central america report - summer 2010

8/8/2019 Central America Report - Summer 2010

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Central America ReportSummer 2010

Also in this issue:

Archbishop Romeroremembered, trade union

solidarity, the real world cup,

Honduras update

Gold miningGuatemalan indigenous

communities denounceCanadian firm

Transnational companysues El Salvador


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Editorial

Published by Central America Report,86 Durham Road, London N7 7DTEmail: [email protected]

Editorial committee: Ruth Collins, CherylGallagher, James Poke, Megan Rowling,Helen Yuill

Cover photos: Residents of Sipakapa andSan Miguel Ixtahuacan, Guatemala and theMarlin gold mine, owned by Canadianmining company Goldcorp. Photos by:Allan Lissner

Design: Jane Warring

Our thanks to all the contributors for helpingto produce this issue of CAR. The articles inthis magazine should be taken as having

been written in a personal capacity, unlessotherwise stated. Any views stated in thearticles should not be taken to represent thepolicy of any of the organisations that supportthe production of Central America Report.

Provocative militarism

RETIRING FROM THE US ARMED FORCES in 1935, GeneralSmedley Butler reflected with remarkable frankness on his 33-year

career with the Marine Corps: “In short I was a racketeer for capitalism…

I helped make Mexico… safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helpedmake Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys tocollect revenues. I helped in the rape of half a dozen Central Americarepublics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for theinternational banking house Brown Brothers in 1909 – 12… I helpedmake Honduras ‘right’ for the America fruit companies in 1903.”Boasting of “a swell racket” for which he was rewarded with “honours,medals and promotion,” he noted he could have given Al Capone“a few hints.” He went on to condemn war profiteers and warned of the “evils of provocative militarism.”

In this issue, we highlight how US domination continues to shapeCentral America with the aim of stifling any perceived threat to itsinterests. We reflect on the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the1980s war on democracy, including Archbishop Romero, gunned downin 1980 by a member of death squads tacitly supported by Washington.Until 2009, a thick wall of impunity surrounded the cases of the estimated45,000 people who disappeared in Guatemala under murderous regimespropped up by the US. Nathalie Mercier reports on a rare breakthrough:the first conviction of a high-ranking military officer.

The racketeering that Smedley Butler referred to continues today with

the move by mining company Pacific Rim to sue El Salvador under theCentral America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) for refusing a goldextraction permit. Nor would the Honduras coup have succeededwithout the tacit support of powerful US business interests and political

backers. Despite widespread international condemnation of the coup,those implicated remain in power, as human rights abuses against thosewho opposed the coup multiply.

All these threats to sovereignty and democracy in Central America arehappening within the wider context of intensified political, military andpropaganda threats against Cuba, Venezuela and other countries in the

Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA). They include plans foradditional military bases in Honduras and Panama, which have graveimplications for regional stability. Smedley Butler’s warning of the “evils of provocative militarism” remains as relevant today as it was 75 years ago.

* Washington’s war on Nicaragua, Holly Sklar, 1988

ContentsArchbishop Romero remembered 3

Cheryl Gallagher talks to JulianFilochowski of the Romero Trustabout the legacy of the Archbishop

A story of betrayal 4Betrayed by their own politicians andmilitary and the international community, theHonduran resistance movement continues

Keeping Nicaragua’s forests alive 5

John Perry reports on a ‘trees for life’project in Leicester’s twin town of Masaya

Regional update 6

Cracks in the wall of silence 7

Nathalie Mercier reports on the firstconviction of high ranking membersof the military in Guatemala fordisappearances in the 1980s

Your gold or your money 8 – 9The Central America Free Trade Agreement(CAFTA) opens the door for transnationalcompanies to sue governments that refusemining permits, Martin Mowforth writes

Indigenous committees denounce

Canadian mining company

in Guatemala 10–11

Banana unions demand their rights 12

Anna Cooper, Banana Link, highlightsthe success of the World Banana Forumfrom the point of view of the unions

Team Nicaragua success at the

Street Child World Cup 13Cheryl Gallagher talks to team membersabout their pride in their achievements

Solidarity between young

trade unionists 14

UNISON member Matt Egan describesthe commitment and passion of youngNicaraguan trade unionists

Take action 15 – 16

*

Central America Report is online at: www.central-america-report.org.uk

For information, magazine subscriptions and article submissions,please contact us at: [email protected]

We are looking for volunteers to help us out with producing ourprint magazine and keeping our website up to date. For furtherinformation, please check the website, email us or call020 7561 4836 (NSC office).



El Salvador

3 Central America Report: Summer 2010

Honouring Archbishop Oscar Romero,the voice of the voicelessCheryl Gallagher talks to Julian Filochowski of the Romero Trust about the legacy of Oscar Romero,

gunned down by a member of death squads thirty years ago.

IN THE DAYS running up to 24March, thousands gathered in San

Salvador to mark the 30th anniversaryof the assassination of Oscar Romero,killed because of his public supportfor human rights and social justice.

One of those who travelled to theSalvadoran capital to commemoratethe extraordinary Christian leader was

Julian Filochowski, former directorof CAFOD and current chair of theRomero Trust. Filochowski first metRomero when he volunteered in LatinAmerica for the Catholic Institute forInternational Relations (now knownas Progressio). He worked particularlywith the Jesuits who were involvedin protecting human rights anddenouncing political imprisonmentand torture.

Filochowski remembers Romero as

a “very gentle, compassionate manwho was close to the people.” As wellas his pastoral work, Romero launchedmany community initiatives. “In hisearly years he founded a breakfastclub for the shoe shine boys in SanMiguel and later as bishop of Santiagode Maria he opened the church hall forcoffee plantation labourers who camefrom outlying hamlets and had to bein the town square at 4am.”

Romero’s social engagement wentunnoticed by the political and militaryauthorities who perceived him as anarch-conservative, hostile to socialaction by the clergy. However, whenhe was appointed Archbishop of ElSalvador, his commitment becamedramatically visible. Within a monthof Romero’s appointment, his closefriend, the Jesuit priest RutilioGrande, was murdered, an event thatmarked a turning point for Romero.Filochowski comments: “He realisedthat if he followed this through to itslogical conclusion, it would take himthere too. By 1980 Romero knew that

he was at great risk but I rememberthat his greatest fear was that otherswould die with him. He then beganto travel on his own because he wasafraid his driver would be killed.”

Romero’s response to Rutilio’s

killing was to close all the Catholiccolleges and send the children homewith a questionnaire asking “How isit that in a country named after Christthe Saviour priests are being killed?”The impunity with which RutilioGrande was murdered led Romeroto set up Socorro Juridico , a legal aidcentre for poor people to denouncegovernment-sponsored atrocities.

