Dear Editor,
A fortnight ago, parliament convened to debate the unilateral appointment of a quarter master for the non-existent Integrity Chamber of St. Maarten, which the Constitutional Court found to be an affront to the Constitution, and an undemocratic attack on civil and human rights in this country. Our people paid keen attention to what was said and true to their word, emotions seem to be set aside.
The Prime Minister explained that the protocol, signed by the minister of justice, called for St. Maarten to appoint a quarter master and the Dutch to do so simultaneously or in any event before June 31, 2015. He also explained that the council of ministers took the June 31st that does not exist to mean either June 30th or July 01st. The Dutch did not appoint their quarter master, but trying to pull the wool over the eyes of St. Maarten by providing assistance and dictating what they wanted in the ordinance passed by parliament.
As is customary, St. Maarten trying to appease the masters did not veer from what they proposed and all seemed cosy. But the Dutch seemed to have forgotten that in the so-called high councils we had to establish and finance there is the office of the ombudsman, who is authorized to tweak and challenge any and all laws /ordinances adopted by parliament. This was done, and the Constitutional Court threw out the ordinance which it found unconstitutional with too much reach and no guarantees of due process for the citizen.
The protocol a la Dutch calls for a super civil servant (retired) from Holland to come to the island and bring whomever he wants, he nor they have to clear immigration so that local authorities don’t know who or where they are on the island .These super civil servants with allegations of shadiness can enter any office /business or place of residence and demand information. Should you dare refuse, they can have you arrested with no lawyer and for whatever time they feel.
Now, even though the justice system leaves a lot to be desired, at least they seek an order from the judge to search and any suspect has the right against self-incrimination and therefore can refuse to answer. It also affords people the right to legal counsel and to know what they are charged with. Strangely enough the Dutch do not believe our people should enjoy these rights; it’s beginning to resemble the making of apartheid.
Our government has proposed to employ the services of the audit chamber which already has that authority to tweak integrity in the service and report its findings to the prosecutor if necessary. We have stood by for too long and let people, colonial masters or not from 500 miles across the pond, that don’t get a vote here and don’t contribute to our budget, dictate how things must be done. The Dutch have enjoyed the best of both worlds since 1954 with the “Statuut” which permitted them to tell the UN they don’t have colonies and only handle defence and foreign affairs on our behalf. While we know they are doing all within their power to micro-manage the islands and dictate to us to garner support of their electorate.
We need only look at the situation in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Curaçao and deduce their true intentions. It is high time we take our case back to the people in a consultative referendum. People with power are never eager to let it go. Our main concern must be the welfare of our people and the defence of our beautiful St. Maarten land.
We are more ready now than ever before. Give your own children a fair chance; there is nothing the Dutch can do that we can’t. And as always, it’s a lot better for us to govern or misgovern ourselves than to be governed by somebody else. Let’s make use of our unexhausted right to self-determination.
Elton Jones
Dear Editor,
After the failed attempt to have the agreement with NuStar on the harbour fees signed on Tuesday, I was waiting to hear who was to blame. This coalition government has a track record of blaming everybody else but themselves for their constant mistakes and shortcoming. Reading the media on Friday morning, I was not surprised to learn about the customary culprits being the Dutch government, the Kingdom Representative and the governor. I was kind of surprised that this time the opposition was left off the hook. For our people to have a balanced opinion I herewith give my take on the events.
Late last year a first draft of an LOI was presented to the Central Committee. Commissioner Woodley, whose responsibility it is, at that time could not find the time to explain it himself to the council members. His colleague, Commissioner Simmons clearly was not familiar with the matter at hand and many questions remained unanswered. I, therefore shortly after, have sent in writing all my questions, concerns and recommendations to the Executive Council. I have never received any answers (which is rather customary for this government). The end of last month a slightly revised LOI was signed between NuStar and the Executive Council. As an island council member I am not aware of any legal or financial advice to this document.
Monday, February 6, a day before the signing of the official agreement, the island council received an invitation for the signing ceremony. As I wasn’t aware of the contents of the document, I requested a copy before the signing. Up to today I have not received it.
Why should I be interested in the contents of the agreement?
First of all, I believe it is rather disrespectful to invite the island council to a signing ceremony of a document that we do not know the contents of. Apparently, the executive council, with a track record of blunders, believes that the Island Council should blindly show up in support of something they do not know the details of.
Secondly, it is the intention of the executive council to alter or deviate from an island ordinance, which is the responsibility of the island council and therefore needs the approval of the island council. There is no such approval. They appeared not to be aware of this requirement.
Then there is the illegal amendment by the island council of the marine environment ordinance (the DP voted against), which forms an important basis for the levying of the new harbour fees. After receiving protest letters by among others, STENAPA, DCNA and WWF, government already received in August 2015 a warning from the Ministry of Economic Affairs explaining that with this amendment they were violating the international treaty on nature reserves and that the amendment needed to be reversed. By simply ignoring this, our government thought that it would go away, but it did not. By feigning surprise and calling it intervening in their local responsibilities, after receiving a reminder by the State Secretary, they are now attempting to hide their own ignorance and lack of knowledge of proper procedures, laws and regulations. In a quick attempt to convince the State Secretary of his right, Commissioner Woodley didn’t mind throwing in a lie about the non-existing agreement of STENAPA with the amendment.
