1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Honduras and its relationship to human rights is a product of the rest of the world’s progress. This country in Latin America has never held a space of predominant attention due to the western world’s domination of the international spheres. However, Honduras has never allowed itself to fade completely into obscurity, because it has accepted the terms and signed all the treaties necessary to ensure its position in the western world’s good graces. Honduras has been the host of innumerable foreign investments, but its modest societal advances have hindered their own political and economic progress. Since the early twentieth century, Honduras has struggled with human rights violations ranging from governmental terrorism and political violence. These two categories allow an entirely new subset of problems to form, which include human trafficking, gender inequality, and restrictions of personal freedoms. All of 1
Transcript
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Honduras and its relationship to human rights is a product of the rest of the
world’s progress. This country in Latin America has never held a space of predominant
attention due to the western world’s domination of the international spheres. However,
Honduras has never allowed itself to fade completely into obscurity, because it has
accepted the terms and signed all the treaties necessary to ensure its position in the
western world’s good graces. Honduras has been the host of innumerable foreign
investments, but its modest societal advances have hindered their own political and
economic progress. Since the early twentieth century, Honduras has struggled with
human rights violations ranging from governmental terrorism and political violence.
These two categories allow an entirely new subset of problems to form, which include
human trafficking, gender inequality, and restrictions of personal freedoms. All of these
problems contain their infinite complexities and differences, but they can all be tied under
the umbrella term “human right violations”.
This dossier is a case study of Honduran human rights violations, but it will
predominantly focus on three specific turning points in its history that created an
incredible amount of repercussions. These historic dividers in Honduran human rights
will begin with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights’ first formal complaint
of human rights violations. This section will compose of early incidents in the 1980’s and
will culminate with an introduction to the Honduran coup in 2009. The second section of
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the dossier will serve as critical point, because the transition of power was the first of its
kind in modern history: a Democratically elected president was deposed in favor of a
militaristic leader. This transition brought an insurmountable series of consequences that
will create a clean cut to the final section of this case study, which focuses on the present-
day human rights violations it suffers.
In essence, this dossier will revolve around the 2009 Honduran Coup, because our
research has led us to the conclusion that this was the highest point of Honduran human
rights violations. It brings to light the question that if a democracy can collapse and be
supported in the international scene, what crime won’t be condoned? Honduras has not
been the same since 2009. One human rights violation after the other has created a
snowball effect of repercussions that has left Honduran citizens at the mercy of a
militarized government. This new government liberally uses governmental terrorism to
silence any possible moves of justice, but the rest of the world’s attitude of apathy only
exacerbates this.
Innumerable atrocities and violent acts have always dictated humanity’s history.
In 1945, World War II was the most recent calamity humanity had faced. The millions of
lives lost and the memories of those who lived enlightened the minds of survivors with
the knowledge and ambition to prevent anything like it from happening again. However,
these individuals knew that their attempt at prevention could not be hindered by the
limitations and constraints of national alliances, ethnicity, or religion. World War II had
involved people from all backgrounds, and consequently, they sought protection for
everyone. These events were what led to the creation of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
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All of this is worth mentioning because it shows that even less than a century has
passed and the world still suffers human rights violations. A little more than half a
century ago, the world was united in its understanding that people are people regardless
of societal categorization. However that united front has crumbled and only the most
successful countries exhibit some respect towards people’s human rights. How can the
world still allow this? How can the international sphere still allow cases like Honduras to
exist? These questions cannot be ignored or mitigated, because they are real issues. It
should be a source of international shame, but instead Honduras is put on the back burner
while trivial topics are given more importance.
In the end, what this dossier hopes to do is to bring attention to a situation that
needs to improve. Since 2009, the Honduran government has distorted the image of
democracy, created the façade of peace, and desensitized its citizens to situations where
others would be horrified. Honduras is embroiled in human rights violations, and it is
about time that the rest of the world understands that something must be done. The world
must unite like it did at the culmination of the Second World War and put aside its
differences for the sake of a better tomorrow.
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT
PRE-COUP
To understand the 2009 military coup in Honduras we have to look at Manuel
Zelaya. José Manual Zelaya Rosales was a Honduran politician who served as president
of Honduras.1 In 2005, he was elected by a very narrow margin barely defeating his
opponent, Porfirio Lobo Sosa. Manuel Zelaya engaged in policy decisions that eventually
led to his coupe. One of the policy changes that Zelaya was seeking was constitutional
change. “In 2009, after having proposed constitutional changes that would have allowed
presidents to serve two consecutive terms, he was deposed by the national military in a
coup backed by the National Congress.”2 In Honduras presidents can only serve for four
years. Zelaya was preparing to put forward a national referendum that would have given
him the ability to run for reelection. “In 2009 Zelaya organized a national referendum
that, if passed, would have allowed him to revise the constitution and run for reelection,
but on the morning of June 28—the day the referendum was to be held—the military
ousted him from office.”3In the eyes of many people this was seen as a move towards
dictatorship. Besides the referendum bill, external actors also played a role that lead to
the coup. One external actor was the United States of America. Hillary Clinton confessed
that the U.S. was involved in keeping Zelaya from returning to power. “Clinton admits
1 Goldberg, Maren. "Manuel Zelaya- President of Honduras." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.2 Goldberg, Maren. "Manuel Zelaya- President of Honduras."3 Goldberg, Maren. "Manuel Zelaya- President of Honduras."
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that she used the power of her office to make sure that Zelaya would not return to
office.”4 The United States also rewarded those involved in the coup with top
governmental positions. “The U.S.-backed post-coup government rewarded coup
loyalists with top ministries, opening the door for further violence and anarchy.”5 In order
to understand the complexity of the human rights violations in Honduras, we need
consider the external factors and also look at the events that take place prior to the
military coup.
COUP
In the early hours on June 28th, 2009 the Honduran Army arrested a pajama
wearing President Zelaya under orders of the Honduras Supreme Court. He was then
taken prisoner at gunpoint by the very same soldiers who he previously had under his
command just a few days ago. Upon his forceful arrest he was taken prisoner and flown
to an undisclosed destination. Zelaya was suddenly made aware that he had been
forcefully ousted to San Jose, Costa Rica. Upon arriving to his destination he appealed to
numerous media sources stating that what had been done to him was a subsequent and
violent abuse reeking of kidnapping and masked as a so called “democratic” coup. While
the military offered no public explanation for the sudden coup the Supreme Court stated
that the military in accordance with Honduran law was simply protecting the constitution
from Zelaya’s tyrannical advances, particularly his accused need to change the term
limits in order to rule longer and perhaps indefinitely. Zelaya himself stated that anyone
4 Weisbrot, Mark. "Hard Choices: Hillary Clinton Admits Role in Honduran Coup Aftermath." Hillary Clinton Admits Role in Honduran Coup. Aljazeera America, 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 30 May 2015.5 Weisbrot, Mark. "Hard Choices: Hillary Clinton Admits Role in Honduran Coup Aftermath."
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who imposed themselves as leader of the Honduran nation was ultimately illegitimate and
thus would not be recognized under his word. While Zelaya continued to defend himself
from his exile in Costa Rica, the Honduran Government took matters into their own
hands and censored all media that could possibly excite and thus radicalize those in
support of ousted President Manual Zelaya. With a martial state of law coming into
action and furthermore suppressing human rights and naturally violating them the
Honduran government under “Golpista” control managed to suppress their rivalry and
convince the majority of the public into supporting the ousting of Zelaya and thus
approving to pass the power on to Interim President Roberto Mitchelletti.
POST-COUP
On January 27th 2010, Porfirio Lobo Sosa was elected president. Neighboring
Latin American countries were outraged, because they sought Manuel Zelaya’s return to
the presidency. However, their demands fell on deaf ears when it became apparent that
the United States favored forming alliances with the new face of the government—
despite the face being that of Zelaya’s ouster—newly-elected President Lobo.6 Lobo’s
election was received with the hope that he would restore Honduras to its state prior to
the coup, but it became quickly apparent that his presidency was little more than an
award season for coup loyalists.
6 Murphy, Annie. "'Who Rules In Honduras?' Coup's Legacy Of Violence." NPR. February 12, 2012. Accessed May 9, 2015. http://www.npr.org/2012/02/12/146758628/who-rules-in-honduras-a-coups-lasting-impact.
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Historically speaking, coups are supported by right-wing elitists and their wealthy
foreign alliances. 7The Honduran coup in 2009 was no different, but it was an insult to
the modern concept of democracy. The coup encouraged the growth of monopolized
power and counteracted with Zelaya’s vision of “citizen power”.8 Zelaya hoped to
empower citizens and give them greater input in politics, but the right-wingers wouldn’t
allow this to manifest itself into actuality because it would threaten their own political
input. Consequently they offered their support to President Lobo, and Lobo took it at the
expense of his political integrity.
Since the beginning stages of his campaigns, Lobo implemented coercion and
bribery to dissuade people from boycotting his progress to the presidential seat. His
eventual election to the presidency granted him the power to create a militarized force
combination of civilian policemen and the state military. As a result, violence has only
escalated because of the looming temptation to use violence to discourage opposition
instead of using debates and pacifist actions. Even worse, peaceful calls for change made
by Honduran civilians were met with unspeakable violence that typically culminated in
death if they were not forced to turn back. Annie Murphy reported for NPR that all of this
violence is condoned under the pretense that it is a consequence of the drug-trafficking
Lobo promised to end, but Honduran civilians were aware that their was abusing his
power to maintain a political status quo that would protect him and all of this supporters.9
Lobo used his presidential power to implement governmental terrorism for the entirety of
7 Fasquelle, Rodolfo Pastor “The 2009 Coup and the Struggle for Democracy in Honduras.” NACLA Report on the Americas 44, no. 1 (January 2011): 16. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May 11, 2015).8 Fasquelle. “The 2009 Coup and the Struggle for Democracy in Honduras.”9 Murphy, Annie. "In Honduras, Police Accused Of Corruption, Killings." NPR. February 11, 2012. Accessed May 9, 2015. http://www.npr.org/2012/02/11/146668852/in-honduras-police-accused-of-corruption-killings.
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his term. This violence was not condoned, but it persisted. Consequently the presidential
election in 2013 was anticipated with the hope that the new president would stabilize the
government.
The two primary candidates of the 2013 presidential were Xiomara Castro Zelaya
and Juan Orlando Hernandez. Castro was the former first lady and wife of ousted
president Manuel Zelaya. Prior to running for president, she was at the forefront of the
opposition group against the coup and sought to reinstate her husband as president.
People initially doubted her ability to function as a politician without being influenced by
her husband’s interference, but in the years after the coup she proved to be a very
dynamic politician. So much so that she had the lead in all of the elections up until the
final poll. It was there that she lost to Hernandez and helped set the stage for a continued
path of governmental terrorism in Honduran politics.
Despite Castro having the lead on Hernandez for the majority of the election,
Hernandez gained the upper hand in the final polls and beat Castro. The likelihood of that
having happened without any source of corruption would have been impossible, and it
has long since been accepted that Hernandez won the election through his loyalist ties to
the coup four years before. He was officially elected president on January 27 th 2010 and
has since been embroiled in controversy, because the government’s effectiveness has
been on the decline and he has been using dictatorship rulings during his presidential
term. 10 The irony of this situation is that Zelaya was accused of committing similar
crimes in 2009, but instead of being ousted, Hernandez is being protected by a loyalist
10 Frank, Dana. "Hopeless in Honduras?" Foreign Affairs. November 22, 2013. Accessed May 11, 2015. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/honduras/2013-11-22/hopeless-honduras.
shield that holds him above the law. This level of governmental invincibility is the
ultimate culmination of democracy’s collapse in Honduras.
Edgardo Valeriano is a Honduran medical doctor and researcher who was
interviewed for Annie Murphy’s article “‘Who Rules in Honduras? Coup’s Legacy of
Violence”. He perfectly summarized the sharp decline of democracy in Honduras with
his quote, “If the president could be taken out of a country and have his rights taken
away, the doctor says, without a trial or anything, then what becomes of your average
citizen?” 11 Since the 2009 coup, the governmental state in Honduras has been
jeopardized with conflicts of selfish personal interest and citizen neglect. In the event that
citizens become aware of the injustices they suffer, they are violently repressed with
unconstitutional militarized forces and often killed. Honduras is no longer a democracy,
and as long as presidents with ties to the coup are elected, it will continue to be that way.
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ANALYSIS
PRE-COUP
The Republic of Honduras has a history of violating Human Rights. Prior to the
coup in 2009, there were multiple instances of human rights violations. One great
exposure to these violations is the court case that took place in 1986. In 1986 a case was
brought forward by the Inter-American Comission on Human Rights to the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights, pressing charges against the Republic of Honduras
11 Murphy. “Who Rules in Honduras? Coup’s Legacy of Violence.”
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with a series of violations of human rights. “On April 24, 1986 The Inter-American
Comission on Human Rights submitted the instant case to the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights.”12 This court case sheds light on one of the main topics we covered in
class, state sponsered terrorsim. It gives us a clear undersating of how the state was
directly engaged in violating human rights even though it signed and ratified the
Universal Declaration of Human rights. It is interesting to note that Honduras signed the
International Bill of Human Rights on December 19, 1966 and ratified it Feburary 17,
1981.13 Even though Honduras signed this bill it was not hesitant to violate it. The three
cases that were brought forward to the court were the cases of, Valasquez Rodriguez,
Gordinez Cruz, and Fairen Garbi and Sollis Corrales. “The Republic of Honduras was
charged with a series of violations of human rights that were allegedly committed in that
country between 1981-1984 and resulted in the forced disappearance and death of four
individuals.”14 After three years of court hearings, the court disclosed the results of the
case. It found the Republic of Honduras guilty of Human Rights Violations in accordance
to the articles in the Universal Declaration of Human rights. “The court concludes that
Honduras is responsible for the involuntary disapearance of Angel Manfredo Velásquez
Rodríguez and therefore has violated Articles 4, 5, and 7 of the Convention.”15 The court
also unanimously declares that Honduras has violated, in the Angel Manfredo Velásquez
12 Buergenthal, Thomas. "INTER—AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: JUDGMENT IN VELASQUEZ RODRIGUEZ CASE (Forced Disappearance and Death of Individual in Honduras)." International Legal Materials 28.2 (1989): 291-334. JSTOR. Web. 15 May 2015. Page 296.13 Buergenthal, Thomas. "INTER—AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: JUDGMENT IN VELASQUEZ RODRIGUEZ CASE (Forced Disappearance and Death of Individual in Honduras)." Page 293.14 Buergenthal, Thomas. "INTER—AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: JUDGMENT IN VELASQUEZ RODRIGUEZ CASE (Forced Disappearance and Death of Individual in Honduras)." Page 291.15 Buergenthal, Thomas. "INTER—AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: JUDGMENT IN VELASQUEZ RODRIGUEZ CASE (Forced Disappearance and Death of Individual in Honduras)." Page 293.
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Rodríguez, its obligations to respect and to ensure the right to personal liberty, to human
treatment, and to ensure the right to life, set forth in Articles of the Convention.16 This
court case is an excellent example of Honduras violating Human Rights.
Another example of human right violations is drug trafficking. One of the many
problems Honduras faces is drug trafficking. Drug trafficicking has caused sever
repercussion in this country. It has led to many murder cases and violations of human
rights. In honduras drug trafficking and the political system is intertwined. Meaning the
Honduras government is directly involved in the narcotics trafficking. Honduras faces a
long history of government inlovment in drug trafficing. The table below demonstrates
which segments of the government are involved in the narcotics trafficing:
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Besides direct government internvention the judicial system is also complicit with
drug trafficking. The judicial system does not do its part in solvong this crsis. As a matter
16 Buergenthal, Thomas. "INTER—AMERICAN COURT OF HUMANRIGHTS: JUDGMENT IN VELASQUEZ RODRIGUEZ CASE (Forced Disappearance and Death of Individual in Honduras)." Page 329-330.17 Rosenberg, Mark B. "Narcos and Politicos: The Politics of Drug Trafficking in Honduras." Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 30.2/3, Special Issue: Assessing the Americas' War on Drugs (1988): 143-65. JSTOR. Web. 15 May 2015.
