August 30, 2020
Francois-Phillipe Champagne
Canadian minister of foreign affairs
[email protected]
Dear Sir,
Please delete this August 30 tweet:
Once you delete the tweet, please apologize to the Garifuna people of Honduras for the July 18 forced disappearance of 5 land/rights defenders.
From there, please begin the hard work in Ottawa of completely changing 11 years of Canadian economic, political and ‘security’ policies and actions in support of the systematically corrupt, repressive regime in power in Honduras.
As of today, these 5 Garifuna land and rights defenders remain forcibly disappeared by Canadian and U.S. backed Honduran regime.
Their lives matter to them, to their families and loved ones, to their communities. Their lives do not matter to the Canadian government, as demonstrated over the last 11 years.
Since the U.S. and Canadian-backed military coup on June 28, 2009, many Garifuna people have been killed or wounded, jailed as political prisoners, violently evicted from their lands by corrupt tourism businesses and African palm producers backed by the violence of the Honduran regime and the corruption of its legal system.
Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne,
It is factually untrue to claim Canada stands with the victims and families of forced disappearances in Honduras. Read this letter from the Prime Minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines. This is how a government should respond to the forced disappearance of land and human defenders in Honduras.
This response contrasts utterly from 11 years of actions and policies of the Canadian government.
“Unlawful practices”
In your tweet, you denounce the “unlawful practice” of forcibly disappearing people so as to silence and get rid of them. Will you now begin the hard work to denounce:
- Canada’s ‘unlawful practice’ of support for the June 27, 2009 military coup that ousted Honduras’ last democratically elected government?
- Canada’s unlawful practice of legitimizing three sets of fraudulent, violent “elections” during these 11 years?
- Canada’s unlawful practice of supporting a regime implicated in drug-trafficking in the highest offices of the government, military and police, including the office of “president” Juan Orlando Hernandez?
- Canada’s unlawful practice of promoting Canadian business with a regime that is violently, illegally implementing ‘open-for-global-business’ policies in the sectors of tourism, mining, dams and sweat-shop garment factors, violence that includes killing land and rights defenders like Berta Caceres; that includes disappearing land and rights defenders, like the Garifuna 5?
- Canada’s unlawful practice of forming the ‘Lima Group’ – including regimes such as that of Honduras - to help the U.S. try and overthrow that government of Venezuela?
Calling for justice and human rights around the world should not be a public relations tweet stunt.
Respecting human rights and demanding justice can only be demonstrated in policies and actions.
Grahame Russell, Rights Action
[email protected]
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Recent news: The Garifuna 5
- 5 Black Men Kidnapped by 'Police' in Honduras Are Still Missing, by Jared Olson, August 21, 2020, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7gjp3/5-black-men-kidnapped-by-police-in-honduras-are-still-missing
- Minority Group Fears ‘Genocide’ in Trump-Backed Honduras, by Jeremy Kryt, Aug. 10, 2020, https://www.thedailybeast.com/garifuna-minority-group-fears-genocide-in-trump-backed-honduras
- Indigenous men in Honduras are being abducted. Are the police to blame?, by Jackie McVicar, August 5, 2020, https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2020/08/05/indigenous-men-honduras-are-being-abducted-are-police-blame
- 21 days since Garifuna land defenders disappeared by Honduran regime – Statement by Ofraneh (Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras), https://mailchi.mp/rightsaction/21-days-since-garifuna-land-defenders-disappeared-by-honduran-regime
Archives on OFRANEH
Articles, reports, films & urgent actions related to OFRANEH's work & struggle in defense of Garifuna territory & rights: https://rightsaction.org/ofraneh
More information
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Funds needed – Community defense struggles & Covid19 survival work
Even as Rights Action continues to send funds for Covid19 survival work of long-term partner groups in Honduras and Guatemala, we send further funds to OFRANEH as they respond to the disappearance of 5 Garifuna land defenders from Triunfo de la Cruz.
Tax-Deductible Donations (Canada & U.S.)
Make check to "Rights Action" and mail to:
- U.S.: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
- Canada: (Box 552) 351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
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