RIGHTS-HONDURAS: Indians Put Christopher Columbus on Trial

By Thelma Mejía Reprint | | Print |

Thelma Mejia

TEGUCIGALPA, Jul 20 1998 (IPS) - Indigenous groups in Honduras opened a historic trial against Christopher Columbus Monday, the anniversary of the death of Chief Lempira, an indian leader who was betrayed and killed by the Spanish while negotiating peace and the withdrawal of the conquistadors.

The trial against Columbus will end Oct. 12, the Day of the Race and the 506th anniversary of Spain’s “discovery” of the Americas. The indigenous activists are accusing Columbus of the crimes of genocide, ethnocide, trafficking in slaves, rape, and plundering.

Gregoria Flores, with the Coordinating Committee of Indigenous Organisations of Intibuca (Copin), said the trial aims to “tell the other side of the story of the so-called conquest of the Americas.

“We indigenous peoples want the truth to be known, 500 years later, of what was done to our brothers and sisters, who were mistreated and used as animals.

“With this symbolic act, we want to place on record what really happened, and show that indigenous resistance did not die with the colonial period,” but that “on the contrary, we have gained strength to demand justice and respect for our rights,” she added.

Copin, one of the most combative indigenous organisations in Honduras, is mainly made up of members of the Lenca ethnic group, the largest of the country’s seven indigenous communities, and is active in the impoverished western departments of Intibuca and Lempira.

Representatives of all seven ethnic groups commemorated the anniversary of Lempira’s death in the streets of the town of Intibuca with a parade and religious masks, songs and rites, while a symbolic jury was set up in the public square of La Esperanza to hear the case against Columbus.

“500 years after the conquest of the Americas, Lempira is alive!”, “Indigenous resistance is still alive, the Lenca people are present!” read several of the placards carried by the indigenous marchers in La Esperanza Monday.

In Bolivia, Guatemala and the U.S. state of Texas, “our indigenous brothers and sisters are holding similar trials of Columbus, who for us is guilty of genocide rather than a standard- bearer of culture as they make him out to be,” said Copin leader Salvador Zuniga.

On Oct. 12, 1997, Zuniga and around 150 other members of the Lenca community destroyed a statue of Christopher Columbus in Tegucigalpa, an act which drew criticism from all sides and led to a decline in activism in favour of the rights of Honduran indigenous groups.

In an attempt to boost the indigenous movement’s diminished credibility, the leaders of Copin decided to hold a “historic trial” against Columbus, and proposed the raising of a monument to Chief Lempira in downtown Tegucigalpa, a proposal which has been accepted by the government.

Indigenous groups, which account for 10 percent of the 5.8 million inhabitants of Honduras, began four years ago to wage a peaceful struggle seeking respect for their rights and social and economic redress, demands which have been partially addressed by the government.

The activists have revealed the poverty and neglect in which local indigenous groups are steeped, especially the Lencas and Tawankas, and awakened public sympathy. Three years ago, the government created the ‘Fiscalia de las Etnias’, an office in charge of addressing indigenous demands and training leaders in negotiation and conflict resolution techniques, human rights and preservation of identity.

The trial of Christopher Columbus has drawn the attention of academic and cultural circles in Honduras, which describe the action as an attempt to draw attention to the plight of indigenous groups, restore legitimacy and rescue the country’s indigenous roots.