7 September 2009
Tearfund’s SuperBadger campaign is lobbying Foreign Secretary David Miliband for greater pressure to be put on Honduras to improve human rights and for a return of democracy to the country, which is one of the poorest in Latin America.
SuperBadger enables people to sign up to this call for action. As a social networking site, via Facebook, the badger is proving highly effective in bringing important issues on poverty and injustice to this online audience.
Honduras remains under the control of interim president Roberto Micheleltti and a self-imposed regime following the military coup in June.
President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales was forcibly removed from his home and flown to neighbouring Costa Rica. Mediated negotiations have since collapsed, failing to bring a political solution and in recent months Honduras has seen increasing violence and repression of human rights.
‘Everyone is affected by the political instability in Honduras but the poorest people in society are really suffering,’ says Paul Cook, Tearfund’s Advocacy Director. ‘We are asking David Miliband to put pressure on the interim government to restore democracy. SuperBadger is a great way for people to get involved and bring about change through campaign action.’
Tearfund’s online SuperBadger campaign invites campaigning Christians to channel their concern to the Foreign Secretary, calling for him to:
• Publicly condemn the coup in Honduras and denounce the human rights violations by the Honduran regime: the repression of peaceful protesters; the murder of peaceful political organisers; and all forms of censorship and intimidation directed at media outlets.
• Block all military aid and trade to the interim Honduran government.
• Use the UK’s influence within the EU to delay any negotiations of the EU-Central America Association Agreement until there is evidence that Honduras is complying with the democracy and human rights provisions within the agreement.
As well as badgering David Miliband, Tearfund calls on its supporters, and others lending their campaigning support, to pray for: renewed talks to solve the political dispute between Mr Zelaya and interim president Roberto Micheletti; a peaceful resolution to the crisis; and that international sanctions against Honduras do not worsen the plight of those living in poverty.
Sign up to SuperBadger here