BRIEFING--THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE COUP IN HONDURAS ON AFRO-DESCENDANTS, July 14, 2009

BRIEFING--THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE COUP IN HONDURAS ON AFRO-DESCENDANTS, July 14, 2009

http://www.transafricaforum.org/media-center/news-releases/impli-coup-hondu-afro-descendants

Currently, the country of Honduras in Central America is experiencing its worst political crisis in decades. In the aftermath of the military coup that forcibly removed President Manuel Zelaya Rosales, there have been various developments that have raised our concern about the security of citizens’ rights and the impact of the situation on people of African descent.

The day after the military coup, Enrique Ortez Colindres was appointed foreign minister by the de facto authorities, replacing exiled minister Patricia Rodas. Since then, Ortez Colindres has made a series of degrading statements about U.S. President Barack Obama and Afro-descendants in general, including repeatedly using the term “negrito” and “negrito del batey” which translate into “little black boy” and “little black sugar plantation worker,” respectively. The term “negrito” is a universally, degrading and racist term used to refer to people of African descent in Latin America and synonymous with the English equivalent “nigger.”