Imperios no mantienen colonias, las explotan / Empires don’t support colonies, they exploit them

Compañeros Unidos para la Descolonización de Puerto Rico: Cita  Patriótica ONU Junio 2012

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Imperios no mantienen colonias, las explotan / Empires don’t support colonies, they exploit them Muchos puertorriqueños creen que el gobierno de Estados Unidos (EEUU) mantiene a Puerto Rico (PR). Nosotros hemos estado continuamente bajo la propaganda estadounidense por 117 años. El ministro de propaganda en la Alemania Nazi decía que una mentira se convierte en la verdad si se dice suficientemente. Eso realmente no es verdad, pero la gente si piensa que es la verdad. Y eso es exactamente lo que busca el abusador. Esto ha sido impresionantemente efectivo ya que muchos puertorriqueños piensan que Puerto Rico no puede sobrevivir sin el gobierno de Estados Unidos. La verdad es que los imperios siempre explotan a sus colonias, y nunca las mantienen. El gobierno de Estados Unidos y las compañías estadounidenses se llevan $14 por cada dólar que invierten en Puerto Rico. Por eso es que no hay oportunidades para los puertorriqueños en Puerto Rico, y por eso los puertorriqueños se van de Puerto Rico masivamente. Por primera vez, hay más puertorriqueños fuera de Puerto Rico que dentro.  Sócrates dijo en la página 141 del libro PLATO THE REPUBLIC que, “Hasta que los filósofos sean reyes, o los reyes y príncipes de este mundo tengan el espíritu y poder de la filosofía, y la grandeza política y la sabiduría es una, y la gente común que lucha a la exclusión de los demás estén motivados a mantenerse aislado, las ciudades nunca descansaran de sus injusticias, -no, ni la raza humana, creo yo, y después solo esto nuestro Estado tendrá la posibilitad de vida y poder ver la luz del día. ”  El gobierno de Estados Unidos no tiene el espíritu y el poder de la filosofía. EEUU no tiene interés de obtener sabiduría en la búsqueda de la verdad para hacer justicia. EEUU solo le interesa la acumulación de riqueza para un grupito privilegiado.  El gobierno de Estados Unidos ha logrado meterle en la cabeza de sus ciudadanos la idea de que cada cual está por sí mismo. Hay demasiados ciudadanos que solo se preocupan por ellos mismos. Esta actitud impide la búsqueda de la verdad para eliminar la injusticia. Estos son, como dijo Sócrates, los que están inclinados a mantenerse aislado. ¡El resultado de eso ha sido que el mundo considera actualmente al gobierno de Estados Unidos en la amenaza más grande a paz mundial!  ¿Cómo será posible descansar de la injusticia? ¿Cómo será posible tener la posibilidad de vida y de ver la luz del día?  Tenemos que entender que todos pertenecemos a la raza humana. Nunca podemos pensar que es correcto que cada cual este por su lado. Todos debemos tener el espíritu y el poder de la filosofía para continuamente buscar la verdad. Y tenemos que siempre estar involucrado en lo que hace nuestros gobernantes, y nunca permitirnos quedarnos como espectadores.  Por eso tenemos que continuamente protestar por la descolonización de Puerto Rico. Sin la participación activa de todos, nuca podremos descansar de la injusticia. ¡No podremos, porque los que no les interesa unirla grandeza política con la sabiduría, y continúan manteniendo colonias, no creen en la JUSTICIA PARA TODOS!  Many Puerto Ricans believe that the United States (US) government supports Puerto Rico. We have been continuously subjected to US propaganda for 117 years. Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels, said that a lie becomes the truth if you repeat it often enough. It really doesn’t, but people will believe it is the truth. That is why many Puerto Ricans believe Puerto Rico can’t survive without the US government. The fact of the matter is that empires always exploit their colonies. That’s what they are for! The US government and US Companies get $14 for every dollar they invest in Puerto Rico. That is why there are no opportunities in Puerto Rico for Puerto Ricans, and why Puerto Ricans are leaving our beautiful island in large numbers. For the first time, more Puerto Ricans are out of Puerto Rico than in. Our economic crisis didn’t begin now. It began with the US military invasion of 1898. Socrates said in the middle of page 141 in the book PLATO THE REPUBLIC that, “Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils, -no, nor the human race, as I believe, - and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day.” The US government does not have or want the spirit and power of philosophy. It has no interest in obtaining wisdom by seeking the truth to do justice. It is only interested in accumulating all of the wealth of the world for a small privileged group.  The US government has successfully managed to put in its citizen’s mind the notion that, “It’s every man for himself.” Too many citizens are only concerned with taking care of themselves. This attitude prevents people from seeking the truth to eliminate injustice. They, as Socrates said, “are the ones compelled to stand aside”. The result has been that the world regards the US government as the biggest threat to world peace. How can we ever “rest from evils”? How can we ever “have the possibility of life and behold the light of day.” We must understand that we all belong to the human race. We cannot permit ourselves to believe that every man for himself is the correct thing to do. We should all have the spirit and power of philosophy to actively and continuously seek the truth. And we must all get involved in what our leaders do, and never be compelled to stand aside. Therefore, we must protest continuously for the decolonization of Puerto Rico. Without everyone’s participation, we will never rest from evil. We won’t, because those who are not interested in joining political greatness with wisdom, and continue to maintain colonies, don’t believe in JUSTICE FOR ALL.