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of fact the judcial system is implicetly helping ths crisis by remaining silent. When drug
related cases find themselves in the legal system, the judges simply refuse to listen to
them. This creates imunity. “Only one of the countrys, 400 judges had the courage to hear
drug-related matters (but he was recently removed from the bench because of his
flamboyance).”18 By creating this atmosphere of immunity, the government is
encouraging crime rates to rise and criminals resume their lives unpunished by the law.
This would explain why Honduras faces one of the largest homicide rates in the world.
The following graph gives statistisc of Honduras and its neighboring countires:
As the graph demonstrates Honduras, compared to its neighbors, is the leading
country in homicide rates. This is the direct outcome of the lack of enforcement from a
corrupt government. If you look at the rhetoric of the military leaders in the 2009 coup,
they promised to reduce the violence that was taking place in Honduras, however this
18 Rosenberg, Mark B. "Narcos and Politicos: The Politics of Drug Trafficking in Honduras." Page 154.19 Cruz, José Miguel. "Criminal Violence and Democratization in Central America: The Survival of the Violent State." Latin American Politics and Society 53.4 \ (2011): 1-33. JSTOR. Web. 15 May 2015. Page 3
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was not the case. The following graph proves that homicide rates have gone up after the
military coup.
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This graph demonstrates that homicide rates have subsequently gone up year by
year. Starting from 1994 the homicide rates per 100,000 population has gone up. In 2010
the homicide rate was at the highest peak. If we make an assumption based off this graph,
then we conclude that in the years to come this number will increase, unless something
drastic happens. The increase in homicide rates are tied to human rights violations
because starting in 1996 all these countries had developed a new set of electoral
institutions and created situations to enforce law and respect for human rights. However,
the transitions from authoritarian rule also yielded another type of wave, one of criminal
violence, which has been flooding Central America.21 As mentioned before unless
something drastic was to take place, for example an intervention from powerful countries
then change is highly unlikely. Considering the fact that Western powers, including
Canada and the United States turn a blind eye on the continues human rights violations in 20 Cruz, José Miguel. "Criminal Violence and Democratization in Central America: The Survival of the Violent State." Page 4.21 Cruz, José Miguel. "Criminal Violence and Democratization in Central America: The Survival of the Violent State." Page 1.
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Honduras, it is very unlikely that change will come anytime soon. “While the United
States has made efforts to transform the Honduran military, it has ignored- if not
tolerated- the human right excesses of the national security model.”22 This illustrates how
the United States of America turns a blind eye on human rights violations in Honduras.
Another country that also turns a blind eye is Canada. The 2009 military coup triggered
an outcry by different countries on international stage demanding the return of Manuel
Zelaya. However, Canada was not one of those countries. “Throughout this period,
Canada continued to avoid significantly condemning the regime”. 23It turns out Canada
has large amounts of economic investments in Honduras. To protect its investments
Canada went as far as supporting a coupe regime that appears committed to protecting
those investments.24 As you can see both the United States and Canada turn a blind eye
on the human right violations in Honduras.
22 Rosenberg, Mark B. "Narcos and Politicos: The Politics of Drug Trafficking in Honduras." Page 148.23 Shipley, Tyler. "The New Canadian Imperialism and the Military Coup in Honduras." Latin American Perspectives 40.5, NEW STRUCTURES FOR CAPITAL AND FORMS OF RESISTANCE (2013): 44-61. JSTOR. Web. 15 May 2015.24 Shipley, Tyler. "The New Canadian Imperialism and the Military Coup in Honduras." Latin American Perspectives 40.5, NEW STRUCTURES FOR CAPITALAND FORMS OF RESISTANCE (2013): 44-61. JSTOR. Web. 15 May 2015. Page 48.
