The escalating repression against the communities in resistance who are opposed to the illegal and illegitimate construction of a hydroelectric dam in Rio Blanco (Intibuca), has arrived at such an extreme point that it is now compromising the everyday lives of people in the community, a situation which was denounced by various organizations at the beginning of November.
On November 1st of this year, highly armed and masked members of the Honduran police intruded on the indigenous community of La Tejera. They forced open the doors of houses, looking for the President of the indigenous Lenca council, and threatened to shoot children, both boys and girls, and the elderly. This intrusion adds to the list of aggressions by which the Honduran state is criminalizing and persecuting the organized indigenous communities of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).
During
the first days of December, human rights observers have confirmed
that these events have impacted the physical and psychological
integrity of people in this community, especially children, who are
exhibiting illness and signs of stress, anxiety, and fear. We have
also witnessed the continued harassment of and direct police control
over those opposed to the dam.