Dear Editor,
On Monday, June 22, 2020, at 7:00am St. Maarten time, Chris van Dam, Member of the Dutch Second Chamber, will be presenting a motion to the Second Chamber in which he is requesting the Dutch Government to establish that the prison system of St. Maarten be taken over completely by the Kingdom Council of Ministers for a period of 5 years at the expense of Country St. Maarten.
Mr. van Dam sent a copy of this motion to our Members of Parliament with a letter explaining his reasons for submitting it. He ends his letter by writing, “Should you have any questions about the motion then feel free to contact me.”
As the Coalition in Parliament and the Government seem to be paranoid when it comes to matters concerning Dutch takeover, I would have expected them to have already sounded the alarm and warn the people that “the Dutch are coming”. But instead, there is only silence from Government and from the Coalition. I expected the Chairman of Parliament to call an emergency meeting of Parliament to discuss this matter and the Government to take a position on this issue. As Second Chamber Member van Dam, was so courteous and respectful to inform our Members of Parliament of this pending motion, our Parliament should have replied, post-haste, letting him know whether they agree or disapprove of this motion.
Greek philosopher Plato said that “silence gives consent.” Should one then conclude that no reaction from our Parliament and our Government means that they are in favor of the complete takeover of our prison by the Kingdom Council of Ministers at St. Maarten’s expense?
Does St. Maarten have the finances to support such a takeover? Knowing the current precarious liquidity position of St. Maarten, why would the honorable Chris van Dam even dare include in his motion that the takeover would be at the expense of the Government of St. Maarten? Is the Dutch thinking that the expenses of the takeover can be deducted from the liquidity support?
Besides paying, what other roles and functions would St. Maarten be playing in this Dutch takeover? Would locals serve as counterparts and/or be trained to be able to take over the management when the Dutch expertise leave? These are questions that our Parliament and Government should be asking. If they do not have questions, they should at least take a stand and let it be known to the Dutch prior to the motion being passed.
I am sure that no one will dispute that our prison system is in shambles as far as management, staffing, building, detention capacity, facilities, resources and in every other way. The Government is still paying the salaries of the three past directors who are at home. The prison system is so bad that in December 2017 the European Court of Human Rights declared the detention of a detainee in a St. Maarten police cell as unlawful. The St. Maarten Progress Committee, that evaluates on a regular basis whether agreements made to improve the prison system are being carried out, has registered very little progress and improvement in our prison system during the past 10 years. The Dutch Kingdom has come under fire by the European Human Rights Council because of our prison system being way below the acceptable human rights standards.
All of this is known to the current Coalition and Government who blamed, criticized and figuratively crucified the former Minister of Justice, Mr. Cornelius de Weever, for doing nothing about the prison. As Parliamentarians, Silveria Jacobs and Egbert Doran, our current Prime Minister and Minister of VROMI [Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.], visited the prison in July 2019 and promised that they would continue to look into the matter of the prison. The current Coalition and Government having had so much criticism about the prison system, one can only expect that they will do whatever is necessary to fix it.
One thing can be said about Mr. van Dam, who was a former prosecutor, and that is that he has been consistent in his efforts to see the prison system in St. Maarten improved. In October 2019, he presented a similar motion to the Second Chamber which was adopted. Since then he has been asking questions and requesting reports and other documentation concerning the prison system in St. Maarten. When the motion was presented in 2019, State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Mr. Knops was not in favour as, according to him, it restricted the autonomy of St. Maarten. Besides that, he felt that the motion was not opportune at that time, given the political situation of St. Maarten.
As the Pointe Blanche prison and the police detention cells in Philipsburg do not meet the human rights standards, they put the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a bad light within the European Court. I do not know if this could be the driving force behind Van Dam’s motion to improve the prison system in St. Maarten. But what I do know is, that his efforts will certainly help to raise the standards of our prison system. Our Parliament and Government should take Van Dam’s efforts seriously and do whatever lies in their power to support the various efforts that would lead to a prison system where our buildings, facilities, personnel, management, legislation, etc. meet the European Human Rights standards.
