Honduras, Bajo Aguan, another farmer leader assesinated
Last Saturday, November 10TH, 2012, more peasant blood was shed in Bajo Aguan. In the morning José Cecilio Perez Martinez, was found murdered who had been kidnapped the day before in the afternoon by three gunmen in the outpost of Tocoa Trujillo, Colón.
The Cro. Perez Martinez was president of the cooperative El Despertar that belongs to Movimiento Autentico Reivindicador Campesino del Aguán (MARCA), and was found murdered in the village of Tigre at 8:30 am in the car in which he had been kidnapped.
There is no doubt that these armed groups operating in the area supported by local landowners, and in many cases supported by the police and the military that remain in the area, are now turning to new strategies to develop the work of hired killers.
The Cro. Perez Martinez was killed and also robbed of a large sum of cash he was carrying, money that was to be used to pay the families of the cooperative El Despertad.
Also on Saturday, November 10th, 2012 at about 7:00 pm, Yoni Rivas and Vitalino Alvarez recognized leaders from the Movimiento Unificado de Campesinos del Aguan(MUCA), were ambushed by a group of thugs, who fortunately managed to evade and only heard the heavy caliber detonations of their weapons.
The Aguan Peasants reported that through all this plan to silence the voices of the peasantry and destabilize peasant organizations, there is a direct intervention to the telephone lines of peasant leaders and spokesmen, to avoid making complaints of constant persecution, repression and murder of peasants in this region.
They also blame the three State Powers and the armed groups led by landowners, that operate under the protection of the Legislative Decree and unconstitutional selective disarmament in the Department of Colon and specifically in the town of Tocoa. Protected by this law, the police and the army constantly make raids on the homes and leaving Aguan peasants exposed to be killed. This disarmament law is only apply to the peasants and not to all the people of the area.
They called to human rights organizations and international and national rights defenders, to be on constant alert to the wave of killings, persecution and repression against peasants in Bajo Aguan.