RESULTS OF STUDY ON BONAIRE'S 'PUBLIC ENTITY' POLITICAL STATUS

  

The Dependency Studies Project
 Study and Analysis on Dependency Governance
__________________________________________

Assessment of self-governance sufficiency in conformity
with internationally-recognised standards 

Country:  Bonaire

Concluding Observations

In the aftermath of the five-year review of the ‘public entity’ status, a constitutional process was initiated in The Hague to embed/anchor the three polities of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius (BES Islands) in the Dutch Constitution. With specific reference to Bonaire, this procedure was followed despite persistent questions about the legitimacy of the status which had been repeatedly opposed by the people through democratic expression in multiple referenda. 

The political and socio-economic inequalities which emerged from the imposition of the status amounted to an involuntary annexation through partial integration of a people into a larger state without their consent, against their will, and irrespective of the applicability of international law on self-determination which has clearly been circumvented.

Despite the misgivings formally expressed on multiple fronts in Bonaire and Sint Eustatius, and following independent critique by various scholars and legal authorities in and out of the Kingdom, the Netherlands proceeded, nevertheless, to embark on an internal political process as a ‘final solution’ of anchoring the status in the Dutch Constitution. This process was accelerated in the aftermath of the five-year review even as it was strenuously opposed in Bonaire to no avail.

By 2019, a main Dutch objective was to encourage BES participation in the election for the nine-member Electoral College newly created under Article 132a(3) of the Dutch Constitution. This was designed to project a certain legitimacy of the foregone anchoring procedure on the assumption that the BES would participate overwhelmingly in the process. Accordingly, the voter participation for the Electoral College was a bare majority of 50.7 % (blank ballots which may have been cast in protest and which may have dropped the final count below 50 % were excluded from the final count). [1] Thus, a modicum of participation in the Dutch political system may have been the result, but its significance severely limited in accordance with the level of representation for the BES. Overall, the unilateral annexation of Bonaire would be violative of the international legal principle of "ex injuria jus non oritur" (“unjust acts cannot create law”).

Also to be noted are other portions of the amended Dutch Constitution of 2018. Hence, a new and more elaborately titled Article was created, “Caribbean part of the Netherlands, territorial public bodies other than provinces and municipalities.” (Constitution, 2018). This replaced the designation in the 2002 and 2008 versions of the constitution which referred only to ‘public bodies.’ The following Table of the current SGA compares the designation of the ‘public bodies’ as they are reflected in the 2002, 2008 and 2018 versions of the Dutch constitutions (with emphasis added).

TABLE: Comparison of ‘public bodies’ in Dutch Constitution
2002-2018 (emphasis added)

Dutch Constitution 2002	Dutch Constitution 2008	Dutch Constitution 2018
Article 134  1. Public bodies for the professions and trades and other public bodies may be established and dissolved by or pursuant to Act of Parliament.  2. The duties and organisation of such bodies, the composition and powers of their administrative organs and public access to their meetings shall be regulated by Act of Parliament. Legislative powers may be granted to their administrative organs by or pursuant to Act of Parliament.  3. Supervision of the administrative organs shall be regulated by Act of Parliament. Decisions by the administrative organs may be quashed only if they are in conflict with the law or the public interest. Article 135 Rules pertaining to matters in which two or more public bodies are involved shall be laid down by Act of Parliament. These may provide for the establishment of a new public body, in which case Article 134, paragraphs 2 and 3, shall apply. Article 136 Disputes between public bodies shall be settled by Royal Decree unless they fall within the competence of the judiciary or decisions are referred to other bodies by Act of Parliament.	Article 134  1. Public bodies for the professions and trades and other public bodies may be established and dissolved by or pursuant to Act of Parliament.  2. The duties and organisation of such bodies, the composition and powers of their administrative organs and public access to their meetings shall be regulated by Act of Parliament. Legislative powers may be granted to their administrative organs by or pursuant to Act of Parliament.   3. Supervision of the administrative organs shall be regulated by Act of Parliament. Decisions by the administrative organs may be quashed only if they are in conflict with the law or the public interest. Article 135 Rules pertaining to matters in which two or more public bodies are involved shall be laid down by Act of Parliament. These may provide for the establishment of a new public body, in which case Article 134, paragraphs 2 and 3, shall apply. Article 136 Disputes between public bodies shall be settled by Royal Decree unless they fall within the competence of the judiciary or decisions are referred to other bodies by Act of Parliament.	Article 132a  1. In the Caribbean part of the Netherlands, territorial public bodies other than provinces and municipalities may be established and dissolved by Act of Parliament. 2. Articles 124, 125 and 127 to 132 shall apply mutatis mutandis to these public bodies. 3. In these public bodies, elections shall be held for an electoral college for the Upper House. Article 129 shall apply mutatis mutandis. 4. For these public bodies, rules may be laid down and other specific measures may be taken in view of special circumstances that fundamentally distinguish these public bodies from the European part of the Netherlands.

Of the elements related to the newly designated “territorial public bodies other than provinces and municipalities” is a fundamental consistency throughout the three versions of the Dutch Constitution that these entities “may be established and dissolved by act of Parliament.” This is arguably the singular feature that is consistent with actual provinces and municipalities which are clearly segregated from the ‘public bodies’ in the Dutch Constitution of 2018. 

Further, while the duties/organisation, and composition/ powers of the administrative organs of the provinces and municipalities are clearly spelled out, the rules governing the ‘public bodies’ are far less detailed, reflecting possibilities for “specific measures (that) may be taken in view of special circumstances that fundamentally distinguish these public bodies from the European part of the Netherlands.” (emphasis added).

The spectre of political, economic and social inequality and the accompanying asymmetrical balance of power continues to linger when such distinctions between the Caribbean and Dutch ‘parts of the Kingdom’ are articulated as they are in the new constitutional provisions of the Dutch Constitution of 2018 related to the ‘public entities/bodies.’ At the least, there is no attempt to re-name them as ‘special municipalities’- the term often used in general discourse on the new dependency governance arrangements in the BES islands.

All things considered, the inalienable right to self-determination must lead to a transformational process of decolonisation and democracy – or it can be replaced with a distorted process resulting in the cruel hoax of colonial reform perpetuating the inequality that the process was supposed to replace. This was the case with respect to the BES Islands in the Caribbean. 

It is to be observed that dependency governance is not democratic governance, just as colonialism is not democracy. The ‘public body/entity’ renamed ‘territorial public body’ is one of several global dependency governance models erroneously projected in the 21st Century as forms of democracy, and applied in a fashion that circumvents the inalienable right to genuine self-determination under international law. This is how the scenario has evolved for Bonaire.

The British, French and U.S. all have their versions of asymmetrical dependency governance in the Caribbean and/or the Pacific. Upon examination of the oeuvre of research, the present SGA can only conclude that any projection of Bonaire as a model of democratic governance is illusory at best. Instead, what has been created is yet another form of 21st Century colonialocracy - deficient by all measures of democratic governance. 

However, whilst colonialism remains illegal, its illegality is often a matter of power, not justice. This is the fundamental challenge to the contemporary process of self-determination and its consequent decolonisation for island jurisdictions such as Bonaire.

---

[1] In comparison, the vote for the candidates to the Island Council was or  64.14 per cent or some fourteen per cent higher than that for the “Electoral College.

 

BONAIRE SELF-DETERMINATION DENIED - NEW BOOK BY JAMES FINIES

   The book, Self-determination Denied, has as its main objectives: to document and commemorate events that transpired between 2010 and 2020; inform about important decisions, situations and actions that led towards the illegal annexation of Bonaire; and document the consequences of the change of status imposed on Bonaire. It will further shine light, desecrate and encapsulate the persons, politicians, leaders, the players, their actions, and all that led to the betrayal and annexation of the Bonaire people on October 10, 2010 going forward to October 10, 2020.

    The people of Bonaire never chose this change of status termed “public entity” and also referred to as “special municipality”. On the contrary, Bonereans used a referendum to express their overwhelming rejection of the imposed status under unequal rights in the Dutch Constitution.

    The book will reveal the atrocities committed against our people, the social inequality, the oppression of our rights, and the suppression of our culture on Bonaire.  Imposed laws, policies, regulations, and taxes rob our people of their natural food resources and inherited land and leave them destitute. Local Bonerians, now a shrunken and displaced population, have become a minority group on their own island in less than a decade.

    Further the book, Bonaire Self-Determination Denied, will summarize Nos Ke Boneiru Back trajectory to re-list Bonaire back on the Non-Self-Governing-Territories list of the United Nations that started in 2016, when Mr. James Finies spoke as the first Antillean in the Special Committee on Decolonization. History has shown us that only  international exposure can free our people and guarantee the right of self-determination to the whole Dutch colonies in the Caribbean; Sint Eustatius, Saba, Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten.

Click on the following link to watch the trailer-promo: https://youtu.be/dNoiZo_hNbY

INDEPENDENT SELF-GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT ON BONAIRE

 

BONAIRE NGO BEGINS HUMAN RIGHTS INFORMATION CAMPAIGN

Nos Ke Boneiru Bek, due to escalating discrimination and lack of respect by the new Dutch immigrants for the humble Bonerians, has recently launched an awareness and information campaign to protect Bonaire as we are a nation with its own culture, language, and our own way of life.

One of our main objective with this campaign is to expose and bring to light cases of injustice to the people of Bonaire committed by individuals, organizations, the local and Dutch government and their governmental institutions of abusive discriminatory actions, policies, laws and governmental corruption that are violating the fundamental civil, economic, social, political and cultural rights of our peoples. 

In our struggle to raise awareness by publicizing factual information on violations of aforementioned rights, NKBB was approached by Mr Rene Lauffer, former president-director of Oil Trading Bonaire, that recently denounced and exposed governmental corruption-scandal in the energetic sector. Mr Lauffer recognizes NKBB efforts to protect the rights of the Bonerians peoples and volunteered to share in our upcoming campaign series with valuable factual information based on his experience and expertise in this main socio-economic sector.

Mr Rene Lauffer (l), former president-director of OTB, join forces with NKBB 

to fight injustice and violation of fundamental rights of the Bonerian people.

Mr. Lauffer :

 

-        The stage is set and is very clear that the Dutch policy together with the local government is directed to eliminate the Oil Trading Bonaire.

-        The consequences hereof will result in another mayor loss of possibilities and potential income for the local government that would amount to two (2) or three (3) times more than the “vrije uitkering”.

-        Another mayor economic risk factor is that the strategic and secure fuel supply will never become same, equal as in Holland in Europe. But what most Bonerians, especially the majority of the peoples below the poverty line, are experiencing a continues raise in all fuel-related-economic and food consumer prices and especially WEB tariffs.

-        By elimination of  OTB the Bonaire peoples will lose the possibility of alleviation of  lowered and reduced WEB bills as much of  $.100 (one hundred U$) - to $150 (one hundred-fifty U$) every month.

Mr Lauffer voiced he will be committed to bring awareness in upcoming information series because “his love for Bonaire and the peoples” and that the “fast pace of the developments are not in the interest of Bonaire and its peoples”, although not being a whistle-blower, but made so by this local government corruption-scandal, his future on Bonaire is minimized.  Mr Lauffer is committed however to leave valuable information behind for the future generations.

BONAIRE CIVIC LEADER CHALLENGES NETHERLANDS DENIAL OF SELF-DETERMINATION TO THE DUTCH COLONIES IN THE CARIBBEAN

"Both islands (Sint Eustatius and Bonaire) in their respective referendum of 2014 and 2015 rejected this illegally imposed colonial status, and both island parliaments as representation of their peoples ratified these as legal democratic decisions of the peoples."  

