Guatemala: ODEPAL Internacional implies indigenous associations are involved in the deaths of three workers from the Inter-oceanic Corridor project
“Smear campaign against COMUNDICH and CCCND in relation to deaths of workers of the Corredor Interoceánico project”, 8th August 2019
On 2 August 2019, the Facebook group Public-Private Alliance, (Alianza Pública Privada desde lo Local) managed by ODEPAL internacional, founding group and promoter of the Corredor Interoceánico project, implied a connection between members of the Coordinadora Central Campesina Ch'orti Nuevo Dia (CCCND) and the Coordinadora de Asociaciones y Comunidades para el Desarrollo Integral del Pueblo Ch'orti' (COMUNDICH), and the death of three of its employees working in the Corredor Interoceánico…COMUNDICH is an organisation dedicated to the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, currently representing 48 indigenous communities belonging to the Mayan Ch'orti' Pueblo in eastern Guatemala…The…CCCND works with Maya Ch'orti indigenous communities in the Chiquimula region of Guatemala. The organisation provides legal support and visibility to these communities, who face threats and human rights violations due to the implementation of hydroelectric and mining projects in their territories…ODEPAL internacional…published a list of names and photographs of indigenous and community leaders asking for their collaboration in shedding light on the murder of three workers in the Corredor Interoceánico project…Asking for information about a crime in a context of tension regarding the implementation of projects in the communities, and of repeated attacks against HRDs, could be misunderstood and misused. This could contribute to increasing the environment of hostility for the defenders and lead to violence against them…