I ask our Parliament and our Government to let the people know if they are in favor of Van Dam’s motion to enable the Dutch to take over the prison system, at the expense of the Government of St. Maarten, for a period of 5 years.
Wycliffe Smith
Leader of the St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP)
Thanks to the Party for Progress (PFP), Melissa Gumbs and Raeyhon Peterson who submitted questions to the Honorable Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Egbert C. Doran.
We at Dolphin Defenders SXM (DDS) are very curious about the reply of Minister Doran, in particular pertaining to the 14,000 square meters of water rights in long lease in the sea area by Sunset Bar and Grill, in the vicinity of the Maho Bay. We also are concerned as to what the purpose of this long lease in the area would be and what the plans are for the area, which borders Princess Juliana International Airport and is the first impression of our island to all airborne arriving guests.
We have seen previous plans submitted to VROMI that are for the construction of a large breakwater and pier (marina?) and include a large enclosed area between the breakwater, pier and shore. Besides the huge environmental impact of such a massive construction there is the very real concern about long-lasting and irreparable hurricane damage that has left so many abandoned structures around our island that are both dangerous (past construction on beaches) and an ugly spot on our number-one tourism product, our beautiful St Maarten nature (the old walk on the rocks at Mullet Bay).
In addition, of concern to Dolphin Defenders SXM is that we have heard of plans for this enclosed area within the breakwater and pier to house an aquarium and/or dolphinarium.
More and more all over the world, keeping dolphins captive in entertainment facilities/dolphinariums is considered cruel, with an increasing number of countries banning these facilities. The mentality of the public has changed drastically thanks to two very intriguing documentaries called “The Cove” and “Blackfish”. These eye-opening films are still making lots of people aware and no longer do many people wish to see these beautiful creatures in captivity doing tricks for food.
The world is switching and prefers nature as it should be, natural and free. Instead of boosting tourism, dolphinariums now generate negative feelings and negative publicity. It portrays the opposite of a sound and sustainable tourism product.
Dolphin Defenders SXM has opposed 5 different plans for a dolphinarium before in the past 20 years. In October 2011, for example, there was yet another plan for a dolphinarium in St Maarten. Dolphin Defenders SXM informed the public and tourists on the island and gathered 6,768 signatures opposing such an establishment. This petition, including a draft law to ban all cetacean captivity on St. Maarten, was presented by ourselves and Mr. Ric O’Barry to then-Prime Minister the Hon. Sarah Wescot-Williams. It is very clear by the number of signatures collected in a very short amount of time that a large number of our citizens, residents and tourists do not want a captive dolphin facility on St Maarten.
Dolphin Defenders SXM are not happy with animals in captivity, do not like the idea of an aquarium and consider a dolphinarium much worse. No matter if the dolphins are in a tank or in a sea pen it is still captivity and it is cruel. We would like to know now about any plans for a captive dolphin facility on St Maarten. We, the SXM citizens, residents and tourists are entitled to some answers and transparency.
So please Mr. Doran, share with us answers to our questions:
* Are there plans / business proposals / discussions for the construction of a captive dolphin facility on St Maarten?
* Has a business / construction permit for a captive dolphin facility been requested?
* Has a business / construction permit for a captive dolphin facility been issued?
* Are you aware that research has been done twice on the location and that a negative advice has been given twice?
* Are you aware of all the dangers in connection with hurricanes in our region, specifically the impact on our marine areas?
Has the following been taken into consideration?
* How big and how deep will their confinement pen or tank be?
* Where the dolphins will come from and when they will arrive?
* How many dolphins will be imported, what kind of dolphin species will they be?
* What is the hurricane contingency plan for the safety of the dolphins?
* Where will the dolphins be housed after a hurricane destroys their pen or tank?
And is everyone in government aware of the following?
* The hidden costs for the island’s environment on land and below the surface – the risk to our reefs and beaches?
* That polluted water (dolphin waste) exiting the pen or tank, depending on the daily changing current, can get as far, or even farther than Long Beach on the French side?
* The health risks for the dolphins and the health risks for the people who swim or interact with them, including those innocently swimming downstream of the facility?