Filochowski remembers: “Romero

decided that he was not going to bepresent... where the church washonouring the state until the murderof Rutilio Grande was clarified. Thiswas an amazing stance. It’s like theArchbishop of Canterbury refusing toattend the coronation of the Queen.”

In the absence of a free press,Romero began to use the pulpit tohighlight human rights abuses. “Hehad a section of the homily called the‘good news of the week’ and a sectioncalled the ‘bad news of the week’. The‘bad news’ was used to denouncekillings and abuses. He would namethe disappeared individually and the

time and place of the disappearance.It was like a kind of truth commission”said Filochowski.

Meanwhile, Filochowski workedto support Romero from the UK. Heorganised a Parliamentary delegation

to El Salvador in 1978 and worked toget Romero nominated for the NobelPeace Prize. While Romero’s life was brutally cut short, Filochowski affirmsthat his legacy still lives on: “He was acourageous man for whom faith waseverything. They called him the voiceof the voiceless because he wantedto give the voice back to the poor.Hundreds and hundreds of peoplewere killed but the name people

remember is Romero.”The current Salvadoran governmenthas recognised Romero’s legacy byissuing a formal apology for hismurder to coincide with the 30thanniversary. 24 March has beendeclared a National Day ‘MonseñorRomero’ and left-wing Mauricio Funes,declared that he would dedicate hisPresidency to the memory of Romero,whom he has described as the‘spiritual guide of the nation’ and oneof Salvador’s greatest patriots.

Further information:www.romerotrust.org.uk

Archbishop Romero with Julian Filochowski and Lord Chitnis during a UK Parliamentary

delegation to El Salvador in 1978.

P h o t o : R o m e

r o T r u s t



Honduras

International community betraysHonduran resistanceHelen Yuill reports on escalating repression against activists since

Porfirio Lobo was inaugurated as president in January.

ON JUNE 28 last year, HonduranPresident Manuel Zelaya was

ousted in a coup, denounced byalmost the entire world asillegitimate. Fake elections followedin November and Porfirio Lobo wasinaugurated as president on January27. Zelaya left the country to takeup exile in the Dominican Republic.

Hondurans who mobilised againstthe coup have been left with aprofound sense of betrayal, not onlyat the hands of their own politiciansand military, but also theinternational community.

Lobo’s coming to power has had broad repercussions, not only inHonduras but throughout LatinAmerica. As the US and Canadapromote recognition of the post-coup

regime and the EU restarts talks ona trade agreement with CentralAmerican nations, state-sponsoredrepression, the criminalisation of social protest and killings of members of the popular resistanceand journalists continue. On March4, Hillary Clinton announced theresumption of US aid on the groundsthat “Honduras has reached asuccessful conclusion to the crisis…without violence.”

The US, Canada, internationallending institutions and countriesparticipating in regional economicdevelopment have rapidly moved torestore loans, and renew plans foreconomic and security integration.Colombian President Uribe wasthe first to visit Lobo following hiselection, signing a security agreementin February.

Inside Honduras, those responsible

for the coup have consolidated theirpower. General Vásquez, whodirected the coup, has beenappointed head of the statetelecommunications company

Hondutel. According to AndresPavón of the Committee for theDefence of Human Rights inHonduras (CODEH), Vasquez has been a central figure in intelligenceoperations to identify, find, andassassinate prominent membersof the resistance.

As part of allegedly “restoring

democracy,” the Lobo governmenthas set up a “Truth Commission.”However, this was offset by theannouncement of an amnesty givingimmunity from prosecution for 40years to key figures in the coup.In the meantime, repression hasescalated. CODEH reported 160human rights violations in the first30 days after Lobo took office,including illegal detentions, torture,

kidnapping and killings.Three journalists have beengunned down, along with two tradeunionists, a judge, the daughter of a trade unionist and three leadersof the United Farm Workers’Movement of Aguan (MUCA)involved in a land dispute with landowners in the municipality of Tocoa.In April, CODEH reported a buildup of 4,000 troops sent to evictcampesinos. This was accompanied

by inaccurate information in theHonduran press accusing MUCA of being an armed guerrilla movement,financed by international drugtraffickers and tied to ColombianFARC rebels with the backing of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

The National Front of PopularResistance (FNRP), which began as aprotest movement calling for Zelaya’sreinstatement, has been transformed

into a movement for change. In mid-March, some 800 people from tradeunions, women’s and indigenousorganisations, farmers associationsand Afro-descendents discussed the

movement’s future and repeated theircall for a constituent assembly to“re-found Honduras.”

In April, the FNRP wrote to theGeneral Secretary of the Organisationof American States (OAS) urging it to

intervene to re-establish institutionalorder. The Front denounced thecriminalisation of social protest andpolitical persecution by the PublicMinistry, the judiciary and theNational Human Rights Commission,as well as the military.

On the coup anniversary in June,the Front plans to organise actionsto highlight its demand for a newconstitution including “economic and

political transformation that confrontsthe culture of domination; that benefits our people… through justice,humanity, solidarity, sovereignty, self determination, and equality.”

P h o t o : O s c a r M e n d o z a

Demonstration against the 2009 coup.


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Nicaragua

Keeping Nicaragua’s forests aliveJohn Perry reports on a project teaching Nicaraguan school children why trees matter

when it comes to climate change.

CENTRAL AMERICA is one of theparts of the world suffering the

early effects of climate change. SinceHurricane Mitch in 1998, almost everyyear has brought damaging storms,floods or droughts. Yet until now,Nicaraguans could rightly say theywere feeling the effects of somethingthat was not their responsibility.The country produces only a tinyproportion of man-made global

warming gases. And Nicaragua canalso claim a role in protecting theclimate: it has the largest area of tropical forest in the Americas northof the Amazon basin, covering 40percent of its land area.

But the balance is tipping. AsNicaraguans consume more, theycreate more greenhouse gases. Thereally big factor though – onlyrecognised fully in the last few years –is the effect of deforestation on the

country’s carbon emissions. In anygraph showing the main sources of greenhouse gases, global deforestationis up there at the top with China andthe United States. And it’s particularlytropical deforestation that has sucha dramatic impact, because tropicalforests soak up carbon, yet aredisappearing at a rate reported asequalling two football pitchesevery minute.

A typical Nicaraguan is unlikelyto know much about their country’sforests or their role in maintaining ahealthy climate. One reason is that the biggest forests are in the remote east,never visited by most Nicaraguans.Another is beef and milk exports areimportant sources of income, but fewpeople realise the link between thegrowth of cattle farming and the retreatof the forests. Also Nicaragua’s forestshaven’t yet become a tourist attractionas in neighbouring Costa Rica.

