45 226 of violence in other protected areas. According to information provided by the parties, restricting access to the area by members of the Community has prevented them from carrying out their traditional cultural practices.227 174. The information at the disposal of the IACHR indicates that, despite their having been declared a protected area, several areas of the Park are allegedly being occupied by third parties. They 228 include areas claimed by the Community as ancestral lands. Allegedly, orders have been given for 229 certain areas of the Park to be used for tourism. 6. The situation of indigenous leaders and authorities defending the ancestral lands of the Triunfo de la Cruz Community 175. Various international organizations have pronounced on the violence, persecution, and harassment endured by the Garífuna people for defending its land. 230 The former Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Doudou Diène, described in his report of March 2005 the fear shown by the indigenous representatives of the Garífuna communities of Cayos Cochino (Bay Islands), Tornabé and Miami (Tela Bay), Triunfo de la Cruz and San Juan (Municipality of Tela), and Punta Piedra (Municipality of Colón), with regard to economic development projects, such as tourism, mining, and agricultural projects, that lead to dispossession of their land. In his report, the Rapporteur writes: […] because of their complaints about the occupation of land belonging to them […] It is alleged that the Garífuna leaders have been persecuted or even murdered by politicians or soldiers, or else 231 by farm or hotel owners who covet the communities’ lands, for making their demands. 226 According to a communiqué from the Fraternal Black Organization of Honduras, on September 24, 2008, eight fishermen from the Garífuna Community of Triunfo de la Cruz were fishing off the protected area Cuero y Salado National Park when they were detained by soldiers. Then “without a word the soldiers began shooting at them”, killing Guillermo Norales Herrera. In that communiqué, they demand a thorough investigation into the facts and a stop to persecution of artisinal fishermen. Annex 123. Communiqué from the Fraternal Black Organization of Honduras, on September 25, 2008. The petitioner’s written communication dated September 26, 2008, received the IACHR on the same date. 227 The situation is described in the study produced by the Central American and Caribbean Research Council in the following manner: “The Community considers that the reforms undertaken in the country with respect to protected areas have greatly affected the Garífunas in the Community because they no longer have the same access to the ancestral lands they used to farm and where they obtained the materials needed to build their homes. They regard that in a way as a loss of their culture, because they can no longer get the bark they need to build their homes, their homes can no longer be made of the same material.” Annex 2. Study by the Caribbean Central America Research Council on the “Ethnography of the Triunfo de la Cruz Community” p.12. Appendix 1 of the petitioner’s written communication of May 23, 2006, received by the IACHR on May 30, 2006. 228 Annex 2. Study by the Caribbean Central America Research Council on the “Ethnography of the Triunfo de la Cruz Community” p.78. Appendix 1 of the petitioner’s written communication of May 23, 2006, received by the IACHR on May 30, 2006. IACHR, Public Hearing dated March 2nd, 2007 on “Case 12.548 –Garífuna community of Triunfo de la Cruz, Honduras”, 127th period of sessions. Testimony of José Ángel Castro. Annex 1. The Inspection Panel of the World Bank. Investigation Report on Honduras: Land Administration Program. Investigation Report No. 39933-HN. June 12, 2007. pp. 83-84. Annex of the petitioner’s written communication from October 13, 2008, received by the IACHR on October 15, 2008. 229 The Punta Izopo National Park was included in Executive Decree No. PCM-022-2005, which established the “Special Regime Area of Bahía de Tela”, as an area “with a primarily tourism-oriented approach” designed to achieve execution of the Bahía de Tela project, according to the text of the decree. Annex 117. Articles 3, 4, Executive Order No. PCM-022-2005 published on August 4, 2005. 230 In 1999, Amnesty International expressed its concern over the abuses against indigenous people in Honduras, including in its report references to the Garífuna Community. In its report, the acts of concern for Amnesty International fall into three categories: “1. killings of indigenous people (some 25 in the current decade) by individuals or groups allegedly linked to local authorities and the military; 2. abuses by private individuals, including death threats and intimidation, with the alleged or apparent collusion of local officials; 3. cases where inadequate care has been taken by official agencies to protect indigenous groups from becoming victims of human rights violations”. Honduras, Justice Fails Indigenous People, Amnesty International, September 1999. AI Index: AMR 37/10/99/s. Distr. SC/CO/GR. 231 United Nations. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Doudou Diène. Report on Mission to Honduras. E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.5. March 22, 2005. paragraph 19.