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COUP
Perhaps what is key to understanding the coup is the fact that it was the first coup
on Central American soil since the cold war ended. It is imperative to note that the coup
was of a violent nature and thus should not have gained the international recognition that
it received. It is also necessary to understand the fact that Honduras was a democratic
country before the coup happened, in other words this was not a case of a monarchic
country transitioning into that of a democratic country or something of the sort. Thus to
have changed Honduras’ government through a violent coup and not through the ideal
means of democracy renders the coup illegitimate. There mere fact that such a coup
happened in modern times is in itself a direct insult to democracy, a system that is
supposed to protect and uphold the ideals of human rights.
This coup d’état perhaps brings about the discussion as to how such situations
should be brought to light in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The fact that
such occurrences are left in the dark brings much ambiguity to what can be done or must
be done when faced with such situations. Unfortunately no such adjudication,
reconciliation or justice can be reached in regards to the coup, until the United States
admits to it’s doing in the events and thus recognizes its role in the Honduran regime
change. When it comes to the resurgence of varying forms of activism, Wikileaks, a
nonprofit organization in charge of exposing secret information and disclosures, has been
instrumental in purporting the United States’ role in the Honduran coup. In Democracy
Now’s exclusive interview with President Manuel Zelaya, he states, “The U.S. State
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Department has always denied, and they continue to deny, any ties with the coup d’état.
Nevertheless, all of the proof incriminates the U.S. government. And all of the actions
that were taken by the de facto regime, or the golpista regime, which are those who
carried out the coup, favor the industrial policies and the military policies and the
financial policies of the United States in Honduras.” By observing this quote alone it is
self evident that former President Zelaya himself knew of what his rivals in the Honduran
government and those allied with them were capable of. In retrospect the mere fact that
President Zelaya was taken by force to several undisclosed areas, one, which was a U.S.
military base, attests to the fact that naturally this must have required some sort of
permission by the U.S. government, despite all the subsequent negations from the U.S.
State Department. To further complicate the issue at hand the ousted President believes
that the coup and forced exile was as a result of an elaborate conspiracy at the hand of
those in the upper echelons. 25 Under Zelaya’s accusations certain government groups,
some created by the CIA allied themselves with right wing/ military groups and thus
succeeded in creating such a vast conspiracy that would ultimately lead to his shameful
exile. The fact that he was labeled a “communist” brings back memories of the red scare
during the cold war and how much Latin America reeked of forceful U.S. involvement
that sought only to secure their interests. Because of Zelaya’s ideology and following of
those who could be considered “enemies” of western powers he was more or less exiled.
We must also remember that public reinforcement built in support of the ousting of
Zelaya can more or less be blamed on the subsequent manipulation of the people at the
hands of the hijacked Honduran Government. Here it becomes clearly apparent that those
25 Goodman, Amy. "Exclusive Interview with Manuel Zelaya on the U.S. Role in Honduran Coup, WikiLeaks and Why He Was Ousted." Democracy Now!
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composing the “Golpista” movement in alliance with western powers, primarily those of
the United States and surprisingly Canada were key in the campaign towards mentally
and physically hijacking the Honduran governmental and societal infrastructure. In
relation to human rights violations, Honduras’ historical context attests to the fact that its
human rights have been continuously violated and endangered before, since and after the
coup of 2009. While the coup was a silent one and was not as criticized as it should have
been it was nonetheless thorough and superbly efficient in doing what it was intended to
do, which is to have completely removed the “cancerous” cells of progress which Zelaya
was going for.
POST-COUP
Democracy and human rights are heavily intertwined. One cannot exist without
the other, and Honduras is a primary example. After the 2009 Constitutional Crisis,
democracy collapsed in the Latin American country. Although it can be argued that
military intervention was necessary to uphold the Honduran constitution and prevent a
dictatorship regime, it can no longer be denied that the governmental health of Honduras
has taken a turn for the worst. Since 2009, the murder rates have soared and earned
Honduras the notorious reputation of being the murder capital of the world. 26 If that isn’t
an indicator of human rights collapse, then nothing else is. Ideally, Honduras should be
allowed to develop its own solution without foreign intervention from countries like the
United States. However, I do have faith that Honduras can recover from these trying
26 Hume, Mo. "Why the Murder Rate in Honduras Is Twice as High as Anywhere Else." The Conversation. November 26, 2014. Accessed May 1, 2015. http://theconversation.com/why-the-murder-rate-in-honduras-is-twice-as-high-as-anywhere-else-34687.