* The high risk of injuries dolphins in captivity can inflict to humans?
* The negative impact of losing repeat (timeshare/cruise conversion) tourists who will not return to the island because of their ethical reasons against a dolphinarium?
* That dolphins are listed as a CITES species and are listed as protected under the Cartagena Convention?
* That the captive dolphin industry has a proven history of miseducation and lies?
There are so many other creative and compassionate ways to invest in entertaining our tourists and local community alike without the use or abuse of animals – for example, a Water Park with all the wet and wild adventurous splashing rides for kids and adults.
Or simply, rather than sinking the beauty of our island under more concrete, realize that it is the natural beauty of St. Maarten that attracts our tourists in the first place and invest in preserving, protecting and rejuvenating that for a sustainable tourism product for generations to come!
Let’s put St Maarten on the map for environmental leadership, beautiful, natural coastlines, beaches and hillsides, sustainable tourism – not for an outdated, cruel captive dolphin facility that is destined to become yet another hurricane-ravished concrete hazard.
Dolphin Defenders St. Maarten
Mercedes De Windt
Dear Editor,
It is with much concern that I read a news article regarding questions posed by Members of Parliament to the current Minister of VROMI [Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.] concerning a potential development at Beacon Hill. My specific concern is related to the environmental and ethical impacts a development of that size will have on the sustainable development and public image of Sint Maarten.
Although I must provide a caveat to my subsequent statement by saying that these are but rumors, I have particular concerns of information reaching me that this area is again being considered for another dolphinarium or swim-with-dolphin facility. St. Maarten is yet again faced with a rumored development of a captive dolphin facility, despite countless efforts by community-based organizations to oppose such facilities.
Additionally, the negative international press attention such a facility can mean for the country cannot be understated, especially as it relates to St. Maarten needing to diversify and become more sustainable as she recovers from the impacts of [Hurricanes] Irma and Maria and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aside from the ethical and moral reasons for not keeping dolphins in captivity there are also considerable negative socio-economic and environmental impacts that a development of that size will have, dolphins or no dolphins: the construction of such a large development will likely affect the longshore movement and deposit of sand along the critical tourism beaches of Maho, Mullet Bay and Cupecoy. The sand is at risk of being permanently washed away from these areas.
Additionally, the building of a significant structure can also kill native seagrass and coral, of which we have already lost so much since Irma. If a dolphinarium is being considered, dolphin fecal matter coming from holding pens will increase the nutrient load in nearshore environments and can result in harmful algal blooms, skin irritations and ear infections. I am sure that no visitor to the island will enjoy swimming in an area loaded with feces.
Captive Dolphin Parks and the communities that condone them are experiencing negative press through international pressure groups and movies such as Blackfish and the Cove; I would like to urge that consideration instead be given to a program where education and conservation of wild cetaceans, including whales and dolphins, is the focus, instead of captive programs which are inherently dangerous to the animals and the people that frequent them.
This is the fifth time that St. Maarten has had to respond to plans against a dolphinarium, whether rumored or not, and I would like Government and Parliament to seriously consider the enacting of the draft legislation which Dolphin Defenders submitted in 2011and every subsequent time a development of this type is being considered.
As St. Maarten emerges from the unprecedented effects of the lockdown further exacerbated by the lingering impacts of Irma and Maria, it is now time for the island to move towards high-end, sustainable and nature-based tourism. It is time for the island to reinforce the conservation of natural areas for the benefit of the economy, the population and for the maintaining of natural resources; the three pillars of sustainable development.
It is not the time to again place focus or emphasis on an unsustainable, unethical and irresponsible development for development’s sake which will negatively affect the image of our beloved St. Maarten, whether the rumors are true or not. I therefore look forward to the response from the VROMI Minister to the questions requested from the Members of Parliament.
Tadzio Bervoets
I was pleasantly surprised and extremely pleased to hear the Honourable Prime Minister declare during the Council of Ministers press briefing on June 17, 2020, that her Government is living up to the agreements made by the Marlin-Romeo Government. The PM’s exact words were: “Government has done everything, and I mean everything, to live up to conditions set on us by previous agreements set by previous governments, we have maintained those agreements.”
