“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” —Proverbs 31:8-9
Use the sample letters and the addresses below to speak out for justice in Co. We recommend mailing letters to Honduras. Postage to Honduras is a bit pricey--but probably still cheaper than a latte at Starbucks. We're working hard to obtain email addresses for the new Supreme Court President, Attorney General, and Minister of Security who have all taken over these positions in the last year or so and will let you know when those are available. While we prefer that you mail in letters yourselves, another option is to scan and email your signed letters to info@ajs-us.org or fax them to us 1 800 897-1135; we'll print them out and hand-deliver them to officials (note that if we begin to get a high volume of such letters, time and cost may prohibit us from continuing to offer this option).
| Land
Rights Murders in San Pedro Sula Breaking News: Suspect Arrested in Land Rights Murder World Bank Meets with AJS-Supported Justice Workers, Community Leaders Government Pledges to Address Murders, Land Rights Issues |  Dionisio
Díaz García, "The Lawyer of the Poor" | ||||
More on the Land Rights Murders Write More Officials | Contact the World Bank | Pray Sample Letter to Honduran Officials About the Cofradía Land Rights Murders English Respected Officials of the Government of Honduras and the World Bank: I am writing you to register my extreme concern regarding the recent murders of three community leaders in northern Honduras. This past October 14, Ubense Aguilar, president of the neighborhood association of the “Ideal” neighborhood in the town of Villnueva, department of Cortés, was shot to death in front of a small cement-block factory he owned. On October 9, Elías Murcia, president of the neighborhood Brisas de Occidente 2 in the town of Cofradía, was shot to death in front of his home. On October 2, Fredis Osorto Reyes, president of the neighborhood Vida Nueva in the town of Cofradía, was shot to death in front of his house. The evidence available to date indicates that the people behind these vile crimes may be illegitimate “landowners” whose dirty business of illegal land sales have been put in jeopardy by the expropriation, regularization, and titling processes pushed forward by the Government through the Property Institute and supported by many community leaders, among them those recently murdered. I am concerned that the negligence and slowness of the Property Insitute in regularizing and titling lands in these communities has allowed false landowners to continue committing illegal acts with impunity. I am also concerned that to date Justice Officials have not brought any of the people responsible for these murders to justice. Finally, I am concerned by the fact that more community leaders are being threatened, among them Danilo del Arca, president of the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Cofradía; Carminda Pérez, president of the neighborhood Altos de Cofradía; Gabriel Zambrano, president of the neighborhood Brisas de Occidente 3, Cofradía; and Carlos Murillo, president of the neighborhood Lisandro Paz, Cofradía. I respectfully request the following: 1. That protection be immediately provided for the leaders who are being threatened and for the staff of la Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa (ASJ) who work on land rights issues in the region. 2. That the murders of the leaders mentioned be investigated and the material and intellectual authors of these murders brought to justice. 3. That the land regularization process be implemented efficiently so that the impoverished inhabitants of these communities can have titles to their land and so illegitimate “landowners” cannot find a way to manipulate or exploit the process. Thank you for willingness to receive and consider this communication. Spanish Estimados
Oficiales del Gobierno de Honduras y del Banco Mundial: Finalmente,
me preocupa que más líderes comunitarios
están siendo amenazados, entre ellos
Danilo del Arca, presidente de la Federación de Patronatos
de Cofradía;
Carminda Pérez, presidenta de la colonia Altos de
Cofradía; Gabriel Zambrano,
presidente de la colonia Brisas de Occidente 3 de Cofradía;
y Carlos Murillo,
presidente de la colonia Lisandro Paz de Cofradía. Respetuosamente
solicito lo siguiente: 2.
Que se
esclarezcan los asesinatos de los dirigentes mencionados
y que sus autores
materiales e
intelectuales sean llevados ante los tribunales. 3. Que el proceso de regularización de tierras sea implementado de forma eficiente para que los humildes habitantes de estos lugares gocen de títulos para sus tierras y, que los ilegítimos terratenientes no encuentren cabida para manipular o explotar el proceso. Les agradezco por su disposición de recibir y considerar nuestra comunicación. |
Sample Letter to Honduran Officials About the Dionisio Díaz García Murder Case English Respected Officials of the Honduran Government: As you may be aware, on December 4, 2006, Honduran, Christian human rights lawyer Dionisio Díaz García was shot to death, apparantly in retaliation for his defense of the labor rights of impoverished security guards. While
we continue to be dismayed by this needless death, we applaud the
Honduran police's arrest of the alleged hit-men on January 31, 2008,
and the conviction of the hitmen on February 27,
2009. As firm
supporters of the work of Mr. Díaz and of
ASJ, we
ask that
you make your best efforts to ensure that the
intellectual authors of
this
crime—those who
hired the hit-men—are also brought to justice. Thank you for your willingness to receive and consider our communication. Spanish Estimados Oficiales del Gobierno de Honduras: Como ya pueda ser de su conocimiento, el 4 de diciembre del 2006 el abogado de derechos humanos cristiano, hondureño, Dionisio Díaz García, fue ultimado a balazos, aparentamente en represalia por su defensa de los derechos laborales de humildes guardias de seguridad. Mientras que esta muerte innecesaria nos sigue causando consternación, felicitamos la captura por parte de la policía de Honduras de los supuestos sicarios en fecha 31 de enero del 2008 y la sentencia condenatoria contra los mismos el 27 de febrero del 2009. Siendo personas que apoyamos de corazón al trabajo del abogado Díaz y de la ASJ, le pedimos que disponga de sus mayores esfuerzos para asegurar que a los autores intelectuales de este crimen—los que contrataron a los sicarios—se les aplique la justica. Agradecemos su disposición de recibir y considerar nuestra comunicación. Officials to Send the Letters to: Manuel
Zelaya Rosales, President of Honduras (Note: Mr. Zelaya was deposed in
a coup on June 28, 2009, though there appears to be some possibility
that he may be reinstated. Check out our Honduras Political
Crisis page for more information) Coronel Jorge Alberto Rodas
Gamero, Minister of Security Ramón
Custodio Lopez, National Human Rights Commissioner Abogado Luís Alberto
Rubí,
Attorney General Abogado
Jorge Rivera Aviles, President of the Supreme Court Roberto
Micheletti, President of the
National Congress (Note: Mr. Micheletti is currently serving
as interim president after Mr. Zelaya's ouster) Geoffrey Bergen, Representative for Honduras World Bank / Banco Mundial edificio Citibank, frente a Ruby Tuesdays, subida a Las Lomas Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Central America Fax: 011 504 239-4555 Lorenzo Sauceda, General Secretary Instituto de la Propiedad Bulevar Kuwait Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Central America Send Copies To Us: Asociación
para una Sociedad más Justa (ASJ) OR Association
for a More Just Society (AJS) Fax 1 (800) 897-1135 |
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