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times with human rights being the foremost issue on its agenda if the government is
overturned in its entirety and restored to its former democratic glory.
News articles and journals authored by professional journalists and scholars are
excellent resources, but to support my personal analysis I have interviewed a current
Honduran citizen named Ricardo Melendez. Melendez is currently living in Honduras
and has been politically active since before the 2009 coup. In my interview he stated that
pessimism is the general attitude most Hondurans use to regard their government,
because of politicians’ faulty arguments. Also, he says most Honduran citizens are well
aware of U.S. involvement in their politics, and it disturbs them to know how their
government’s livelihood is so reliant on a foreign power. 27
“Ah, y la política es linda…” he began, “Lo malo son los politicos con sus
pensamientos retrogrades de un imperialism sin sentido ya que USA esta viviendo en
crisis tambien.” 28 [Ah, and politics is beautiful. The politicians and their old ways of
thinking about nonsensical imperialism are bad especially with the United States being in
a crisis too.] Melendez assured me during our interview that citizens believe that the
United States is exercising a new wave of imperialism. It all begins with a crippled
government followed by the implementation of their version of democracy. Based on his
observation, I realized that the concept of a faulty interpretation or understanding of a
crucial idea is a reoccurring theme in the discussion of human rights.
Democracy is a concept that originated in the western world, and consequently
has concepts that are limited to that sphere of existence. In class we discussed Pedro
27 Melendez, Ricardo. "A Honduran's Opinion on Honduran Politics Today." Online interview by author. May 13, 2015.28 Melendez. "A Honduran's Opinion on Honduran Politics Today.”
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Pitarch’s “Labyrinth of Translation” 29 with the Mayan people in mind. The Mayan
people were introduced to a translated version of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, but they didn’t interpret the document as hoped. Instead they applied their values
and morals to the document; this altered how it was perceived in the Mayan community.
This idea was further expanded upon in Professor Marian Schlotterbeck’s lecture,
"Vernacularization of Global Rights: Putting Human Rights to work in a local context."
30and it brought to mind how a concept can mean something in a culture and then have a
completely different mean in another culture. Although the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights can be translated from English to Spanish without too many clashing
cultural ideals, I feel that this miscommunication can also be applied to concepts like
democracy.
Is democracy in the United States different from the democracy Zelaya was
attempting to explore prior to 2009? If so, is that why the United States felt it was
necessary to trigger a coup? 31 Is the resulting governmental chaos in Honduras today the
result of one country attempting to make sense of another’s concept of democracy?
Honduras is an excellent focus of human rights study, because it is the first
democratic country since the conclusion of the Cold War to suffer through a coup. If past
history will serve as any indicator of the future, I believe things will get much worse in
Honduras before they get better. Especially if governmental terrorism is being utilized to
subdue any human rights triumphs. Melendez supports this claim and offered the quote,
29 Pitarch, Pedro. The Labyrinth of Translation: A Tzeltal Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Durham, NC [etc.: Duke University Press, 2008.30 Schlotterbeck, Marian. "Vernacularization of Global Rights: Putting Human Rights to work in a local context." Lecture, HMR 161/HIS 161, , May 13, 2015.31 Weisbrot, Mark. "Hard Choices: Hillary Clinton Admits Role in Honduran Coup Aftermath." Al Jazeera. September 29, 2014. Accessed May 9, 2015. http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/9/hillary-clinton-honduraslatinamericaforeignpolicy.html.
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“Derechos Humanos están siendo callados a la fuerza por JOH [Juan Orlando
Hernandez]” [Human rights are being forcibly silenced by JOH]. 32 As long as this
persists, Honduras will continue to be a hotbed of human rights contention.
32 Melendez. "A Honduran's Opinion on Honduran Politics Today.”
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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