March 1, 2019 — Provincial Erik Oland SJ wrote a letter to Minister Chrystia Freeland this week urgently informing her of the Society’s interest in the plight of expressing the Company’s interest in the plight of 13 people imprisoned in Honduras.
On February 23, thirteen Honduran human rights defenders were imprisoned because of their legitimate defense of the drinking water in fourteen communities. Community leaders and organizations who have demanded that the Municipal Government carry out the legally mandated consultation of projects that impact the protected area have been the target of threats, violence, defamation, hate campaigns and now, false imprisonment. A hearing scheduled to start today, Thursday, February 28 will determine if the environmental defenders will be forced to remain in prison for up to 2.5 years as they await trial for unsubstantiated and politically motivated charges. You can read the letter here.
In addition, the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology, Kino Border Initiative, and the Ignatian Solidarity Network have issued a joint statement that condemns President Trump’s unwarranted declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border in order to unilaterally secure increased funding for additions to the border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Sixteen states have instituted legal proceedings to have the declaration of urgency annulled by law.?Ted Penton, a Jesuit from the Province of Canada, is the director of the office.
