FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CRWRC - Honduras Partner Staff Murdered
CRWRC Media Contact: Beth DeGraff 616-648-7821 or 1-800-55-CRWRC, for Background and Interview Information.
The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (http://www.crwrc.org) has received word that a staff member of the Christian non-profit, Association for a more Just Society in Honduras (www.ajshonduras.org), Dionisio Diaz Garcia, was shot and killed on Monday, December 4, 2006.
Diaz Garcia, a lawyer with the Tegucigalpa-based AJS, was shot four times while driving to the Tegucigalpa courthouse on Monday morning.
Diaz Garcia was to argue the defense of a group of security guards whose labor rights were being violated by their employers. Diaz Garcia was working on cases involving nearly a dozen private security companies and a number of fast-food chains, including those under investigation by the Honduran Ministry of Labor.
"....(This) will not be over any time soon," said a statement from AJS staff. "AJS's work for labor rights, land rights, and human rights for the most marginalized populations in Honduras is a radical, risky endeavor..But it's the only way things will change."
Of the many security companies with which AJS has worked over the past two years, a small handful have persisted in violating their employee's basic labor rights without willingness to negotiate a settlement.
"These companies have resorted to intimidation, smear campaigns, and open hostility toward AJS workers," the statement continues. "On Monday, December 11, a board member and staff of CRWRC-Honduras partner group Genesis received a text message stating, 'You are the next.'"
"An organization like AJS that seeks to achieve social justice for the poorest and most vulnerable members of society can become a target for entrenched powers of that society."
CRWRC has worked in Honduras since 1974. CRWRC and AJS work to promote justice and human rights in Honduras from a Christian perspective. ASJ trains church and community members in Christian values, land rights, and women's rights. They also support Legal and Counseling Clinics in communities formerly without access to legal or psychological assistance.
AJS and CRWRC request that audiences take a few minutes to further the cause of peace and justice in Honduras by going to http://www.ajshonduras.org/dionisio/ to fill out a sign-on form to bring the attention of both Honduran and U.S. officials to this issue.
en Espanol, http://revistazo.com.
For more information about CRWRC's international development and justice programs, visit www.crwrc.org or call 1-800-55-CRWRC. CRWRC is a Christian, non-profit organization ministering in development, relief, and justice education with people in need around the world since 1962. CRWRC is present in more than 30 countries and has an international reputation for "living justice and loving mercy."
Beth DeGraff US Media and Justice Contact 2850 Kalamazoo SE Grand Rapids, MI 49560 degraffb@crcna.org ph: 616-241-1691 x4191 fax: 616-724-0806