In Guatemala, Indigenous Woman Sues Multinational Company for Husband's Murder
In Guatemala, Indigenous Woman Sues Multinational Company for Husband's Murder
Friday, 22 May 2015 09:41
By Jeff Abbott, Truthout | Report
The indigenous Mayan communities of Guatemala have historically been given few judicial outlets, national or international, to seek justice for human rights violations at the hands of multinational companies operating in their territory. But Angelica Choc, a Mayan Q'eqchi' woman from the small hamlet of La Union in the department of Izabal on Guatemala's eastern coast, has looked to change that. In an unprecedented case, Choc has sued a parent company in its home country for human rights violations committed by its subsidiaries in Guatemala.
"Those who have the money here have the voice," Choc told Truthout. "But I too have rights, and I am struggling for respect and dignity.... This demand is not only mine; it is for all of Guatemala, for all of those who have suffered from the invasions of our territories by foreign companies to extract our natural resources. This demand is historic."
"I'm a rock in their way," she added.
Chamán, was a respected community leader, schoolteacher and outspoken critic of the violation of human rights by mining activities in Guatemala. But on September 27, 2009, Chamán was shot and hacked to death by private security forces of Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN), the Guatemalan subsidiary of the Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals.
"My husband was a great person, a leader from his community, and an indigenous person," Choc told Truthout through tears. "It hurts to remember. I will never forget him. One day, we will understand; one day, we will accept what happened."
More:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/30832-in-guatemala-indigenous-woman-sues-multinational-company-for-husband-s-murder