Most importantly, firewood stillprovides half the country’s domesticenergy – and people are so used to

trees growing back that they don’tnotice when they disappear fasterthan they can regenerate. Where I live,in an area south of Masaya the treecoverage is still fairly good but thesound of the motor saw is heard daily.

Changing people’s attitudestowards trees and forests is a slowprocess, but one that’s importantlocally as well as globally. There arenumerous organisations working to

change farming practices and promotesustainable forestry, linked witheducational work so that the widerpublic starts to appreciate the valueof trees and forests.

One of these projects, “Trees forLife”, is funded by the UK organisationCool Earth, whose slogan is “keepingcarbon where it belongs.” With agrant from its small projects fund,the Leicester Masaya Link Group isworking with local partner ADIC

Masaya to run lessons in a school inEl Pochote. Since last year, classes of about 30 primary school children have been learning about the importance of trees, their role in climate change, andhow they can take action themselves.

They have planted trees around theschool and each pupil has takenyoung forest trees home to plant intheir backyards. The message ispassed on to parents at an annualtree-planting day.

The plan is to show that a smallamount of funding goes a long way,and to extend the project to otherschools in the Masaya department.In 2011, the aim is to start a similar

project in a village school nearMasaya’s volcanic lagoon. As wellas the school programme, ADIC willrun a sustainable farming project toencourage tree-planting and createfootpaths on the wooded slopesleading down to the lake. By workingwith adults and children at the sametime, this small section of Nicaragua’sforests might be given a chance tosurvive and even grow. This initiativeneeds to be replicated across all parts

of Nicaragua that still have forests.

Further information:www.coolearth.orgwww.leicestermasayalink.org.ukwww.cih.org/nicaragua

P h o t o : J o h n P e r r y

Tree planting,

El Pochote

school,

Masaya



Central America

Regional update

CENTRAL AMERICA

EU trade talks back on trackAfter a seven-month suspension because of the Honduras coup,the EU restarted negotiationson the EU-Central AmericaAssociation Agreementimmediately after theinauguration of HondurasPresident Lobo in January.The Spanish EU presidency ispushing forward talks in the

hope an agreement can besigned during the EU-LatinAmerica and Caribbean Summitin Madrid on 18 May. The EUhas approved the officialinclusion of Panama, anobserver since the talks began in2007. However, a final decisionlies with the Central AmericaIntegration System (SICA).

Plan Puebla – Panama (PPP)

reinvented

The infrastructure anddevelopment project PPP,involving the Central Americacountries, Mexico, Panama andColombia was initiated in 2008.It has now been renamed theMesoamerican Project, astronger, more focused versionof the PPP with specific goalsover ten years. It covers

telecommunications, energy,transport, sustainabledevelopment, health, naturaldisasters, and housing and isfunded by regional banks andprivate interests.

New regional block

excludes US

In February, 32 Latin Americaand Caribbean countriesparticipated in the Rio Group

Summit in Cancun, Mexico.The meeting created a newregional body that does notinclude the US and will act

as a block with its owninterests and agenda.

GUATEMALA

‘Murdered’ lawyer arranged

own death

In May 2009 Guatemala wasmesmerised by the apparentmurder of Rodrigo Rosenberg,a lawyer who made a videoclaiming that, should he bekilled, President Álvaro Colomwas responsible. Days later hewas shot dead and the videowas released to the media. TheUN-sponsored anti-impunity body CICIG, which supportsinvestigations into difficultcases, concluded that Rosenberghad in fact arranged his ownkilling after becoming depressedabout the murder of a womanhe was having an affair with.

Fifth interior minister

appointed

In a sad indictment of the stateof the ministry in charge of police, justice and criminalinvestigation, another interiorminister Raul Velazquez has been sacked for allegedcorruption. The head of thepolice anti-narcotics unit was

also arrested, accused of drugtrafficking, holding illegalarms and obstructing justice.Guatemala now has its fifthminister of the interior sincePresident Colom took office in2008. Except for the first, whowas killed in a helicoptercrash, they all left under acloud and some have criminalcharges pending against them.

Anti-corporate activists

murdered

The organisation FRENA, theFront for Resistance in Defence

of Natural Resources and theRights of the People, opposesthe activities of a privateelectricity supply company inSan Marcos. Spanish-ownedfirm DEOCSA is accused of

overcharging and unreliablesupply. Since October, threeleaders of the FRENAcampaign and five othercommunity activists have been killed, the last of theseon 21 March. No credibleefforts have been made bythe authorities to findthose responsible.

NICARAGUA

Poverty reduction

programmes praised

and recognised

The U.N. Food and AgricultureOrganisation has includedNicaragua in a list of 16countries that have reducedthe incidence of poverty. Datafrom the Nicaraguan Institute

for Information andDevelopment indicates thatquality of life has improved.Extreme poverty in ruralareas has fallen by 10 percent.A March poll by independentpollster M&R Consultantsindicates public recognition of improvements in health careand education. Just over 62percent of respondents had a

positive opinion on the qualityof education, and 80 percentof those who had beenpatients or accompanied apatient to a health facilityindicated satisfaction.

Trading begins in new

ALBA currency

Nicaragua’s Central Bank hasopened an account to thevalue of US$24 million in the

new currency sucres (namedafter independence fighterAntonio Jose de Sucre), whichwill be available for exporters

and importers to facilitatetrade with Venezuela, Bolivia,Ecuador, Cuba and Caribbeancountries in the BolivarianAlliance for the Americas(ALBA) without using US

dollars. In 2009, Venezuela became Nicaragua’s third-largest trading partner, buying Nicaraguan productsworth US$160 million. Thatfigure is expected to rise toUS$200 million in 2010.

COSTA RICA

First woman president

elected

Laura Chinchilla of theNational Liberation Party won47 percent of the vote in CostaRica’s February elections, becoming the country’s firstwoman president. However,her election also representsa continuation of thedominance of right wingparties implementing what

Carlos Sandoval,professor,University of Costa Ricadescribes as ‘popularauthoritarianism.’

EL SALVADOR

Death threats against

rights ombudsman

El Salvador’s Human Rights

Ombudsman, Oscar Luna,announced in January thathe and his family had beenreceiving death threats. Hesaid the threats came fromsupposed exterminationgroups, demanding that heleave the country so as to not“obstruct the work of socialcleansing” they are attemptingto carry out against“delinquency.” The re-

emergence of such groupswas denounced by formerombudswoman Beatricede Carrillo in 2006.



Guatemala

Cracks in the wall of silenceNathalie Mercier reports on breakthroughs in cases of forced disappearance, including the first conviction of

a high-ranking member of the military for forced disappearances in the 1980s. Nathalie spent eight months in

Guatemala in 2009 as an international accompanier.

THE NUMBER “45,000” splattersthe walls of cities in Guatemala.