For the past eight months I have been waiting for the Jacobs Government to chart a new direction for St. Maarten because the past opposition in Parliament, she was very much opposed to the agreements that the Marlin-Romeo Government had reached with the Dutch and the World Bank. Yet to date, the PM still refers to living up to all the agreements made by the former Government which she and her party at that time considered bad decisions that were aimed at selling St. Maarten out to the Dutch. I also wonder if the coalition also supports the PM in her decision to maintain the agreements signed by the former Government.
The Marlin-Romeo Government was branded as the worst Government in St. Maarten history. The NA/USP/Mercelina/Brownbill opposition in Parliament, led by then-MP Jacobs, categorically refused to lend any support to the Marlin-Romeo Government to carry out these agreements. The agreements that needed to be made with the World Bank in order to release funds for the airport were blocked. Laws pertaining to money-laundering and anti-terrorism that would keep St. Maarten from being blacklisted on the international market were stagnated. Conditions set by the Dutch regarding, for example, the reduction of the salary of Members of Parliament were considered by the opposition as allowing the Dutch to interfere in St. Maarten’s internal affairs. The Marlin-Romeo Government was also highly accused of not being transparent and of withholding documents and information from Parliament.
Yet shortly after taking office, the Jacobs Government does the same things that it accused the Marlin-Romeo Government of doing. The Prime Minister flies off immediately to Washington to sign the agreement with the World Bank and the Minister of Justice heads to Antigua to try to avert St. Maarten from being blacklisted. The Jacobs Government and the NA/USP coalition agrees for the salaries of Members of Parliament and civil servants to be reduced.
It is ironic to see that Members of Parliament who were once intensely opposed to the Dutch dictating what their salaries should be, end up themselves presenting a motion to cut their own salaries so that they could comply with the conditions stipulated by the Dutch.
As far as the issue of transparency is concerned, the Jacobs Cabinet collated the very same documents that had already been sent by the Marlin-Romeo Government to Parliament, in two binders and resent them to Parliament. Unfortunately, this transparency was not long-lived, as today Parliamentarians and members of the Coalition publicly complain that the Jacobs Government is no longer transparent.
So, why would former Members of Parliament, who are now Ministers themselves, accuse the past Government of accepting the conditions set forth by the Dutch and of signing agreements with the Dutch to sell out St. Maarten, when they are now doing the exact same things that they were opposing. This causes one to think that it was not that the Marlin-Romeo Government was not doing a good job, but rather, it was merely about bringing down the Government in order to usurp the power themselves.
In my opinion, one should not criticize something and then, when given the opportunity to improve it or change it, do the exact same thing. In other words, how can PM Jacobs vehemently oppose the conditions and agreements of the Marlin-Romeo Government while she was a Member of Parliament, but now being Prime Minister she turns around and does everything possible to live up to and maintain the conditions and agreements that were established by the previous government.
This tells me that the Marlin-Romeo Government was not that bad after all.
Wycliffe Smith
Leader of the SMCP
All the brothers and sisters who write on occasion on social media or as I do on a daily basis about the struggle for the liberation of people of Afrikan descent are knowledgeable that there has been an ongoing war from the 1490s. I am 76 years old and have been in the forefront of the struggle for some 43 years (since 1977).
I am aware that there have been many victories. However, I would be obliged if some of you would please answer the million dollar question. We know that the past 500-plus years of European history have been underpinned by untruths (blatant lies). With this being a fact our struggle has been made more difficult, hence my question: Why is it that our conscious fighters have not as yet joined forces and called on governments or advocated that the truth be told in a particular way by supporting the call for an International Day for Truth, Justice, Peace, Healing and Reconciliation?
Such a date was put to world leaders and to the people of the world from as far back as 1990 after I became aware of a plan to depopulate the world by some two billion people. The date that has been identified for such an important observance is October 12.
