Josie Renforth
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/4/remembering_berta_caceres_assassinated_honduras_indigenous
Democracy Now: Friday March 4, 2016
Remembering Berta Cáceres, Assassinated Honduras Indigenous & Environmental Leader.
Honduran Indigenous Indain Environmental Activist, Romembering Cáceres was assinated in her home Thursday March 3, 2016. She became a target of the Honduran government when her Environmental Activism prevailed in preventing a hydro dam to be built on the Rio Blanco. The activist involved held peaceful protests and blocked a road for over a year. Dispite military presence, threats of violent attacks, and the assignation of co-founder Tomas Garcia during a peaceful protest. The held strong. The 500 people protecting the roadblock in protesting the Rio Blanco won.
In 1993 she co-founded COPINH, The Council of Popular of Indigenous Organizatons of Honduras.
Berta won the Goldman Environmental awad in 2015.
Central and South America are deadly plces if you are an environmental Activist. According to DN! 116 Environmental Activist were killed in 2015, 75% were killed in South and Central America.
According to Global Witness in 2014 nearly 2 Environmental Activist were killed every week in Honduras.
Last week on Friday, Protest marches from Washington DC to Honduras demanding Justice for Bertas death.
"…let us wake up! Let us wake up human kind. We are out of time.We must shake our conscious free of the rapacious capitalism, racism, and patriarchy that will only assure our own destruction…I dedicate this award to my all the rebels out there..and to the martyrs who gave their lives"
- Berta Cáceres 215 Golman Prize acceptance speech
Berta and COPINH utilized grassroots efforts, education of locals, protests, writing to governmental leaders, and the ultimate price, life.
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