Protesters Mark Anniversary of Berta Caceres' Murder

By Al Jazeera

04 March 17

About 600 people hold protest in front of Supreme Court to mark the anniversary of Honduran environmentalist leader.

undreds of mostly indigenous Hondurans have taken to the streets to mark the first anniversary of the murder of environmentalist leader Berta Caceres.

The crowd of about 600 people, which included workers, villagers, women and rights activists, gathered on Wednesday outside the Supreme Court to further the activist leader's campaign against a hydroelectric company.

"Long live Berta. The struggle continues," the protesters chanted.

The demonstration was held nearly a year after the March 3, 2016 murder of Caceres, 45, at her home in the town of La Esperanza.

Before her death, the activist had opposed plans by the company Desarrollos Energeticos to build a hydroelectric dam across a river on which indigenous communities were dependent.

She had said she had received death threats from the firm.

One of Wednesday's protest organisers, Tomas Gomez, of the Civic Council of Community and Indigenous Organizations, told the AFP news agency the demonstrators were calling for the company's government licence to be revoked.

A representative of the native Garifuna people, Miriam Miranda, said they also wanted the masterminds behind Caceres' killing to be punished.

Eight people have been arrested in connection with the murder, among them an employee of Desarrollos Energeticos.

Caceres was the winner of the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize.