On July 17, PBI-Honduras posted:
“Yesterday and today, we accompanied Copinh Honduras [the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras] at a demonstration inside the facilities of the National Agrarian Institute (INA).
COPINH demands advancement for the community title processes of several indigenous territories, specifically in the communities of Montaña Verde, El Achiotal, Rio Blanco, El Naranjo and La Jarcia.
We highlight the brave work of COPINH to achieve respect for indigenous rights in Honduras.”
At that time, COPINH also posted:
“More than 500 members of different Lenca communities organized to #COPINH raised our voice for 10 land claim processes and installed a sit-in at the National Agrarian Institute INA, demanding community titling.
Various of these processes have been known by the INA for more than 15 years, however the right of the communities has not been respected, which is an obligation of the State according to Honduran and international laws.
We defend our territories which are our life.”
And on July 17, Criterio.hn reported:
“More than 500 people from [twelve] communities mobilized aboard 19 buses demanding speed in the issuance of their community titles and an end to the criminalization of their members through the crime of land usurpation.
They spent the night on the main street of the Alameda neighborhood, placed their mattresses in front of the National Agrarian Institute (INA) waiting for a commitment from the director of said institution, Francisco Funes, who met at night with their representatives.
Bertha Zúniga Cáceres, coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), said that the communities are demanding community titles to more than 9,000 blocks of land on which at least 852 families of the Lenca people live.”
Now, COPINH shares on social media:
“After lengthy negotiations, COPINH reached an important agreement with the National Agrarian Institute (INA) for 12 Lenca communities.
The management of INA and representatives of Lenca communities organized in COPINH signed agreements that recognize and grant property titles over the ancestral territories of these indigenous communities.
Thank you to the mobilization and active participation of the Lenca communities organized in COPINH, a commitment was made to move forward with land titling.
COPINH will be attentive to the fulfillment of the agreements, ensuring that they are respected and implemented in a fair and prompt manner.”
Avispa Midia also highlights:
“After a week of mobilizations, more than 500 indigenous Lenca belonging to 12 communities in southwestern Honduras reached a historic agreement with the National Agrarian Institute (INA), through which the State commits to the community titling of more than 9,000 blocks of land on which more than 900 families live. …The agreement was announced after the mobilizations where representatives of the Lenca communities of Montaña Verde, Limoncillo, El Achiotal, Río Blanco, Wise, El Naranjo, 1 de Agosto and Grupo Campesino Nueva Esperanza participated, who claim communal possession of their territories.”
For more on this, you can also read: Enhorabuena! INA y Copinh logran acuerdos positivos (Canal 8, July 17, 2024) and INA y Copinh firman acta de entendimiento para acelerar titulacion de tierras (Canal 8, July 18, 2024).
The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has accompanied COPINH since May 2016 only a few short weeks following the murder of their co-founder and general coordinator Berta Caceres on March 3, 2016.
Published by Brent Patterson on