agriculture

With Esly Banegas

Persecution against
SINTRAINA leader

IUF affiliate reports steady violation of human rights
 

Bajo Aguán, in the Atlantic region of Honduras, has become a place where defending the human rights of thousands of peasants means being exposed to all sorts of threats and continuous persecution.

The struggle of the Unified Peasant Movement of Aguán (Spanish acronym MUCA) and other peasant organizations to recover land taken away from them by large palm producers has been also supported by unions such as the IUF affiliate National Agricultural Institute Workers Union (Spanish acronym SITRAINA).

This has been enough for its leaders to be under continuous persecution.

Sirel interviewed Esly Banegas, president of the Tocoa local of SITRAINA, and regional coordinator of the Grassroots Umbrella Organization of Aguán (Spanish acronym COPA) to report her difficult situation at present.

- Please tell us the contents of the complaint you submitted to the Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared (COFADEH)

- For many years, in SITRAINA and other regional organizations of the Aguán we have been supporting the struggle of peasants, and we have been suffering threats, persecution and harassment.

In 2005, eleven of us were subject to court proceedings for taking part in the struggle of the MUCA peasants and for having signed as witnesses of an agreement between peasant organizations and the government then in power.

Since 11 April, the region of Tocoa has been strongly militarized and has become a war zone due to the land conflict there, and to neutralize the demands and struggle of MUCA.

On that date, when some colleagues and myself were travelling on a INA vehicle, we could tell we were being followed by a taxi. When we got off the vehicle, near my home, we realized that in the back seat there was a person with a radio transmitter.

He stayed there keeping an eye on us for more than 15 minutes. The next day, another vehicle, with polarized windows and no plate, followed me on my way home and parked there for a long while.

The same happened the next day and the same vehicle has been wandering around my place every night. We know how repressive forces act, and we know they are sending clear signals.

- Have you taken any action for your safety?

- Through COFADEH, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) provided for some precautionary measures for my safety, which must be supposedly safeguarded by the State. However, it is the same government repressive bodies that are threatening and following me.

This process is meant to soften us because they know we are a sister organization of peasant organizations such as MUCA. They want us to stop reporting the situation at the national and international level, which, so far has been highly instrumental to save many lives.

- Has there been any other type of threats?

- Our sister Aidé Saravia, COPA Secretary, was repeatedly threatened by phone and had to change her phone number. In my case, I have received many phone calls and, when I pick up, nobody speaks. We know they are trying to frighten us, but we go on with our commitment and our struggle.

- After the Coup, has there been an increase in union busting?

- Many unions of the region -among them, SITRAINA- have been active in the process against the Coup and this is why we are regarded as a threat by coup supporters.

Several unionists were killed during these months of resistance; I was directly threatened by a police officer. He openly told me that he was going to get rid of me any time.

We know we are not "islands" and we are not supposed to be concerned only about labor rights but get involved in the struggle of our people.

In this sense, SITRAINA is committed with the defense of the Agrarian Reform process which is still our aspiration. We also continuously report the persecution against all the organizations in the resistance.

- How significant is international support at this difficult time?

In Honduras there is a media war in order to conceal what is going on here. This is why the support of the IUF, of international organizations and independent media is crucial to break this media siege.

All of you will be multiplying agents to disseminate the truth of what's happening