. This has allowed third parties to appropriate the lands.

This last incident in which López Álvarez was threatened is a clear example of the lack of action on the part of the Honduran State.

[Álvarez] shared that the origin of the threat comes from the fact that the community opened a cemetery, after the previous cemetery had reached capacity. The new cemetery is within the ancestral territory of the community of Triunfo de la Cruz, Tela, in the Honduran Caribbean, but was seized by the residents of Playa Escondida.

"Playa Escondida is where all the invading politicians live, who have houses to go for walks and vacations," and even Colombians, who believe they own the community, said López Álvarez.

THE STATE OF HONDURAS MUST URGENTLY INTERVENE

According to Edy Tábora, lawyer of the Bufete Justicia para los Pueblos and representative of Ofraneh, the State of Honduras has a responsibility to intervene to restore the territory to the Garífuna community, especially because this land has been taken by people with a lot of power in Honduras and abroad, with the objective of implementing hydroelectric, mining, and mega-tourist projects.

He warned that as long as there are no public officials who make decisions and assume responsibility, the conflict will continue. This lack of government action is costing the lives of Garífunas who have been murdered for demanding land restitution and land titling, not only in Triunfo de la Cruz in Tela, Atlántida, and Punta Piedra in Iriona, Colón, but also in the rest of the communities along the Honduran Caribbean coast.

Tábora remarked that the State has the obligation to clean up the territory and prevent further acts of violence against the Garífuna people. One of the concrete acts that the State can carry out is to put a stop to the criminalization of the Garífuna.

In addition, he said that the State must guarantee their safety and prevent the repetition of regrettable events such as the forced disappearance of the four Garifuna of Triunfo de la Cruz, and actions such as those denounced by Alfredo Lopez, who took the State to the Inter-American Court, won the case and now receives threats to leave his community in 24 hours.

"This is an urgent, serious situation and the State must react immediately," concluded the legal professional.

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