Maya Chortí Protesters Block Entrance to Copán

Indigenous Maya Chortí protesters associated with the National Congress of Indigenous Maya-Chortí of Honduras (CONIMCHH) blocked the entrance to the Copán ruins for the third time in recent years. (The other two protests were in 1998 and 2000). They are demanding the implementation of a 1997 agreement in which the government promised to distribute nearly 15,000 hectares of arable land among ethnic Chortís. Government officials claim they are in the process of purchasing the land. [Radio Mundo Real, 6/7/05]