VENEZUELAN CRISIS IS ULTIMATUM TO CARIBBEAN TO UNITE

"We wish to make a dramatic call to all Caribbean leaders to use this moment to serve as wake-up call, to stand up for all Caribbean peoples. As we all came with the same boats, we all are still in the same boat, with the same common right to emancipation and freedom, to unite and fight together to maintain a peaceful Caribbean, and to actively help to decolonize the Caribbean as there is no free Caribbean until all Caribbean peoples are truly free." - James Finies, President Foundation We Want Bonaire Back

OPEN LETTER TO THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY 

from

James Finies, President 

Foundation We Want Bonaire Back

January 29, 2019

To: CARICOM and all Caribbean leaders

Subject: Ultimatum for Venezuela equals ultimatum for the Caribbean to unify to maintain a peaceful democratic Caribbean

Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen:

With reference to our attached letter of June 11, 2018 urging the CARICOM and the Caribbean region to intervene and object to prevent an armed conflict in the Caribbean we herewith would like to bring the following to your attention:

We regretfully took note that the Dutch government continued on its path to destabilize the peaceful Caribbean region after serving last year a term in the UN Security Council which primary objective is to prevent conflicts.

After the UK and France launched an ultimatum against the sovereign state of Venezuela recently, the Dutch Foreign Minister Mr. Blok announced that the Netherlands will join them if Venezuela does not comply. Yesterday, this provocation escalated when the Prime Minister of Curacao Mr. Ruggenaath, whose government which last week ha been forced by the Dutch government to surrender their limited autonomy back under Dutch control and rule, declared the same. 

Curacao, together with Aruba and our island Bonaire being the closest neighboring island to the Venezuelan coast can be considered a direct escalation, provocation, and violation of UN Charter guiding principles of non-interference and non-intervention and respect for sovereignty and affairs of states is directed by the Dutch government from The Hague.

This is a highly hypocritical approach by the Dutch government which has continued colonization of its Caribbean dependencies and recently has erased the democratic rights of the Dutch Caribbean islands by:

• forcing the democratically elected Curacao government to surrender their limited autonomy and accept direct higher supervision from The Hague with control over the budget and all judiciary powers and intervention powers remaining unilaterally in the Dutch Parliament in The Hague;

• destabilizing and forcing the democratically elected government of St. Maarten after the natural disaster of hurricane Irma to surrender their limited autonomy and border control, budgetary, judiciary and went as far as they will have to approve or who will be appointed in the government positions and are completely back under Dutch rule and control;

• forcing the local government of Bonaire, which has surrendered already all the tax-revenues and powers to the Dutch government, under threat to accept an undemocratic program-manager above the locally elected government to govern and only accountable to The Hague;

• undemocratic abusive actions of their unilateral legislative powers and military and police powers to depose the legitimate elected government of Sint Eustatius and appointing a non-elected ruler and depriving the citizens of St Eustatius of their democratic rights by blocking a free election.

Ironically all this is happening at this same moment and is kept under the radar where the Dutch government is taking the front-line in this provocation towards an armed conflict where its re-colonized ABC island inhabitants - all innocent humble friendly Caribbean peoples - would be in the first line of retaliation and can easily be wiped out and ethnically cleansed. Meanwhile, the command will remain safely in The Hague, Europe. 

It would be no coincidence, because the ABC islands, all within eyesight's from each other, all are equipped with an international military standards airport and deep harbors could be the major reason behind this war-campaign, as through war-economics and military actions they enriched themselves to become one of world’s richest countries. This is nothing new for the Dutch if we glance back at their horrific colonial past.

We would like this letter to be a serious warning to the Caribbean as the colonizing powers headed by UK, France, and the Netherlands, and backed by US, who all share the major colonial interests to remain in the Caribbean region. They have finally shown their real intentions that they are back on track to repossess their former colonies, and attempt to turn back the colonial clock if possible.

The intentions and tactics are very clear, as the Dutch promoted, supported and financed the division, destruction, and dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on October 10, 2010 and recolonized the Dutch Antillean islands. The same tactics of destruction are carried forward to the Caribbean level, to divide the Caribbean and stop the unification and integration process of the Caribbean.

We wish to make a dramatic call to all Caribbean leaders to use this moment to serve as wake-up call, to stand up for all Caribbean peoples. As we all came with the same boats, we all are still in the same boat, with the same common right to emancipation and freedom, to unite and fight together to maintain a peaceful Caribbean, and to actively help to decolonize the Caribbean as there is no free Caribbean until all Caribbean peoples are truly free.

The CHamoru Language of Guahan: Life, Love and Peace

ARGENTINA REAFFIRMS SOVEREIGNTY OVER MALVINAS ISLANDS

Letter dated 3 January 2019 from the Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General 

Upon the instructions of my Government, I have the honour to transmit herewith the official press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Argentina on the occasion of the 186th anniversary of the usurpation of the Malvinas Islands by the United Kingdom, marked on 3 January (see annex). 

I should be grateful if you would have this letter and its annex circulated as a document of the General Assembly under agenda item 47, concerning the question of the Malvinas Islands. 

(Signed) Martín García Moritán 

Ambassador Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 3 January 2019 from the Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

 Press Release 

Question of the Malvinas Islands

 Buenos Aires, 3 January 2019

Question of the Malvinas Islands:

Argentina reaffirms its legitimate rights of sovereignty 

On 3 January 1833, the Malvinas Islands, which are an integral part of the Argentine national territory, were illegally occupied by military forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 

The Argentine Republic, since its beginnings as an independent nation, has expressed, through government acts, its firm resolve to exercise its effective sovereignty over the archipelagos and maritime areas of the South Atlantic, as the rightful successor to Spain. That exercise of sovereignty was interrupted 186 years ago with the start of the British occupation, an act that Argentina protested immediately and to which it never consented. 

The recovery of the effective exercise of our sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia Islands and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, in accordance with international law, while respecting the way of life of their inhabitants, is a permanent and unrenounceable objective of the Argentine people, as reflected in the national Constitution. 

The United Nations recognizes the existence of a colonial situation in the Malvinas Islands, where the underlying sovereignty dispute must be resolved by the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom through bilateral negotiations, taking into account the interests of the inhabitants of the Islands. 

The Argentine Republic continues to receive the support of the countries of the region for its legitimate sovereignty rights in the question of the Malvinas Islands, both bilaterally and through various regional forums. Other multilateral forums, such as the Organization of American States, the Group of 77 and China and the Ibero - American Summit, have called for a resumption of negotiations. 

The Government of Argentina has expressed its willingness to resume negotiations to find a solution to this sovereignty dispute and reiterates its readiness to continue working to build a climate of trust that is conducive to such an outcome. 

On this date that is so significant for our country, the Government and people of Argentina reaffirm once again their legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty rights over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia Islands and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas.