HONDURAS' CHORTI INDIANS TAKE OVER COPAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000662 SENSITIVE SIPDIS WHA/PPC FOR J BEN-YAHUDA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL KDEM SOCI HO SUBJECT: HONDURAS' CHORTI INDIANS TAKE OVER COPAN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE ¶1. (U) Summary: June 22 at 2:00 a.m., 3,000 Indians from the Maya Chorti tribe took over the archeological ruins of Copan demanding that promises made to the tribe by previous governments, including lands and bilingual education, be fulfilled. After two days of negotiations with both local and national officials, the Chortis left the tourist attraction on June 24, with the promise of future meetings with the Minister of Education and the head of the National Agrarian Institute. This problem has been festering since 1997, when then-President Carlos Roberto Reina made extensive promises to the tribe that have never been kept. Rising food prices and cost of living have exacerbated the Chortis' dire living situation to the point of desperation, and compelled them to decide to take the drastic step of forcefully taking over the archeological site. End summary. Background -------------- ¶2. (U) The Maya Chorti Indian tribe is the closest living descendent of the Mayans who built Copan, Tikal and other famous archeological sites. The Chortis have their own written and spoken language and the majority of this tribe lives in Guatemala. There are 52 Chorti communities in the Department of Copan and 32 communities in the Department of Ocotepeque, for an estimated total of 60,000 members. The Chortis live in extreme poverty, with a 60 per cent illiteracy rate. Title to the land is held as community property, but most Chortis in Copan have very little acreage and most live on private lands they work for the landowners. In 1997, after large public protests, then-President Carlos Roberto Reina promised the Chortis that the government would purchase 14,700 hectares for them. In 2005, during the administration of President Ricardo Maduro, the Chortis took over the archeological site for the first time. Maduro promised 45 million lempiras (approximately USD 2.4 million) for the purchase of about 3,000 hectares, which was eventually completed. Maduro fulfilled his promise, but it fell far short of the original pledge by Reina. Problem with Lands -------------- ¶3. (SBU) PolCouns met with Chorti leaders, including those who orchestrated the takeover of Copan, to learn about the current realities facing this tribe. The leaders took PolCouns to the community of Aldea Nueva Estanzuela, where ten families comprised of 52 individuals currently live. In 1991, these Indians were invited to live and work on this land, and when the owner decided to sell, they began negotiations with the government to purchase 3.75 hectares for the ten families. The negotiations fell through and the owner sold (for a higher price) to an individual who wants the Chortis evicted. This example is representative of what has occurred in other communities -- even if the Chortis have funds and the government is willing to buy the lands for them, the owner is often not willing to sell. Bilingual Education -------------- ¶4. (U) In the late 1990's, Chorti leaders were seeing that the Chorti language was being lost -- only the older Indians spoke the language, and no one could read or write the language. So a concerted effort was made to recuperate this part of the Chorti culture, and instructors were brought from Guatemala to train a core group of volunteers. The first group of eight began its studies in 1999, and they have now taught an additional 24 individuals to read and write this almost-extinct language. The leadership would now like to send these teachers to the 84 communities to teach the young people the Chorti language, but the government has no funding available. The teachers now volunteer their time at night and on weekends, but this resource is not being utilized. The schools in the Chorti communities are all staffed with non-Chorti employees who do not understand the language or the culture of the tribe. For these reasons the leadership is demanding not only a regular literacy campaign, but also funding to support bilingual education. They also want to have a say in teacher assignments and transfers, and are requesting scholarships for gifted Chorti students. Other demands -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In addition to lands and education, the Chorti tribe is also demanding improved health and sanitation, and TEGUCIGALP 00000662 002 OF 002 water and electricity to be brought to all of the communities. Per Copan Ruinas Mayor Lizandro Mauricio Arias Aquino, all of the poor in the area want these same things. Arias said that many of these requests have been met and the municipality will continue to keep the Chorti requests under consideration. The Chortis also asked for a percentage of the daily income from the Copan archeological site, although this seems to be more of a bargaining chip than a solid demand. Taking over the Archeological Site, Again -------------- ¶6. (U) As the cost of living rises and jobs get harder to find, the problems in these poor communities began to come to a head. This, coupled with the evictions that are being threatened in two Copan Chorti Communities (Aldea Nueva Estanzuela and Rio Amarillo) made the leadership decide to take drastic action. At 2:00 a.m. on June 22, almost 3,000 Chorti Indians took over the road and the parking lot for the Copan Archeological site, blocking access to the approximately 400 tourists a day, who each spend an average of USD15. They held negotiations with local officials (Arias and business representatives form the Chamber of Commerce) and also with national figures. On June 24th, they agreed to leave the site peacefully, with the promise of a meeting with the National Agrarian Institute (INA) and the Minister of Education. ¶7. (U) On July 1, the Chorti leaders met with the INA Director Francisco Funes, who promised to give them 10 million lempiras (approximately USD 600,000) within 30 days and another 10 million lempiras in 90 days. (Note: We believe they are at least trying to make good on this promise as during the visit to Aldea Nueva Estanzuela, PolCouns greeted an INA rep who was at the community to evaluate the value of the disputed lands and try to assist in the negotiations with the land owner. End note.) ¶8. (U) On July 7, the Chorti leaders met with a commission set up by the Minister of Education, although the Minister did not participate. The commission signed a pledge to provide teaching positions to Chorti teachers, give 30 scholarships to gifted Chorti students, train Chortis to work at the Copan archeological site, and consult with the community on issues of hiring and transfers of teachers. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) As the fourth poorest country in the hemisphere, the problems facing the Chorti Indians are the same problems faced by much of the general population. Unfortunately, big promises have been made during political campaigns or in response to previous protests, which have not been kept. The Chortis are an interesting group because they have learned how to organize their community and make their demands known. There are nine tribes in Honduras, with the Garifuna being the most organized, and the Chortis arguably the second most organized. The Chortis even complained that the nine tribes used to go to the government together to advocate for their issues, but when the Garifunas learned how to use the international court system for their own benefit, they left the other eight tribes behind. With the help and advice of international NGO's the Chortis have organized the National Council of Indigenous Maya Chorti of Honduras (CONIMICHH), which is headquartered in Copan Ruinas town. It houses an advocacy office, a computer learning center, and offers office and meeting spaces for the community. As the descendants of the Maya who built Copan, the Chortis have been smart to play on this link and lend legitimacy to their takeovers of the archeological site. Each time the site is taken over, the area suffers financial hardship, and the reputation of Honduras is tarnished, so the GOH knows it has to work with this group and keep them happy. But as the promises made are often unreasonable, and the economic situation of the whole country continues to decline, we can expect to see more Chorti protests in the future. End comment. FORD