I have learned that prior to the day of the planned signing of the agreement, Commissioner Woodley did not deem it necessary to share the contents of the draft agreement with the Governor, who not only is the only one authorized to sign on behalf of the Public Entity, but who is also an equal member of the Executive Council. Also, no legal or financial advice was available. Furthermore, the document wasn’t even discussed in the Executive Council and therefore, there was also no official executive council decision to approve the document and to have it signed (or maybe sent to the island council for approval?).
Of course, due to the many mishaps and shortcomings, they were forced to have a ceremony for which the entire population was already invited, without any signing to take place. It clearly must have been an embarrassing moment, the people of Statia present, top brass from NuStar present, but no signing.
I would like to stress on the fact that also the DP party deems an agreement with NuStar way overdue. It should be known, however, that it is this coalition government, headed by PLP leader Clyde van Putten that systematically has obstructed a fair and intellectual dialogue with NuStar. In the words of van Putten: they just have to pay and they should realize that we are the government and not they.
Noteworthy to mention is that although still unclear as to the exact amounts, the expected amounts in fees government is willing to settle for now is more or less what the DP party has already suggested since early 2015. Besides government has wasted a lot of precious time and has caused a lot of aggravation, unnecessary court cases and appeals, in the past two years the delay has seriously handicapped government financially. This has hurt the people of Statia and has stagnated the development of our island, but of course as is customary this government puts the blame on everybody else except themselves.
Koos Sneek
(Curaçao Chronicle)
“If you refuse to convert to Islam, then the only thing between you and us is the sword.” (Muslim leader in Trinidad, Abu Sa’d at-Trinidadi, proclaimed this fatwah repeatedly to all Christians, and again on February 3, 2017).
In our world of radical uncertainty, the religiously faithful are certain. Devotees of any God believe in their Almighty Divine Entity and whatever related gospel that Entity may preach. To them, it does not matter that none of the statements, stories and events can ever be verified, or tested. No matter how delusional, utterances proclaimed by their God are the Holy Truth and nothing but the Truth.
Presently, about 3,000 gods are worshipped around the world, not counting a large array of demigods and adjuncts. All faithful followers are equally convinced that only their God is the One and Only True One, and all others are false prophets. Since none of the faithful are open for rational debate, any conversation is a waste of time and effort, so leave it for what it is. Anyone has the right to believe whatever he, or she, wishes.
That peaceful tolerance changes when non-believers have to face aggressive evangelizing, intimidation and terror by fanatics. In today’s world, many non-believers are forced by the sword to adhere to the ethical and religious values of one or another fanatical religious group.
ISIS displayed the horror of intolerant and of radical, Islamic Jihad on the world stage, for all to witness. Executions in public, often broadcasted via the media, are to intimidate as many as possible. In the meantime, tens of thousands died in the fervour of religious delusion of ISIS.
But the ISIS’ case is neither unique nor exclusive for Muslims. Jahin or John Calvin (1509-1564)---no, not today’s Calvin Klein, the underwear designer but the Protestant leader and Potentate of the City-State of Geneva, in the 16th century---was much on the same footing as today’s Al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS.
Calvin was set to convert Geneva into the first Kingdom of God on Earth, just like ISIS was preparing Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State for the Mahdi to return. The Anabaptist, Jantje van Leiden, had tried to establish his Kingdom of God in Munster, in 1634-1635, but he failed.
Calvin reigned over Geneva with terror. He had no desire that others should love him as a brother. Calvin was a ruthless dictator who did not hesitate to burn his adversaries in public, alive on the stake, over unimportant theological disagreements.
Infamous became the case of Servetus (1553), a Spanish, Protestant leader, who disagreed with Calvin on such obscure theological issues as child baptism and the Trinity. Servetus was arrested after Sunday church services in Geneva, imprisoned and, after a fake trial that did not allow the accused any defence, condemned to death.
Death-at-the-stake by roasting with a slow fire is the most agonizing of all modes of execution. Even in the Middle Ages, famous for cruelty, it was seldom carried out. Servetus was only one of thousands who was labelled a heretic and met a horrible death in the name of the One-and-Only-God and his Holy Word.
The horrors of the Inquisition, of Tomás de Torquemada (1420–1498) a Castilian Dominican friar and the first Grand Inquisitor in the late 15th century may be well known, even today, but the Protestants were no better. Tolerance of deviating ideas about the interpretation of the Holy Scripture could not exist, not even with Protestants who claimed that each faithful had the right to have a direct and unique relationship with his God. Calvin was certain, only he was right, as right as ISIS-Baghdadi is today.
In Calvin’s Geneva, cheerful and unconstrained enjoyment was sinful. To give humanity precedence over discipline was inconceivable. Calvin had a father thrown in jail for smiling in the church at the baptism of his child. Ethics patrols searched houses and frisked citizens in the streets of Geneva for the correctness of dress, colours, food, church attendance, prayer and searched for any possible glimpse of frivolity. Unsympathetic severity was fundamental in Calvinist doctrine.