You could ignore it if it weren’tfor the posters, each a poignantreminder that every one of the 45,000has a face, a name, and a family thatsuffer because of the silence thatsurrounds the forced disappearanceof their loved-one. This silencerepresents a wall of impunity whichprotects the perpetrators. But recentevents could hold the key to breaking down this wall.

In July 2009, the ConstitutionalCourt announced an historicresolution in the case of six forceddisappearances in Choatalum between 1982 and 1984. The defencehad argued that, as forceddisappearance was only defined as acrime in 1996, over a decade after theevents, the case contravened Article

15 of the Constitution, which statesthat laws cannot be retroactive. TheConstitutional Court resolved thatthe crime of forced disappearance ispermanent, the key issue being notwhen the crime started but when itceases to be committed. The silencemeans it continues to this day.

This resolution had hugeimplications. Weeks later hearings inthe case of Choatalum reopened,after a 15 month postponement.On 1 August former militarycommissioner Felipe Cusanero Cojwas sentenced to 150 yearsimprisonment: 25 years for eachperson he forcibly disappeared.It was the first ever conviction forthis crime in Guatemala.

Shortly after, hearings opened inthe case of eight people from El Jute,forcibly disappeared on 19 October

1981. In December 2009, the verdictwas announced: a former colonel andthree former military commissionerswere found guilty and sentenced to53 years. Colonel Marco AntonioSánchez Samayoa was the first high-ranking member of the military to be convicted for this crime.

The cases of Choatalum and El Jute could set a precedent. At the

beginning of March exhumationsstarted at the La Verbena cemeteryon the outskirts of Guatemala Citythat could shed light on hundredsmore disappearances.

These are hopeful signs that cracksare emerging in the wall of silenceand impunity which surrounds thecrime of forced disappearance.

Further information:www.guatemalasolidarity.org.uk

Book reviewA NicaraguanJourney

by Luciano Baracco

Published by WilliamSessions Ltd 2010, £9.50

More than 30 years after theSandinista Revolution inNicaragua, a new book collectsstories from those who livedthrough the insurrection thatended the Somoza militarydictatorship.

A Nicaraguan Journey traces

the writer’s 1997 journey toresearch a doctoral thesis onthe Sandinistas. HoweverBaracco, whose fascinationwith the Sandinista movement

started as a child, alsoembarked on a personal questto uncover the truth about theNicaraguan revolution throughthe people that experienced

it firsthand.Baracco’s interactions with

ordinary Nicaraguans, fromtaxi drivers to elderly women,reveal that nobody’s life has been left untouched by therevolution. The story of Baracco’s landlady Zulema,whose children all died at thehands of the National Guard,is an “allegory of a whole

nation rather than the storyof a single family.”

As well as his manyinsightful meetings with localpeople, Baracco also speaks to

former members of theSandinista government whoreveal their own fascinatingand sometimes contradictoryfeelings on the revolution.

He meets CarlosTünnermann, theSandinista government’sfirst Education Minister,who was the drivingforce behind theUNESCO acclaimed

literacy crusade.Baracco’s book takesinto account thecomplex nature of therevolution. But oneresounding feature of all the stories is thedevastation that theintervention of theReagan governmentcaused.

Cheryl Gallagher

To purchase a copy see

www.sessionsofyork.co.uk/

books/general

Central America Report: Summer 20107



El Salvador

IN 2002, CANADIAN company PacificRim Mining Corporation acquired

the El Dorado gold project in ElSalvador, 65 km east of San Salvadorin the department of Cabañas. The

project covers 144 sq km and PacificRim has estimated a return of $43.6million over three and a half years.Between 2002 and 2006, the companyreportedly invested almost $80 millioninto its Salvadoran explorations.

Pacific Rim submitted its firstEnvironmental Impact Assessment(EIA) to the Salvadoran Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources(MARN) in 2004. As Lisa Skeen

relates in a report for North AmericanCongress on Latin America (NACLA)magazine, although “the corporationvehemently contended that it fullyupheld Salvadoran law, activistscalled the assessment a sham.” Shedraws attention to an independent,nonpartisan review of the EIA,conducted in 2005 by hydro-geologistRobert Moran, which highlights “thelack of transparency in the publicconsultation process required under

Salvadoran Law, and concludes thatthe EIA would not be acceptable incountries such as Canada or theUnited States.”

In 2006, the Salvadoran EcologicalUnit (UNES) proposed a ten-yearmoratorium on granting miningconcessions. As a result, the NationalRoundtable against Mineral Mining inEl Salvador was formed as “a coalitionof environmental, faith-based, and

community activists (brought) togetherto successfully block mining permits. ”According to Michael Busch

(research associate at the Ralph BuncheInstitute for International Relations),

If they can’t extract your gold,they’ll take your moneyMartin Mowforth, associate lecturer at the University of Plymouth’s School of Geography,

Earth and Environmental Sciences (ALD), reports on how the Central America Free Trade

Agreement (DR-CAFTA) opens the door for transnational companies to sue governments

that prioritise protecting their own citizens and the environment.

a statement opposing gold mining bythe Catholic Bishops conference addedfurther weight to the anti-miningmovement and influenced governmentdecisions. “Despite its initial

enthusiasm for Pacific Rim’s miningproposals,” he says, “officials fromthe ruling conservative ARENA partyrefused to issue the company permitsto begin extracting gold.”

The level of local and civil societyopposition to mining also becamea factor for political parties in therun-up to the March 2009 presidentialelections. Faced with polls showing alead for the FMLN candidate Mauricio

Funes, who did not support miningoperations, the then President TonySaca also committed the right-wingARENA party to an outright ban onthe granting of new mining permits.

Following repeated denials of itsmining permits, in December 2008,Pacific Rim began an attempt toinfluence the election campaign byindicating its intention to bring theSalvadoran government before aninternational arbitration tribunal to

resolve the dispute – in other words,it would sue the government for $100million in damages and lost profit.Saca’s conversion to a protector of the local people against transnationalcorporations was to no avail andFunes and the FMLN won the election.

In April 2009, under the rules of theDR-CAFTA trade agreement, PacificRim carried out its threat and filed alawsuit at the International Centre for

Settlement of Investment Disputes(ICSID), a World Bank institution.Adding further pressure on Funes’

government in March 2009, theCommerce Group Corporation and

San Sebastian Gold Mines Inc alsogave notice of their intent to claimcompensation for $100 million bothfor the revocation of permits formines in San Sebastián (in La Unión

department) and San Cristóbal (inSan Miguel department) and for thedenial of the extension of permits atother mines in the departments of La Unión and Morazán.

