Thousands of mourners paid their final tributes to Berta Caceres, the indigenous activist killed last week, demanding justice for the renowned environmentalist.
Caceres, who was head of the Civic Council of Indigenous and People’s Organizations, was gunned down in her hometown of La Esperanza on Thursday.
Mourners shouted “Justice, justice!” “Berta lives!” and “The struggle continues!” during the funeral on Saturday.
Caceres rose to prominence for leading the indigenous Lenca people in a struggle against a hydroelectric dam project that would have flooded large areas of native lands.
In 2015, she won the Goldman Environmental Prize, considered the world’s top award for grassroots environmental activism.
The Italian newspaper La Stampa hailed Caceres as a “martyr of Laudato Si.”
“She was a woman committed to fighting for the protection of the environment and indigenous people’s territories and the common struggle,” said Fr Ismael Moreno, director of Radio Progreso and the Jesuit-run Team for Reflection, Research and Communication.
“We’re heartbroken,” said Fr Moreno, who considered Caceres a close friend. “She was constantly under threat.”
Police initially attributed Caceres’ death to robbery, but later said she was shot four times, according to media reports.
Sources
CNS/NCR Online
Catholic Herald
Raw Story
Image: Catholic Herald
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