Special Thanks & Invitation to Those Fighting for Territorial Freedom & Justice for Guapinol

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Tocoa, Colon, March 01, 2022

Open letter

To the people and organizations in solidarity with Guapinol and Sector San Pedro, among various communities and organizations in the Municipality of Tocoa Colon.

The Municipal Committee for the Defense of the Common and Public Goods of Tocoa, addresses the various organizations and individuals who have embraced the struggle undertaken by the Committee to defend water, the environment and territories as habitat and human settlements in Sector San Pedro, Guapinol and other communities that have fought, are fighting and will fight for their lives in the Municipality of Tocoa:

The Committee extends a fraternal greeting and thanks for all the love, care, trust, moral and political support, including economic support in the struggle beginning in 2014 against mining extractivism that the EMCO group imposed through illegalities, corruption, violence, criminalization, prosecution and imprisonment, made possible through the co-optation of the Public Ministry and the judiciary since 2018 by Los Pinares and Ecotek Investments.

The Committee recognizes that this process has only been possible because of the solidarity and commitment shared among the various social forces in resistance during the hardest years of the dictatorship that ruled the country from 2009 to 2021.

A sentence of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court in support of the eight defenders of Guapinol and San Pedro sector, convicted by the Court of Trujillo, would have been impossible if the National Party government had continued, nor would a statement by the Ministry of the Environment declaring the country "free of open-pit mining" have occurred. By no means does this mean that the country is liberated and that the risks have disappeared, but there are at least minimal favorable conditions for the struggle and the freedom of the political prisoners and the territories.

We are aware that we have a long way to go to achieve the full freedom of all those who have been prosecuted and for the freedom of the Montaña de Botaderos National Park in order to guarantee water and peace in the territory. But in a context of popular victory against the judiciary, the Public Ministry and the big mining company, the Committee invites you to the celebration of life and freedom of the eight released comrades. The struggles for justice take on a new color by having the eight defenders with their families and in their communities, it is a victory that we celebrate together with all our brothers and sisters from different parts of the country and the world.

Between the celebration for the freedom of the defenders and the next step in the battle for the freedom of Carlos Escaleras National Park, we will hold a public event entitled "Gathering for Territory and Freedom" this Saturday, March 5th in the Central Park of Tocoa from 9:00am to 2:00pm, with the objective of celebrating and reiterating the struggle for the liberation of the territory. It will also be a space to publicly denounce the risks that Inversiones los Pinares/Ecoteck represent for social movement leaders in a context of crumbling of its corrupt, illegal and violent empire.

The days of Inversiones Los Pinares/Ecoteck in the Municipal territory are numbered, and we need to join forces and pressure for their early exit from this territory.

With humility, sincerity and appreciation, knowing that everyone will do their best to be at the event, we extend a formal invitation to sing, dance, denounce, and position the struggle not only in Tocoa, but in the country, declaring the liberation of the common and public goods under the national and international right of self-determination of the people. All are welcome to the great "meeting of territory and freedom".

We remain with open arms to embrace you in the central park of Tocoa.

Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods.

**If you can't be there in person, send your message to the defenders, their families and the Municipal Committee: bit.ly/CartasParaGuapinol You can also send a message during our FB Live coverage of Saturday's event on FB Live Guapinol Despierta. #FreedomForGuapinol