Costa Rican Indigenous Denounce Govt Inaction Regarding Murders

The Indigenous peoples of Bröran de Terraba and Bribri de Salitres in Costa Rica denounced Thursday the lack of action by the state regarding the violence committed against their communities and the murder of their leaders.

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The representatives of the native peoples declared that the government does not protect them and allows these acts that threaten their freedoms to occur, a recurring practice in recent years.

Last Monday, one of the leaders who was fighting for the recovery of the ancestral lands, Jehry Rivera, was killed, joining the list of other victims for which the Indigenous people continue to demand justice.

In a press release released on social networks, these communities responded to the government's position, announced last Tuesday by President Carlos Alvarado, and ensured that “the inaction of the state enables this violence.”

“We condemn and repudiate the murder of our brother community leader Jerhy Rivera, the attempted murder of our brother Mainor Ortiz, and the murder of our partner Sergio Rojas and the failure of the state of sanction those responsible,” the text reads.

The Indigenous Ticos demand immediate actions to clean up their territories and put an end to the impunity that brings them more insecurity, while urgently requesting from the community international and to the Tico citizens to demand that the government protect its human rights defenders.

“Today we are victims, but tomorrow it may be another group that defends the rights of teachers, workers, or others,” the statement said.

On the other hand, they affirm that the National Plan for the Recovery of Indigenous Territories promoted by the Institute of Rural Development (Inder) does not give the solutions either since they are proposing economic measures when the true response should be expressed in political will.