A French association behind a campaign to force the officials of the tourist city of Biarritz to change the name of the historical district of the city’s negresse has received death threats and resorted to the police, the group said Wednesday.
In February, a court ruled that the city authorities must change the name of the district and one of the streets, possible that are named after a black woman, after a case presented by activists who argued that it was an external legacy of colonialism.
The Negresse It is the female version of the French word for blacks, which translates into English as “black woman.”
Karfa Diallo, director of the Association of Memoires et Participants (Memories and Sharing) who fights the legacies of slavery and colonialism, said that the group members had the objective of death and cyber -up threats.
“Now we are the goal of an extremely violent campaign,” he told AFP.
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There are hundreds of “hateful” comments on social networks, as well as the “explicit threats” sent by email, said Diaallo, and added that their families have also been directed.
One of the messages reported to the police says: “There will be blood. I will marry your life. I have your plates, your addresses.”
Both the Association and Diallo, who is also an elected representative of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council, filed a complaint with the police on Tuesday.
It is believed that the district bears the name of a black woman, possible a former slave, who worked in a inn there in the nineteenth century.
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Activists say that the nickname is associated with a “crime against humanity that saw millions of Africans deported to work as slaves in colonial plantations.”
After a long legal battle, a court was put on the side of the association in February, saying that the term could be perceived as “offensive.”
Waiting for a legal challenge for the ruling, the municipality is to call its council in May to change the name of the street.
In comments to the Regional newspaper Sudueest, the mayor of Biarritz, Maider Arosteguy, condemned the threats.
“All deviant behavior (cyberbullying, threats) is unacceptable and rebuilt,” he said. “Vene the public debate.”
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