Calvinism still rules a large number of Protestants in Northern Europe, especially Holland, the former New Netherland in the USA, white South Africa, and South Korea. The lifestyle, as Calvin preached it, is still dominated by asceticism and literalism of every word in the Bible. Abstinence from worldly pleasures, identical to that of ISIS today, still goes to extents of absurdity.
Religious fanaticism, no matter which God you pick, remains extremely dangerous to peace and happiness in our world. Would not you rather suffer from radical uncertainty than being certain with blood dripping from religious intolerance?
Jacob Gelt Dekker
(Curaçao Chronicle)
To the gentleman in the dark red-coloured sedan yesterday at Piscadera, just a hundred feet away from the spot where another reckless driver took the life of three innocent people just a few years back, I would just like to let you know that we are all okay. Even though you almost ran us over or pretended to run us over, screeching inches past us at high speed without stopping or even slowing down to see if we were all right. I would like to inform you that we were able to pull up to the side of the road in time and brace ourselves for the impact that luckily never came.
It doesn’t matter that we were on road bikes and not mountain bikes, which makes it more dangerous to swerve off the road since the tires are not made for uneven terrain, or that there might have been a raised curb making it impossible to veer to the side unless we recklessly tried to jump it. No worries, there was no raised curb side, no surprise potholes and no punctured tires, just the heart-stopping sound of your ill-attempt at breaking; the fast approaching and nerve-wrecking-steadily-growing beam of your headlights and the sense of seeing our lives flash before our eyes.
If you did it on purpose I hope you enjoyed yourself watching us hurling ourselves to safety; and, if you really did lose control of the car I hope you realized, even if belatedly, that three bikers had to jump out of the way for you, that they might have gotten hurt in the process and perhaps you should have at least slowed down and checked your rear-view mirror to see if anybody had a bad fall because of your recklessness.
It gives me some sort of solace to think that just maybe those three souls were looking after all of us; safeguarding us from you and protecting you from yourself. I am, in any case, extremely grateful to still be here for another day… maybe we will run into each other again tomorrow morning, a honk and wave will do just fine thank you very much!
Tamara Neuman
Dear Editor,
Now that the current yes-government of tolerance has come to an end the opportunity rises for Bonaire to have a government that follows the direction that the Bonairian people indicated in the referendum of December 2015, where as never before the Bonairian people united and massively rejected the actual colonial status.
Fact is that shortly, beginning March, the Dutch Second Chamber elections will be held and after the elections the new government of Holland is free to make the second reading to finalize the embedding of us as a colony under legalized racism and apartheid conditions in their constitution.
Meanwhile, it has been clearly exposed that Dutch politicians did not and will not let loose of their past and roots as colonizers and has not shown signs to have consciousness or human feelings, and neither are respecting democracy nor the rights of the BES peoples, including the Bonairian peoples. We are left with no other possibility then to seek for other alternatives, other avenues to realize our rights anchored into international treaties.
After the Bonairians and people of Sint Eustatius have spoken clearly in their referendum that they do not want to continue this direction – the current colonial constellation, we have noted and experienced that on Sint Eustatius their government has followed the mandate of their people and has started the process to exit the BES and are aspiring and are working on their own constitution for a new autonomous and associated relationship with Holland in the Dutch Kingdom, according to norms and standards of the United Nations. On Bonaire, the opposite is the case where the yes-government, which had campaigned publicly against the decision of the Bonairian people, which with 65 per cent of no-votes has rejected the actual status and together with the Dutch government has decided to violate the rule of law and democracy and start the process to anchor, embed unilaterally the Bonairian people against their wish and decision, in the Dutch constitution. The actual governments of Bonaire and Holland are violating and are not complying with their duty as government to respect, protect and fulfil the treaties, resolutions and human rights of self-determination and right to development of the Bonairian people.
This is a crucial moment in our history looking at what is ahead of us, and because of the burden and consequences of embedding of our people in the Dutch constitution we are making a dramatic and urgent call on the fraction of Democratic party, especially their leadership, to put aside their personal and internal issues and unite with the people. Unite for Bonaire and together with fractions of UPB and Raphaela, which are not supporting anymore the yes-government and start the process same as Sint Eustatius to re-enlist as a non-self-governing territory and get guidance and protection of the United Nations and exit BES which has resulted in a complete failure, and realize the wishes, decision and rights of the Bonairian peoples.
You can count on the support of our brothers in the Kingdom and also from the international community to help the Bonairian peoples with a fair and just process to realize their right to self-determination and realize their self-government same as Sint Eustatius in the Kingdom with alliance and protection of our brothers and according to norms and standards of the United Nations.
Respecting, protecting and fulfilling as government the Bonairian people’s inalienable rights to self-determination and right to development, we finally could experience and enjoy our fundamental right to freedom and equality that will ensure the welfare and happiness of the Bonairian people in the Dutch Kingdom.
James Finies,
Nos Kier Boneiru Bek