Dutch 'partial integration' of Bonaire, Saba, Statia a failed experiment?

New status islands mostly brought disappointment

Daily Herald 

THE HAGUE--The public entity status of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba has brought much disappointment, and the balance after five years is not favourable, concluded the Caribbean Netherlands Evaluation Committee in its report that was presented in The Hague on Monday.

A widely felt disappointment predominates on the three islands. This disappointment has consistently increased since October 2010, when the islands became part of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist as a country.

The high expectations which people and the governments on the islands had at the start of the transition have largely not been met. This is largely attributable to the level of prosperity: since 2010 the standard of living has fallen for many people, including those with a job. This disappointment has overshadowed the positive developments in for example health care and education where plans were more ambitious and agreements more concrete.

People on the islands feel that they have not been involved in the changes enough, and that insufficient account has often been taken of the islands’ special circumstances. The problem of poverty has increased, partly due to the declining purchasing power and the low level of social provisions.

“The concerns about the daily existence have contributed to people’s negative experience of the transition,” stated Committee Chairperson Liesbeth Spies during the presentation which was attended by representatives of the governments of the three islands and the Dutch Government.

The committee concluded that disappointing results were caused by a number of factors. The agreements that have been made were not always clear, not to the people and neither to the government.

The differences in language, scale and culture added to a complex collaboration between Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba and the Dutch Government. “People find it hard to understand each other. Interests are also highly divergent. For the islands, the relationship with the Netherlands is of vital importance while this is certainly not the case for the Netherlands. In Dutch politics, the relationship with the islands is only of minor importance.”

Agreements were also interpreted differently: the islands had different expectations than the Netherlands. The most striking example was the agreement at the time of the transition to reach a standard of services and provisions that was acceptable within the Netherlands.

The standard wasn’t introduced for many services, especially in the social area, while the standard of living kept deteriorating, the committee found. The “voorzieningenniveau” is still a source of discussion with the islands striving for the same level as in the Netherlands, and the Netherlands having a different opinion on what is acceptable.

The approach of the Dutch Government has been fragmented, and knowledge of the specific circumstances on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba has been often limited. “There is no overall approach to speak of despite the fact that the nature of the problems and scale of islands call for such an approach.”

The fragmentation is difficult to handle for the islands because of their limited staffing capabilities. “It takes a lot of meeting and consulting which means that a disproportionate administration load falls to the islands.”

An integral approach is further hampered by the fact that the Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, based on a deliberate choice made at the time, does not have the authority which would allow him to control the Dutch policy, let alone enforce policy changes based on an integral vision. As a result, the position of the National Government Representative is such that he is not in the position to make a difference when required.

Relations have become more strained, particularly the Netherlands and St. Eustatius, and to a lesser extent Bonaire.

“Government representatives have diametrically opposing views and the debate mainly centres on the division of tasks and authorities. Discussions focus on autonomy, independence and a neo-colonial attitude. The people of the islands do not benefit from this situation.”

In addition, the local administrations have not yet reached the required level of quality. They remain vulnerable. “Given the small scale of the islands and the limited capability available, it has been proven to be difficult to ensure the long-term quality of administration. The situation is too dependent on the efforts and quality of individuals which is why there are big differences between the islands in the level of administration.”

The global economic and financial crisis was an outside contributor which adversely affected the islands’ economic and social development. According to the committee there were “strong indications” that the transition and the implementation of certain laws didn’t have the intended positive influence on the economic development, and by extension the level of prosperity for the people. The Netherlands and the islands lack a shared approach which offers prospects for future economic development.

“Unfortunately we have to conclude that so far the balance has not been favourable,” stated Spies. “However, five years is a short period. And, as the implementation of the transition is still in full progress, it is too early for a final judgement.”

Spies said she hoped that the conclusions of the evaluation would serve as an impulse to bring the original objectives of the constitutional change closer over the coming years. “We hope that it will inspire to do things better,” she said.

The committee concluded that there was still a lot of room for improvement. “It is now up to the authorities that commissioned this evaluation, the public entities and the Dutch Government, to jointly take up this challenge, based on the results of this evaluation, and initiate the changes deemed necessary and ensure they are implemented.”

Making the most of the islands’ public entity status requires the governments involved to “jump over their own shadows” to create room for self-development, to take responsibility and to invest, also in mutual trust.

“Each of the islands will have to come up with an answer to the question what they can do themselves, where they should do better and where they need help and support. A higher level of facilities and economic development can be achieved together, in consultation with the people.”

The findings of the committee were largely based on the input of the islands, its residents, private sector, social organisations and government. Aside from the committee’s general conclusions, there were three individual reports that served in the evaluation.

The Social and Cultural Plan Bureau of the Netherlands SCP analysed the consequences of the new relations for the people. Pro Facto of the University of Groningen looked at the effects of the legislation, while the DSP Group of Dr. Oberon Nauta studied the workings of the new administrative structure.

Elaborate information, including the four reports, as well as a video for the general public, can be found on the committee’s website, www.evaluatiecn.nl. Much of the information, mainly the conclusions, is also available in English and Papiamentu.

The Evaluation Committee consists of Chairperson Spies, Fred Soons, Glenn Thodé, Luc Verhey and Frans Weekers. The committee was assisted by a secretariat and a supervisory committee of experts.