This Wednesday, more than 3,500 peasant families occupied approximately 12,000 hectors of land in various parts of Honduras, protesting for access to land.
The peasants taking part in the occupations announced that previous demands had not been met with answers.
In some regions, protestors left the occupations after the arrival of police and local prosecutors.
Last Tuesday, the director of Peasants and Indigenous Peoples’ Union of Honduras, María Pérez, declared that the protestors are willing to push through their demands until “the last moments.”
Moreover, the Honduran government rejected the measure of protest and opposition leaders blamed the National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP) for causing the land occupations.
The peasant leader Rafael Alegría and member of the Front for Resistance justified the occupations, highlighting the “dramatic” situation of more than 15,000 rural workers in Honduras.
He described the occupied lands as idle and blamed the National Government, employers and landowners for any repressive situation generated in the fields.
Significantly, protest action was carried out following celebration of the International Day of Peasants’ Struggle, on Tuesday 17th April.
The conflict over access to land in Honduras has caused more than 50 deaths in the last two years, and has involved the persecution of farmers and political leaders, as well as the militarisation of territories.
Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the AMARC-ALC news agency.