The outcome of these lawsuits isstill unknown, but if the Salvadorangovernment chooses not tocompromise, an unfavourable resultfor the government and thearbitration process itself could prove

extremely costly. It is still uncertainhow Funes will take this matterforward, although on 12 January 2010he unequivocally stated that:

There can be no misunderstanding:

my government will not

authorise any mining extraction

projects… No one has convinced

us that there are ways to extract

minerals and metals… without

contaminating the environment

and affecting public health.Despite these strong statements,uncertainties remain. What is certain,however, is that these two cases are beginning to expose the reality of what lies behind DR-CAFTA – thatthe trade agreement gives foreigninvestors and transnationalcorporations (TNCs) the right to suegovernments for ‘profit infringement’when those governments decide to

prioritise environmental and publichealth over the profits made by TNCs.

www.enca.org.ukwww.cispes.org



El Salvador

• Water shortages – Pacific Rim has

identified 24 sites to extract gold near the

Río Lempa, which supplies drinking waterto two million inhabitants in San Salvador

alone. In 2008, ranchers noticed that the

springs used for irrigation and water

supply were drying up. Investigations

found that “exploratory drill holes utilised

by Pacific Rim to estimate gold deposits

were re-channelling underground streams

and drastically impacting the aquifer.”

• Water, soil and atmospheric

contamination – Cyanide leaching during

mining can contaminate water sources.

Chemical residues may seep into the soil

from a tailings pond and/or spillages and

can affect the food chain if the land is

subsequently used for farming. Although

cyanide evaporates relatively rapidly, it

can cause acid rain.

• Increased corruption – The Centre of

Research into Investment and Commerce

(CEICOM) has accused Pacific Rim of

corruption, claiming that “it provoked

community conflicts and bought off

mayors, deputies, etc.” Similarly, in an

article in Upside Down World, JasonWallach suggests that “Pacific Rim

attempted to buy public support…

with a PR campaign touting the virtues

of ‘green mining.”

• Violence and social divisions – After

the submission of Pacific Rim’s lawsuit

against El Salvador, four anti-mining

activists (Marcelo Rivera, Ramiro Rivera

Gómez, Felicíta Echeverría and Dora Sorto

Recinos) were assassinated. Although

there is no direct evidence to link Pacific

Rim with the assassinations, the victims

and the others who have received death

threats, have all been opposed to mining.

The company has failed to denounce the

violence. As Miguel Rivera, the brother of

Marcelo who was assassinated, said, “we

want to know who is behind all this… and

we have serious suspicions that it has

been the Pacific Rim mining company that

is financing these activities to terrorise

those who are opposed (to mining).”

Problems associated with the El Dorado mine,

Cabañas, El Salvador

If you dare to say

no I’ll sue you

ACCORDING TO Pacific Rim’s

website the company’s legal

action under DR-CAFTA and theEl Salvadoran Investment Law

started on April 30, 2009, when

Pacific Rim (Pacrim) filed its

Notice of Arbitration with the

International Centre for

Settlement of Investment

Disputes (ICSID), part of the

World Bank. On November 18,

2009, a three-member Arbitration

Tribunal was constituted to hear

the case.

On 4 January, 2010, the

government of El Salvador

filed its preliminary objections.

(www.pacrim-mining.com).

A hearing on objections is

scheduled for 31 May and

1 June, 2010 with a ruling

by September 2010. PacRim

claims that ‘El Salvador's

objections are not only

completely without merit,

but are also frivolous,’ and

that the government filed

them ‘purely as an attempt

to stall the arbitration

proceedings. PacRim fully

expects that the Tribunal will

reject the objections and

proceed with the arbitration

claim.’ After President Mauricio

Funes expressed concerns

about the environmental impact

of gold mining, Pacific Rim

claimed the President’s views

were ‘groundless and ill-

conceived.’ Pacific Rim goeson to state that the ‘actions

and inactions of the government

of El Salvador over the past

years have severely eroded

not only Pacific Rim’s market

value, but also El Salvador’s

reputation as a place for

foreign investment.’

Pacific Rim claims to be

‘an environmentally and

socially responsible

exploration company focused

exclusively on high grade,

environmentally clean gold

deposits in the Americas.’



MARLIN MINE is an open castgold mine near San Miguel

Ixtahuacán, an area populated byMam Mayans, in Guatemala’sWestern Highlands. It is owned byMontana Exploradora de GuatemalaS.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of

Canada’s Goldcorp. In 2005, usinga $45 million loan from the WorldBank, Montana constructed acomplex of open pit and undergroundmines which covers a 100,000 hectare‘land package’ and encompassesother mineralised zones.

A number of local residents claimthat their land was unfairly procured by Montana and that they were bullied into selling land cheaply.Canadian NGO Rights Action,supports the claim made by Sacmujresidents that their refusal to sellland to Montana resulted in themine’s security guards harassing thelocal population and the company bringing vehicles and explorationequipment onto their property.Gregoria Crisanta Pérez, a singlemother from Agel, who is the subjectof an arrest order along with sevenother local women, states her

viewpoint unequivocally: “Montanais… extending its territory. … we arethe legitimate owners of thoseterritories. … we were born there,and we should die there.”

Local residents have accusedMontana of drying up wells,attempting to access the community-controlled water source andpolluting local waterways. On July24, 2009, during a meeting at the SanMiguel Ixtahuacán People’s House,villagers reported that water beingused to wash extracted gold was being dumped near a well. Themine’s workers have reportedly

Central America Report: Summer 2010 10

Guatemala

Indigenous communitiesdenounce Canadian mining firm

told people that the water in thisarea is contaminated.

The Pastoral Commission forPeace and Ecology (COPAE inSpanish) monitorsthe River Cuilco.It has found

traces of heavymetals suchas arsenic,aluminium,copper, iron,manganese andzinc downstreamfrom the mine,the amounts of which exceed thelimits set by theWorld Bank andthe CanadianGovernment.These metalshave been

Martin Mowforth visited Guatemala in 2009 with Alice Klein and Karis McLaughlin to record

testimonies from people affected by mining operations.

blamed for causing skin complaintsamongst local Mayan children. Theyhave also been known to causecancer of the bladder, lung, skin,

P h o t o : M a r t i n M o w f o r t h

Irma fears her house will crumble due to vibrations from Goldcorp vehicles.

P h o t o :

A l l a n L i s s n e r w w w . a

l l a n . l i s s n e r . n e t

A Montana billboard in San Miguel Ixtahuacán tries to persuade

local people of the benefits of mining – ‘Development is what is

important’.



Guatemala

Central America Report: Summer 201011

kidney, nose, liver and prostateand to adversely affect livestock mortality and fertility rates.Although Montana insists that the‘tailings pond’, which captures thewater used to treat ore with cyanide,

is secure, it is not lined, and critics believe it has leached into the RiverCuilco, 1,000 feet below.