The present reality of public executions of black people are the continuous effects of the adventures started by Christopher Columbus’ expedition after his arrival in the Caribbean with three small ships on a reconnaissance mission on October 12, 1492. On arrival Columbus and crew were welcomed and assisted by the melininated (black people) of the Caribbean until December 1492 when they returned to Spain with two ships, as one was shipwrecked, and some of the crew left behind.
It was on Columbas’ second visit one year later in 1493 with 17 warships and 1,200 mercenaries that the carnage began. His mission with the blessing of the Pope was to Christianize, enslave or kill. The first impact was on the people of the Caribbean and the Americas and later on the wider black population of the world.
In our understanding of history why have we not distinguished between what happened from October 12 to December 1492 and what followed from 1493?
By not making the distinction between what happened in 1492 and what started one year later from 1493 we have colluded with the falsification of history by confusing events and by so doing have allowed Caucasians to cover up and not credit our ancestors with the humanitarian nature they displayed on October 12, 1492.
This must be corrected, and what is most remarkable is that the ancestors have given guidance and allow October 12 to be put forward as a day for truth, justice, peace, healing and reconciliation that would repair the damage due to the untruths that have been misunderstood by most. The date has been put on the world agenda and will remain there by the determination of one man through his efforts and support in the following process;
In 1990 October 12 was sent as a proposal to 178 world leaders and in that same year made public in a booklet to the people of the world.
In 1993 October 12 was proclaimed as African Holocaust Maafa Day by the Pan-Africanists in Guyana.
In 1995 October 12 was presented to the government of Barbados as a draft resolution for consideration and possible submission to the United Nations.
In 2001 October 12 was presented as a draft resolution to the UN World Conference against Racism in Durban.
In 2002 October 12 was endorsed as a resolution at the Afrikan and Afrikan Descendant World Conference against Racism held in Barbados.
In 2010 October 12 was submitted as a proposal for the International Day for People of Afrikan Descent at the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent in Geneva.
In 2012 October 12 was tabled as a proposal at the African and Diaspora leaders conference in South Africa.
On October 12, 2012, the Government of Barbados established a National Task Force on Reparations.
On October 12, 2013, the World Social Forum proclaimed the date as the International Day for Reparations.
In 2017 October 12 was proclaimed by the CARICOM Reparations Commission as Caribbean Holocaust Day.
We are reliably informed that the Black Lives Matter: We Can’t Breathe campaign now circling the globe has captured the attention of the African Union and that all leaders of the 54 nations have signed a letter to the United Nations requesting that an urgent meeting on racism be convened. We as a people have not been breathing properly from 1493 and have been choking on untruths.
The COVID-19 pandemic is ushering in a New Dispensation for the world. This new understanding is influenced by the public execution of George Floyd on May 25 by a Minneapolis police officer and has been compounded by another public execution, the fatal shooting of yet another unarmed black man Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta on June 12. The effect of this present reality of publicly killing black people is the continuous effect of the adventures started by Christopher Columbus’ expedition after his second visit in 1493.
That experience was a pandemic of white supremacy (racism), which was aided by the colonisation of the small island Barbados in 1627 that was prepared by God the Creator for laying the foundation and legal structures of “A Man’s World, Classism and Sexism” with the introduction of the Barbados Slave Code of 1661 that denigrated black people to the position of less than human, which was adopted by the USA in 1776.
Today in 2020 Barbados and other CARICOM member states are presently plagued with violence and crime as a direct result of that 1492 historic encounter between Columbus and the indigenous people of the Caribbean region. In 2019 Barbados had 49 murders, the highest such killings in any one year post-slavery. The current number of shootings indicates that this year’s murders if not brought to an end may even surpass the killing of last year.
This kind of carnage of black people is happening across the region and when added to the racist killings in the USA and in other metropolitan countries add to the depopulation plot which must be exposed and stopped. What are the solutions? The words of Sir Hilary Beckles in this link
https:www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L9qOwIXXog with reference to the killing of George Floyd demand that we review our action now.
One proposed solution is to call on the United Nations to designate October 12 as the International Day for Reparations for truth, justice, peace, healing and reconciliation and see what happens
We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The timing is perfect.
Rev. Elder Buddy Larrier
