Real World Radio interviewed Wilfredo Paz. He is a MUCA leader and member of the National Front of Popular Resistance of Honduras. He told us that 17 year-old Oscar Geovanny Ramírez, was kidnapped on Sunday early morning outside La Aurora estate (close to the city of Tocoa, Colon department) by the security forces of businessman and palm oil producer Miguel Facussé, the army and the national police. He was tortured and murdered. Then, the forces assaulted the estate and threw Ramirez body during the operation.

He also said that his five comrades who were arrested, left La Aurora safe and sane, but they had several injuries on Monday, which shows they were tortured by the police. “They left La Aurora unharmed”, said Paz.
MUCA is settled in five estates (La Aurora is one of them), after an agreement signed with the government on April 18, through which the government committed to deliver 11,000 hectares of land to the peasants. Part of the agreement was that they would put an end to the attacks against the peasants.

Paz said Sunday’s attack shows the weakness of Porfirio Lobo’s government. The land owners made their own law prevail, and ignored the agreement signed by the president, said Paz. Even more serious is that the police and military forces collaborated with the operation against the peasants.
MUCA believes this means a big step backwards for them in the negotiations process. Paz accused Facusse of carrying out a boycott campaign to prevent the agreement from being enforced.

The peasant leader explained that the agreement has been broken several times and that right now MUCA is on the alert. He warned that if the agreement is not complied with in the next 60 days, the movement will reoccupy the 28 plots of land they had occupied before it was signed.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/olmovich/