'Horrific Human Rights Crime': Another Environmental Activist Slain in Honduras
Lesbia Yaneth Urquía, a compatriot of two other recently murdered campaigners, was found dead beside a municipal landfill on Wednesday
Another Indigenous environmental activist has been killed in Honduras, teleSUR reports.
"The death of Lesbia Yaneth is a political feminicide, and an attempt to silence the voice of those brave women who are courageously defending their rights and opposing the patriarchal, racist and capitalist system of of their society."
--COPINH
The activist, identified as Lesbia Yaneth Urquia, was abducted and found dead near a municipal dump with severe head trauma on Wednesday.
Urquia was a member of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), the Indigenous rights group founded by slain activist Berta Caceres. Urquia "fought against the building of hydroelectric power plants on Indigenous land," according to teleSUR.
"The comrade was killed with a knife," said La Voz Lenca, the communications arm of COPINH, on its Facebook page, according to teleSUR's translation. The group added that Urquia had been "abducted by unknown persons."
In a press release, COPINH wrote that the "death of Lesbia Yaneth is a political feminicide, and an attempt to silence the voice of those brave women who are courageously defending their rights and opposing the patriarchal, racist and capitalist system of of their society."
Maude Barlow, chairperson of the social justice group Council of Canadians, condemned this latest murder as a "horrific human rights crime."
Urquia's death also follows that of Nelson Garcia, another COPINH activist who had fought against a mega-dam project alongside Caceres before he was also shot and killed in March.
In June, a whistleblower revealed that Caceres had been on a secret "kill list" that U.S.-trained Honduran special forces use to target environmental and Indigenous activists in the country.
Since a U.S.-backed military coup that overthrew a democratically elected president in 2009, Honduras has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for environmental and land defenders, according to U.K.-based human rights group Global Witness.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Another Indigenous environmental activist has been killed in Honduras, teleSUR reports.
"The death of Lesbia Yaneth is a political feminicide, and an attempt to silence the voice of those brave women who are courageously defending their rights and opposing the patriarchal, racist and capitalist system of of their society."
--COPINH
The activist, identified as Lesbia Yaneth Urquia, was abducted and found dead near a municipal dump with severe head trauma on Wednesday.
Urquia was a member of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), the Indigenous rights group founded by slain activist Berta Caceres. Urquia "fought against the building of hydroelectric power plants on Indigenous land," according to teleSUR.
"The comrade was killed with a knife," said La Voz Lenca, the communications arm of COPINH, on its Facebook page, according to teleSUR's translation. The group added that Urquia had been "abducted by unknown persons."
In a press release, COPINH wrote that the "death of Lesbia Yaneth is a political feminicide, and an attempt to silence the voice of those brave women who are courageously defending their rights and opposing the patriarchal, racist and capitalist system of of their society."
Maude Barlow, chairperson of the social justice group Council of Canadians, condemned this latest murder as a "horrific human rights crime."
Urquia's death also follows that of Nelson Garcia, another COPINH activist who had fought against a mega-dam project alongside Caceres before he was also shot and killed in March.
In June, a whistleblower revealed that Caceres had been on a secret "kill list" that U.S.-trained Honduran special forces use to target environmental and Indigenous activists in the country.
Since a U.S.-backed military coup that overthrew a democratically elected president in 2009, Honduras has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for environmental and land defenders, according to U.K.-based human rights group Global Witness.
Another Indigenous environmental activist has been killed in Honduras, teleSUR reports.
"The death of Lesbia Yaneth is a political feminicide, and an attempt to silence the voice of those brave women who are courageously defending their rights and opposing the patriarchal, racist and capitalist system of of their society."
--COPINH
The activist, identified as Lesbia Yaneth Urquia, was abducted and found dead near a municipal dump with severe head trauma on Wednesday.
Urquia was a member of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), the Indigenous rights group founded by slain activist Berta Caceres. Urquia "fought against the building of hydroelectric power plants on Indigenous land," according to teleSUR.
"The comrade was killed with a knife," said La Voz Lenca, the communications arm of COPINH, on its Facebook page, according to teleSUR's translation. The group added that Urquia had been "abducted by unknown persons."
In a press release, COPINH wrote that the "death of Lesbia Yaneth is a political feminicide, and an attempt to silence the voice of those brave women who are courageously defending their rights and opposing the patriarchal, racist and capitalist system of of their society."
Maude Barlow, chairperson of the social justice group Council of Canadians, condemned this latest murder as a "horrific human rights crime."
Urquia's death also follows that of Nelson Garcia, another COPINH activist who had fought against a mega-dam project alongside Caceres before he was also shot and killed in March.
In June, a whistleblower revealed that Caceres had been on a secret "kill list" that U.S.-trained Honduran special forces use to target environmental and Indigenous activists in the country.
Since a U.S.-backed military coup that overthrew a democratically elected president in 2009, Honduras has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for environmental and land defenders, according to U.K.-based human rights group Global Witness.