Other complaints lodged againstMontana include dynamiteexplosions in the mine and heavylorry traffic, both causing damageto local houses. As one residentcomments, “All the houses arecracked. My daughter’s house istotally cracked. It’s only three years

old. When the explosions start, youfeel the movement of the earth.”

In response to these problems,

Mayans in San Miguel Ixtahuacánhave taken direct action and evengone as far as burning Montana’sequipment and cutting off the mine’spower supply. Rights Action says thishas provoked a ‘criminalisation of protest’ that led to the arrest of eightMayan women in 2008 and sevenMayan men and women in 2009.

In February the UN InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO) called

upon the Guatemalan governmentto suspend all mining operationsin indigenous Mayan territories.The government is being accusedof acting in violation of ILOConvention 169 on Indigenous andTribal Peoples, which stipulates thatconsultation with local indigenouspopulations must be carried out before engaging in activities suchas mining projects. Communityorganisers say that they did not

consent to Montana’s project andcriticise the consultation, saying itwas as inadequate and “full of liesand empty promises.”

Collecting orchids and conning

the locals

The following are extracts from a testimony collected by MartinMowforth, Alice Klein and Karis McLaughlin in San José

Ixcaniche, San Marcos department in July 2009. The testimony

relates to the introduction of gold mining activities to the area around

the Marlin Mine which is owned and run by Montana Exploradora

de Guatemala S.A.

“When the company came into San Miguel, … they did many

things such as making meals for the people to get them on their

side. They also started games of football, buying the balls and

getting all the neighbours around for lunch. They also held raffles

for bicycles, radios and many other things to attract people…

They said they were going to generate some work here collecting

orchids from the trees… A little more than a year later, they

came and it wasn’t for collecting orchids, but for exploring, to

collect samples of rock; but they didn’t say anything about gold

or silver, only that we are going to do some work here… Then

suddenly there was something about minerals…

This was 1996 when they came. A year after that they began to

collect rocks. They talked to the locals about selling a part of the

land. The local people were certainly excited by the money. Then

more people started arriving, including gringos, and then the

machinery. Seventeen people met to talk about if they could sell

their land or not. They agreed that it would be better not to sell

the land. It would be better to go first to the Mayor of San Miguel

to make an agreement which would prevent the sale of the land.

But the Mayor said “if you want to sell, you can sell. Better to

have a good job there [at the mine] and a source of work.”

The Mayor… didn’t turn up [for a meeting with the people]; so

from that time the group got a bit downhearted, and each took

their own decisions about giving up their land. Of the seventeen

people, one by one they gave up their land.”

Source: Testimony taken from Don Pedro (a pseudonym), a formerworker in the Marlin Mine in San José Ixcaniche, San Marcosdepartment, Guatemala, July 24, 2009

In February 2010 the UNInternational Labour Organisationcalled on the Guatemalangovernment to suspend all miningoperations in indigenous Mayanterritories.



Central America

THIS MARCH MORE than twentyrepresentatives from banana

workers unions and small farmerorganisations (from Costa Rica,Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala,Ecuador, Peru, El Salvador and theCaribbean Windward Isles) met in San

Jose, Costa Rica, to evaluate and shareideas on how banana workers canwork together to ensure their voicescontinue to be heard at the forefrontof the newly established WorldBanana Forum (WBF).

After over a hundred years of harsh treatment, exploitation anddamage to the health of generations,workers in the world’s bananaplantations have achieved whatnobody thought possible a few yearsago. They have brought together allthe players in the global industry –from plantation to supermarket shelf – around the same table to talk about

key issues: trade union rights,collective bargaining, decent wages,fair prices for small producers, healthand safety, women’s employment,scaling back chemical use, andreducing environmental damage.

After over a decade in gestation,the WBF was born in Rome onDecember 8, 2009. Two days later, thegovernment members of the UN Foodand Agriculture Organisation (FAO)confirmed their support for the newmulti-stakeholder forum on the futureof one of the world’s most importantcrops. Global retailers like WalMart

and Tesco and the big fruit brands likeChiquita, Dole, Fyffes and Bonita joined trade unions and small farmers’organisations in welcoming the

Forum’s focus on creating a socially,economically and ecologicallysustainable banana industry.

The March WBF evaluationmeeting of trade unions and smallfarmers provided a platform to planthe next two years of collaborative

action to ensure that, by the nextWBF meeting in 2012, significantdevelopments are made on theissues covered by the five Forumworking groups: employmentrights and other workplace issues;sustainable production systems;reduction of agrochemical use;environmental impact; andcertification.

The British government’sDepartment for InternationalDevelopment, the Norwegian freshproduce company Bama and Dutchdevelopment agency ICCO fundedthe evaluation meeting and theForum preparation and participationof some 35 representatives of tradeunions, small farmers’ organisationsand NGOs from 15 banana exportingcountries in Latin America, theCaribbean, Africa and Asia.

One article in the fruit trade press

was entitled: “Hasta la victoriasiempre!”, referring (ratherironically) to the leading role played by trade unions in the Forum.The hope for workers is that thefruits of a victory for banana justicewill be shared.

For further information or tosupport the trade unions involvedin the World Banana Forum, contactBanana Link on 01603 765670 [email protected] visit our website atwww.bananalink.org.uk

Banana trade unions leadindustry to the tableAnna Cooper from Banana Link reports on the leading role of banana unions in

the World Banana Forum.

Adela Torres – Colombian trade

union leader and former

packhouse worker, Women’s

Secretary of the Latin American

Agro-industrial Workers’ UnionCoordinating Body and member of

trade union federation IUF’s Global

Agricultural Workers’ Trade Group

– took part in the Forum and the

FAO Inter-Governmental

Conference on Bananas and

Tropical Fruit:

“For the tens of thousands of

men and women plantation

workers that we represent, this

is a very important moment in anindustry that has an infamously

violent and exploitative history.

Our challenge now is to

translate the commitments made

by all the major players to work

together to really change things

for people on the ground in their

workplaces, on their farms.”

Workers in the world’s bananaplantations have achieved whatnobody thought possible a fewyears ago.



Nicaragua

Team Nicaragua at theStreet Child World Cup

THE NICARAGUAN TEAM of eightteenagers was organised by an

international NGO called Casa Alianza

that campaigns and provides a homefor street children in Honduras,Nicaragua and Mexico.

The teenagers, aged between 14 and16, are all residents at the Casa Alianza

refuge in Managua. For many of theteam, football was the highlight of thetrip. Juan Carlos, 16, said: “My ambitionis to be a professional footballer andto play for Nicaragua in the realWorld Cup”. Kevin, 15, who alsoplans to be a professional footballer,was very pleased with the team’sperformance: “I’m very proud that wewere the only team who managed to beat India, the winning team.”

