Violent Military Forced Removal of Peaceful Indigenous Demonstration In Honduras

Monday, May 12, 1997   4:00 Eastern Time


At 4am this morning the Honduran armed forces and police violently 
removed over 3000 indigenous peoples from the Presidential Palace in 
Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  The army brutally beat many of the protesters 
including pregnant women, elderly and small children.  Some of the 
indigenous have disappeared and are still not accounted for, and 
others had to be hospitalized because of the beatings by the army and 
police.  All of the food and many of the belongings of the indigenous 
people was confiscted.  

The native peoples had gathered peacefully to protest the recent 
assasinations of indigenous leaders Candido Amador Recinos 
and Ovidio Perez and to demand lands that pertain to their 
communities.  These lands are currently occupied by large landowners.

The Indigenous leaders were ready to sign an accord with the 
government following lengthy negotiations.  Instead of signing an 
agreement, the military brutally removed the indigenous from the
presidential palace to a vacant lot nearly a mile away. 

The indigenous people have decided to remain encamped where they
are until the government agrees to sign the accord.  They have 
little access to food, water and shelter.  To support their effort
please send donations to:  

CONPAH (Confederation of Autonomous Peoples of Honduras)
Apartado 20-585, Tegucigalpa, Honduras  Tel. (504) 25-2612
                                       Telefax (504) 25-4925

Please fax President Carlos Roberto Reina at: (504) 37-8237
with a message of protest at this violent act and urge that he
sign the accord which has been negotiated with the indigenous 
leaders. 

Please send copies of your messages to: 

conpah%conpah@sdnhon.org.hn   and  andres%acceso@sdnhon.org.hn

Write us for more information and/or visit the following website:

www.ibw.com.ni/~cgenica

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.