Imperialism in Black Face (updated)

On the night of August 26th 2002 a quarter-size bullet hole from an AK-47 cut through a cinder-block wall and killed José Santos Callejas.

Callejas was the treasurer for the Honduran Human Rights Committee, and like other rights advocates there, he had gone from defending political and civil freedoms to challenging organized criminals and their landowner sponsors.

Days before being killed, Callejos had informed police about gang members suspected of having killed a German tourist during a bus robbery in July. NYTimes 9-2002.

This is the background against which to view the current impasse in Honduras. 75% of that country are dirt poor and the majority of those, practically illiterate. Among them are the Garifuna, or Black Karibs, originally from the island of St. Vincent, where as slaves they mixed with the natives and adopted their culture and the Garifuna language. [Currently, Garifuna settlements extend around the city of Trujillo and from Belize to Nicaragua.]

In response to the coup the Honduran Black Fraternal Organization (OFRANEH) cites the "undeniable involvement" of former US under-secretary of state Otto Reich and the DC-based Arcadia Foundation.

[The Black Fraternal Organization (OFRANEH—Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña) is organized for the protection of Garifuna culture and language. The Honduran Advisory Council for the Development of Autochthonous Ethnic Groups (CAHDEA) represents Garifuna groups in the protection of civil rights and equal employment opportunities and has recently ratified the ILO (International Labor Organization) treaty which provides ethnic minorities with labor rights protection]

The Garifuna website accuses Reich of "heading misinformation and sabotage operations, with close ties to international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and the Cuban-American mafia in Miami. Their account also names an anti-Zelaya civil coalition, the Movimiento Paz y Democracia, apparently funded by USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

What has been established with scarcely a doubt is that the coup was undertaken to prevent a referendum that would determine if a majority of Hondurans desired to modify their constitution.

Such an initiative has never taken place in Honduras, a wholly owned subsidiary of Uncle Sam and Chiquita Bananas. During the Reagan years that country's elite ensured that the Central American nation would be stuck with a constitution that allowed for minimal participation by the Honduran people.

''In the 80's you could not talk about human rights because they would call you a terrorist or a guerrilla,'' said José Antonio Serrano, a member of the Honduran Human Rights Committee's national board. Serrano reportedly received several anonymous warnings to back off inquiring about Mr. Callejas's death.

Against the elite's opposition, Zelaya's proposal was backed by a majority of the country's labor unions and social movements. There is also no doubt that had the referendum been conducted during the upcoming elections in November there would have be a "yes" vote for convening a constitutional assembly.

Although he has rightly denounced Zelaya's illegal removal Obama has yet to recall the U.S. ambassador. Dan Restrepo, his adviser on Latin American Affairs, stated that the Obama government is communicating with the coup forces and trying to "feel out" the situation. Asked if Obama would recognize an unelected government in Honduras Restrepo replied that the administration "is waiting to see how things play out".

So here we have the ultimate irony. The first black U.S. president tacitly supporting a coup that seeks to maintain the exploitation of its black and brown population.

Update!
Obama's timid response has clearly emboldened the golpistas. As if to declare to the world that Obama may be president but is not really in charge the coup's foreign minister dismisses him as el negrito ... translation... little black boy. Wow, just wow..



Your move, Barack.

Honduras: This travesty shall not stand(updated... unless we say so)

"The Honduran military is effectively a subsidiary of the United States government. Honduras, as a whole, if any Latin American country is fully owned by the United States, it’s Honduras. Its economy is wholly based on trade, foreign aid and remittances. So if the U.S. is opposed to this coup going forward, it won’t go forward. Zelaya will return..." Greg Grandin, professor of History, NYU.

The imperial wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been a enormous blessing for Latin America. With the United States bogged down struggling for control of Middle East and Central Asian oil our neighbors to the south have finally had the breathing room to begin to resuscitate their strangled democracies.

Honduras' President Zelaya may have overplayed his hand by underestimating the elite's complete contempt for the Honduran people.

A little background:
Honduras is distinguished from it's neighbors by the totality of the banana companies' control. In contrast to El Salvedor, Costa Rica,and Guatemala, no native groups or companies rose to make fortunes in coffee exports. Instead, the U.S. companies controlled the government, financing political parties which conspired against each other. The U.S. also began training a Honduran army and air force which were commanded by the U.S. officers and seven primarily to protect the interests of the banana companies.

The banana companies cultivated only about one-third of their lands,meaning that mich of the best land lay idle. In addition, corrupt officials frequently would appropriate large tracts of land, either keeping it for themselves or selling it to foreign companies. One example occurred in Trujillo, where a local military commander, Col. Gustavo Alvarez, expropriated 2,000 hectares of land belonging to the Garifuna and distributed them amongst wealthy landowners over the Garifunas' protests.

But the genie is out of bottle. At least in Latin America, the days of the Anglo/American imperialist are clearly numbered. It will be a treat to watch our "neocon advocates for freedom and democracy" try to spin this desperate strike against the Honduran people.

So far it seems the Dems are not much better...
While Obama and Clinton have called for a restoration of the constitutional order, they have not yet called for Zelaya to be returned to office. Some in Washington are actually calling for negotiations with the coup plotters to "restore constitutional order" - no doubt hoping to stall by keeping Zelaya out of office (and away from his people) until the November elections.

A report on the coup from Al Jazeera