For other children, the chance totravel and explore new cultures waswhat they liked most. Fifteen-year-oldWendy particularly enjoyed teachingother teams about Nicaragua: “Someof the children in the other teamsdidn’t even know where Nicaraguawas, so I enjoyed sharing my culturewith them and learning about theircountries. Sometimes it was difficult

to communicate with the languagedifference but we managed tounderstand each other.”

As well as training hard andplaying football, the children took part in a rich social, cultural andeducational programme. The teamwent to Durban University of Technology for a series of workshopson the themes set out in the UnitedNations Declaration on the Rights

of the Child: home and shelter;protection from violence; and accessto health and education.

For Wendy, who plans to be ahuman rights lawyer, the chance to

travel to South Africa also meant awelcome break from her problems athome: “I felt really valued in SouthAfrica and stopped thinking aboutnegative things at home. There arelots of children who don’t know their

rights. Children aren’t respectedenough in society, sometimes we feelinvisible.” Marcia, aged 15, also wantsto see a change in the perception of street children: “Some people see usas a kind of bacteria and they mistreatus. I want to see more respectfor children’s rights.”

The children said that the mostimportant role internationalgovernments can play is to supportinitiatives like Casa Alianza. JuanCarlos said: “In every city thereshould be a safe place of refuge forchildren. We need understanding tohelp us deal with our problems. Thereare laws against mistreating children but a lot people don’t respect thoselaws, particularly the police.” Thechildren alsosaid that moreshould bedone in

schools toteach childrenabout theeffects of violence.

PoonamSattee, avolunteerwith Casa

Alianza whoaccompanied

the children toSouth Africa,said: “Thistrip has hada profound

impact on the family relationships – ithas improved some relationshipssignificantly, reunited some childrenwith a parent they were not speakingto previously.“

The Nicaraguan government aimsto have no more children on thestreets by 2011 and Poonam said thaton their return to Nicaragua thechildren “will make a public call tothe government to enforce the lawsthat protect children.” Poonam alsocommented that “there is a lack of international recognition of theunique needs of street children.

Funding should to be allocated on alarge scale to prevent these childrenfrom slipping through the net.”

Further information:www.casa-alianza.org.ukwww.streetchildworldcup.org

Team Nicaragua at the World Cup

Team Nicaragua came joint third with Britain in the inaugural

nine-team competition in Durban. On their way back to Nicaragua,

Cheryl Gallagher talked to them about their pride in their

achievements and hopes for the future.

“All eyes will be on the WorldCup in South Africa. But I amdelighted the country has alreadystaged another World Cup – theinaugural Street Child World Cup.I was pleased to be able to supportthe project when it was firstlaunched, and I am thrilled that ithas gone so well. “

Sir Alex Ferguson

P h o t o : P

o o n a m S a t t e e



Nicaragua

Linking young trade unionistsNeeta Norton interviews UNISON project worker Matthew Egan who visited Nicaragua in

January as part of the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign Action Group (NSCAG) Linking Young

Trade Unionists Project.

MATTHEW’S INTEREST inNicaragua was sparked by

meeting Nicaraguan trade unionistKarina Gomez last year. ‘Karina cameto Manchester during her speaker tourand I was so impressed with howprofessional and organised she was at just 18, it really inspired me. It struck me that I could learn a lot from trade

unions in Nicaragua,’ he said.Arriving in Managua, Matthew wasfaced with both the reality of povertyhe had only read about but also youngpeople’s drive to combat it througheducation and awareness of their rights.He was impressed by ‘the level of commitment and passion’ shown byyoung trade unionist and their eagernessto learn. The NSCAG has been workingin partnership with the FNT (NationalWorkers Front) on linking young trade

unionists from both countries since2007, with funding from UNISON andCommunication Workers Union (CWU).

Matt spent ten days in Managuameeting trade union members fromthe FNT and its member federations,including the UNE (Public ServicesUnion) and the CTCP (Informal SectorUnion). The unions have a community- based approach, hosting culturalevents such as dances and food fairs,

as well as sporting activities such as baseball, football and volleyballleagues. ‘Their activities evoked storiesof the important roles unions used tohave in many communities throughoutBritain,’ Matthew, 27, said. ‘Although Iam too young to have witnessed thesedays myself I have certainly seen thefirst hand effects on life in northerncommunities bereft of a visible tradeunion presence. Trade unions in theUK used to provide a social as wellas a work place function. I know asa society we have become moreindividualistic but I think there isno reason we can’t go back.’

The FNT has used the Linking Projectfunding to co-ordinate training andeducation with its member federations.The setting up of youth committeeshas enabled them to hold their firsttwo national youth assemblies. TheFNT Youth Committee, established in2009, formalized and recognised young

member involvement.Increasing the number of rights

advocates is one of the driving forces behind the UNE’s training with 44young members trained as advocatesin 2009. Their most popular trainingcourse is ‘Youth Empowerment’which explains the importance of being a union member.

Matthew says the CTCP wants toend ‘not just material poverty butalso intellectual poverty’ and toachieve this the union providesevening and weekend classes forworkers who have to fit theireducation around employment.

Matthew said: ‘The range of work that they (all unions) are involved inand their enthusiasm, consideringthey have to manage on extremelymeagre resources, was extremelyheartening and impressive andcertainly indicated that UNISON’sfunding was being put to good use.’

The trip strengthened Matthew’s belief in international solidarity andhe is keen to explore ‘acts of practicalsolidarity’ such as establishing links between hospital unions in the twocountries. ‘The biggest thing theyneed is resources and money basically. It was my first trip to acountry like Nicaragua and it openedmy eyes. Once you have been thereyou leave with not only a sense of friendliness and warmth, but alsoa sense of responsibility.’

Further information:www.nicaraguasc.org.uk/nscag

Matt Egan with Nicaraguan trade unionists P h o

t o : J u l i a n G u e v a r a



Take action

GUATEMALA

■ Members of Guatemala SolidarityNetwork (GSN) lobbied theGuatemalan government in severalurgent action cases, notably thoserelated to murders of Front forResistance in Defence of NationalResources and People’s Rights(FRENA) activists (see page 10). GSN joined with other European solidarityorganisations in a joint protest letterto the Guatemalan and Spanishgovernments and the Spanish owned

electricity supply company of DEOCSA.

■ Nathalie Mercier, who volunteeredas an international accompanier, has been giving awareness-raising talksabout Guatemala in the UK, includingschools, Amnesty groups anduniversities.

■ GSN will be fundraising at musicfestivals this summer by providingvolunteers for the Workers’ BeerCompany.www.guatemalasolidarity.org.uk

NICARAGUA

■ Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign

Action Group (NSCAG)

Eight young trade unionists will betravelling to Nicaragua in May as part

of NSCAG’s ongoing trade unionistslinking project. Domingo Perez, thegeneral secretary of the Nicaraguanpublic service union (UNE) will visitUK in June as a guest of UNISON.

■ Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign

NSC’s partner organisation, thePopular Literacy Association CarlosFonseca Amador (AEPCFA), isorganising celebrations of the 30thanniversary of the National LiteracyCrusade. These began on 23 Marchand end on 23 August with thedeclaration of the indigenousterritories of the Northern Caribbean

Over 50 ex-pupils are currentlystudying at university. “We havehad a fantastic year” says TrusteeMagdalena Pickton. “The money isflowing in but what we really neednow is more members.”See www.imfa.org.uk

■ Santa Rosa Fund (SRF) Tavistock

In 2007 and 2009 the SRF successfullyplaced volunteer computer trainers inthe Santa Rosa School in Managua andis currently looking for volunteers totake on one-to-one computer training

for staff members from July toSeptember. Two staff members aretaking over responsibility for thecomputers from Gill Holmes, who hasprovided support for the past two years.

The SRF also continues to supporta range of educational projects andinitiatives in Nicaragua.See www.santarosafund.org

■ Bristol Link with Nicaragua

(BLINC)

■ Local Authorities &

Nicaragua Conference

On 12 November Bristol hosted aconference for local authoritiesfrom towns with twinning linksin Nicaragua. There was goodrepresentation from Bristol City

Council, with Service Directors KateDavenport and Eileen Armstrongchairing sessions. Key speakersincluded: Emigdio Tellez, mayor

Coast “illiteracy free.” NSCrepresentative in Nicaragua JuliánGuevara will be participating in theseevents. In addition, NSC is organisinga study tour to Nicaragua from 15 –25 August which will also take partin the celebrations.

■ Nicaragua English for

Sustainable Tourism Trust (NEST)

NEST was set up in 2006 to supportthe learning of English in the MiraflorNature Reserve near Esteli and hassince been extended to other

communities.Trust coordinator Maggie Jo St John

reports that the next stage of theEnglish in Miraflor project has begun with the awarding of partscholarships to two young womenfrom families in Miraflor who have begun studying English at university.The two women learnt English asstudents of the first NEST teachers togo to Miraflor from the UK. Another

success in December was theorganisation of a five day intensiveEnglish course by one of the Englishspeaking eco-tourism guides,modelled on NEST courses, butwithout any input from NEST itself.

The computer classes in El Cebollal(the highest zone of Miraflor)continue to thrive with 45 studentsand an additional local teacher.A third computer centre is runningsuccessfully with a further 27 students.

www.nest.org.uk

■ Islington: pub quizzes generate

three new classrooms

The Islington Managua FriendshipAssociation has raised funds for threenew classrooms in Barrio EdgardMunguia in Managua, enabling theschool to offer full primary as well asnursery education. Most of the moneyhas been raised through regular pub

quizzes. Teachers' salaries are paid by“Sponsor a Teacher” standing orders.As well as launching a website thegroup is now recognised as a charity.

Solidarity and campaign news

Celebration in Puerto Morazan of the 20th

anniversary of the twinning link with Bristol



Take action

of Puerto Morazan, Gioconda PerezArostegui, BLINC developmentworker in Puerto Morazan, KatrinSturham from the Utrecht-Leon Link,Sheila Lock, Chief Executive of Leicester City Council and Guisell

Morales from the NicaraguanEmbassy. Guisell gave animpassioned speech stressing theimportance of friendship andsolidarity between communities inBritain and Nicaragua. The conferencereceived very positive feedback and itis hoped that it will encourage furtherdevelopment of projects and links between our communities.

■ School Links

During their visit Emigdio andGioconda visited local schools andencouraged further development of school to school links. Over a numberof years several Bristol teachers have

volunteered in schools in PuertoMorazan, sharing their skills andknowledge. This summer a teacherfrom Cotham is planning to take agroup of students to volunteer inschools in Puerto Morazan. Anothervolunteer is planning to visitEl Chavo, a pre-school that BLINChas helped to build and develop.www.bristolnicaragua.wordpress.com

GET IN TOUCHWales NSC:

Betws,Fford Haern Bach,Pen Y Groes LL54 6NY

Tel: 01286 882359Email: [email protected]

NSC, ENCA and local links:

86 Durham Rd,London N7 7DT

Tel: 020 7561 4836Email: [email protected] www.nicaraguasc.org.uk www.enca.org.uk

GSN:

6 Marylands,Haywards Heath,

West Sussex RH16 3JZTel: 01444 443401Email: [email protected]

CAWN:

c/o One World Action,Bradley Close,White Lion Street,London N1 9PF

Tel: 020 7833 4174Email: [email protected]

ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

this March, women activists including

CAWN’s Honduran partner, the Centre for

Women's Studies (CEM-H), marched in the

Plaza La Merced in Tegucigalpa, condemning

a wave of murders of women (femicides) in

the last two years and demanding an end to

such crimes. Security forces tried to prevent

the protestors from entering the open public

space near the National Congress, but

community leaders intervened to restore

calm and the event proceeded. Women’s and

civil society organisations have strongly

condemned the temporary disappearances,

torture, rape and murder suffered by

members of the popular movement and other

social sectors since the coup who refuse to

accept what they consider to be fakedemocracy. The coup has sharpened distrust

in the judicial system, which was already

precarious. The ineffective legal system and

police repression have worsened access to

justice for victims of domestic violence and

increased the risk of femicide.

In UK CAWN continues supporting (CEM-H)

in their work to eliminate violence against

women and femicides. This includes highlighting

cases of human rights violations that are

being presented to international institutions

such as the Inter-American Court of Human

Rights. CAWN is raising these concerns in

the UK, EU and internationally, to ensure that

the voices of Honduran women are heard.

On 12 May the 3rd Conference on Femicide

“No More Killing of Women – Stop Impunity!

Demand universal responsibility” will be held

at the European Parliament, organised by

MEP Raül Romera i Rueda, CAWN and other

Europe-based civil society groups that supportLatin American women’s organisations.

Further information: www.cawn.org

Repression against women continues in HondurasKatherine Ronderos, Central America Women’s Network

International women’s day march, Tegucigalpa

■ Latin America Bureau (LAB)

website and newsletter

LAB has initiated a regular emailingservice that provides links forinteresting, progressive articles andanalysis on Latin America and the

Caribbean, and lists upcoming events.Some of the articles have been written by LAB analysts, while others have been forwarded to LAB.

If you would like to contributearticles or announcements pleasesend them to [email protected] subscribe to the newsletter:[email protected] www.lab.org.uk

P h o t o : C A W N

central america report - summer 2010

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