TAKE ACTION- Murder and Arrest of Honduran Peasant Activists

July 29, 2003

The National Center for Rural Workers (CNTC) in Honduras, Central America asks for urgent support for their communities after 2 activists are murdered and 30 detained in two separate attacks July 16 and July 17th.

Print Article Email Article

On July 19, 2003, two landless farmer activists (Fabian Gonzales and
Jose Santos Carrio)were murdered by guards employed by Jose Leon
Argueta, a wealthy land owner in La Paz, Honduras. Another farmer,
Jose Natividad Gonzales remains hospitalized in critical condition
from the same attack. The farmers belong to the community, "Sendero
del Progreso" in the muncipality of San Jose. This community is
affiliated to the National Center of Rural Workers (CNTC), and was
established a month earlier on land eligible for recuperation
according to Honduran agricultural reform laws. Argueta claims
ownership of the land but failed to present the legal proofs required
by law to dispute the small farmers' claims, preferring to try to
take the land through a brutal attack by hired gunman on the landless
activists.

The murders in La Paz occurred only 3 days after a violent attack
July 16th on another CNTC community, "Unidos Venceramos" (United We
Will Win)in the municipality of Victoria in the department of Yoro.
The community was violently evicted from the land they have claimed
under the Agrarian Reform Act which allows landless campesinos to
cultivate and file claim to land which has been abandoned or is not
being cultivated. In this case, the National Agrarian Institute had
already recognized the small farmers' petition to the land. Despite
this fact, 35 homes were destroyed along with 40 manzanas of
cultivated corn fields (approximately 40 city blocks). Thirty
residents of the community were detained by the police. 18 were
released, some with serious charges still pending, while 12 remain
detained. Court proceedings are scheduled for Tuesday, July 22, 2003.

The CNTC has issued a call for international support for its
communities, asking for phone calls and faxes to the addresses listed
below. The CNTC is demanding that the government release the landless
campesino activists from jail in Yoro and drop all charges against
them. They demand that murder and attempted murder charges be
investigated and brought against Jose Leon Argueta and his hired
gunmen, Mariano Rubio and Francis Rubio in the case of the murders
and attempted murder in La Paz. In both cases, they demand that the
process and decisions by the National Agrarian Institute, in
agreement with the Agrarian Reform Act, be respected by the wealthy
landowners and other government and police organs.

The landless and poor peasant movement in Honduras has come under
increasing attacks as the Honduran government under President Ricardo
Madero attempts to destroy the Agrarian Reform Act. Honduras is one
of the poorest countries in the hemisphere. Its population continues
to be predominantly rural and the transfer of fertile lands to the
landless and smallest farmers is essential for their survival.

Please send faxes (in english or spanish) or call (in spanish)
immediately to the following:

1. Corte Suprema de Justicia: FAX 011-504-232-8398, TEL 011-504-234-1150
   
2. Instituto Nacional Agrario (INA) FAX 011-504-232-8398, TEL 011-504-232-4893
   
3. Fax letters of support (english or spanish) to the National Center
   for Rural Workers in Honduras (Central Nacional de los Trabajadores
   del Campo-CNTC) 011-501-223-9516.