A
PRELUDE TO THE SECOND MARCH FOR LIFE, JUNE 24-30, 2004
The
“March for Life” against illegal logging developed amidst
a tense and social and political climate and generated great controversy.
The weeks and days leading up to the events were full of surprising
political apprehensions and declarations:
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The
president of the Honduran Congress, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, appealed
to Honduras’ new immigration law and called for the expulsion
from Honduras of all foreigners who participated in the March. Lobo
Sosa is the leading candidate in the presidential election scheduled
for next year. He represents Olancho, the department perhaps most
affected by illegal logging and has close connections to the logging
industry.
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President Maduro, like Lobo Sosa a member of the Nationalist Party,
knowing he could not win such a battle, announced he would join
the March and stated that he would take new actions on forestry
sector reforms. In response, the organizers of the March, fearful
of having their event co-opted by the government, requested the
President not participate.
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In
the meantime, the co-organizers of the March –representatives
of other popular labor, student, human rights, indigenous and farmer
organizations—began having internal disagreements while planning
for the March. Building consensus among them proved to be a challenge.
The co-organizers disagreed over a number of details including when
the March would take place, who would lead it, and what would be
the focus of the demands. Internal dissent was escalated by a common
fear that the government would try to co-opt the event. The Regional
Coordinator of Popular Resistance finally decided not to participate
in the event at all.
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The director of public prosecutors in the attorney general’s
office, Humberto Palacios Moya, taking his cue from his President,
took on further investigations on COHDEFOR (Administración
Forestal del Estado – Corporación Hondureña
de Desarrollo Forestal, the government’s agency in charge
of overseeing and regulating the forests of Honduras) and carried
out raids on police stations known for their complicity in illegal
logging. His findings prompted Oscar Alvarez, the minister of security,
to close down these police posts, however Palacios Moya was immediately
fired for his trouble.
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In honor of the Day of the Tree and in an effort to restore its
national and international credibility, COHDEFOR, published a special
report in a major national newspaper on its achievements and contributions
to abate poverty and protect the forests of Honduras.
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The teachers organized hunger strikes and marches throughout Tegucigalpa
during the month leading up to the march in an effort to demand
higher wages and better benefits. Both the Center’s staff
and March for Life organizers feared that the strike would overlap
with their events and dilute the March’s call for the protection
of the environment.
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Padre Tamayo and other co-organizers of the march spent considerable
time visiting communities all over the country to discuss the issues
they face with regard to the environment and encouraged them to
march at the end of June to demand their right to a clean and healthy
and environment: their right to life. Padre Tamayo appeared frequently
on TV, radio and the press calling on “all communities to
unite in the search for justice and to wake up this country by participating
in the March.”
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Two days before the start of the March, the bishop of Copán,
Luis Alfonso Santos –traditionally one of MAO’s allies--
announced he would not participate in the event, because of alleged
rumors of infiltrators who were aiming to destabilize the government
and demand President Maduro’s resignation.
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One day before the start of the March, President Maduro and the
Catholic hierarchy asked the March’s organizers to postpone
the event claiming to have received inside information from the
Armed Forces supporting the bishop’s statements and instead,
invited them to dialogue. MAO and co-organizers of the March accepted
the invitation to dialogue, but rejected their proposal to suspend
the March reminding both that the movement had been planning the
event for the past four months and that democracy cannot be strengthened
when the president is infringing upon people’s rights to assemble
and engage in civic movements. They also denied the existence of
infiltrators and the intention of the March to seek President Maduro’s
resignation.
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Just hours before going to press, El Heraldo breaks its agreement
with CIP to publish our report on illegal logging. The owner and
editor of the newspaper considered the content of the report to
be too “sensitive” despite that they themselves had
recently published investigative articles on illegal logging and
corruption. They agreed to publish the report on the condition that
CIP pay a much higher price than the one previously agreed upon.
CIP declined this offer and went with El Heraldo’s competition,
major national newspaper La Tribuna, owned by a former President
who represents the political party opposition. The report was published
immediately.
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One favorite rumor going around the government and the NGO community
was that Robert White is working for the CIA and trying to infiltrate
the government. Even the Minister of Security insinuated that the
March was being funded by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
and Cuban leader Fidel Castro with intentions to destabilize the
Honduran government.
TRIP
REPORT HOME
BACKGROUND
CIP’S OBJECTIVES IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE
MARCH FOR LIFE
HIGHLIGHTS
CIP'S EVENTS
RESULTS
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS POST-MARCH
PROGRAM STAFF AND COLLABORATORS
CIP’S STRATEGY AND NEXT STEPS FOR THE PROGRAM
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