  

- James Finies, President of  Foundation We Want Bonaire Back 

________________________________________________________

Letter  

To:                       State-Secretary of Kingdom Relations Mr. Raymond Knops
                            2500 EA The Hague, The Netherlands

       
From:                  James Finies, President of  Foundation We Want Bonaire Back

Date:                   May 14, 2019

Subject: autonomy or self-governance is not a choice- it is the most fundamental inalienable right of the peoples 

Honorable Mr Knops,

We took note of your recent press media communications that you don't see the BES-islands, Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius in the future as autonomous self-governing islands. Reason given that they are too small. I would like to remind you that Bonaire is a nation and according to UN General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of December 14, 1960; - “that inadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as pretext for delaying our fundamental inalienable right to self-governance”

Further on, you declared that your undemocratic intervention, coup d'etat, overthrowing the legitimate democratic elected government in Sint Eustatius in February 2018, had a disciplinary effect on the Bonaire government, as your recent visit to Bonaire, the government spoke much more friendly. This is evident as the leaders of government of Bonaire, both commissioners Mr Tjin-Asjoe and Mrs Den Heijer, with their subservient vision, publicly voiced, that “we cannot eat bread with autonomy”. 

Firstly we recognize and respect your right of expression so you may have a personal opinion on our current illegal state-structure. However we herewith want to bring to your attention that neither you nor your government and your Bonaire friendly local government possess any legal rights nor power to deny the peoples of Bonaire and the other BES-islands, principally Sint Eustatius,  the right to self-determination and self-governance. Both islands in their respective referendum of 2014 and 2015 rejected this illegally imposed colonial status and both island parliaments as representation of their peoples ratified these as legal democratic decisions of the peoples. 

Instead of assisting our islands in enhancing their autonomy, your government, a member of the UN Security Council, has limited the development towards more autonomy and now declares that we will never regain back our autonomy. This constitutes a grave violation of the Charter of the Kingdom based on the agreements signed with the United Nations Organization in 1954. Your government continued irresponsible and undemocratic decisions and actions have caused a setback in the governing of the islands which has led to a re-colonization that violates the Charter of the United Nations especially Article 73 Chapter XI, Article 103 Chapter XVI, and resolutions 742, 747, 945, 1514 and 1541, all of which address the sacred rights of the Peoples of Bonaire and Sint Eustatius. 

Our mutual colonial history, which you voiced to me personally that you don't know and don't care of, is a very dark one, with your government legalizing crimes and inhumanity, your laws to piracy, smuggling (drugs), slave-trading, making you the worlds history cruelest colonizers. We may have expected you with time to have grown out of this horrific barbaric culture, to civilize, but your recent declarations exposed your truth again, that nothing changed throughout the centuries, and you have put a suit over the plunderer of the defenseless Bonaire peoples. 

Our response is by quoting Ghandi: “ that throughout history the way of truth has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible, but in the end , they always fall”.

We the peoples of Bonaire maintain our hopes high that “we shall overcome” and you shall respect, protect and comply with our inherited and acquired rights. We possess the same rights as you, to be as free and as equal and as human as yourself and all European-Dutch citizens of the Kingdom. We urge the international community to be aware of this illegal colonial status where our peoples find themselves in.

Respectfully yours, James Finies 

President 

Foundation We Want Bonaire Back

BONAIRE WANTS NETHERLANDS TO RESPECT SELF-DETERMINATION

     

                       

Letter to Netherlands Minister of Kingdom Relations

and Vice Minister-President Mrs. Kajsa Ollongren

from

James Finies, president Foundation We Want Bonaire Back

__________________________________________________________________

 Bonaire,  April 9, 2019

Subject: Minister Kasja Ollongren first introduction to the island of Bonaire

Honorable Minister Ollongren,

As you landed in Bonaire and firsthand experienced a modernized version of a Dutch colony where the Bonaire peoples are governed in a status not of their choosing. An island where the Dutch government is blatantly continuing violating the Charter of the United Nations, international law and fundamental human, self-determination and democratic rights of the peoples. An unprecedented showoff of hypocrisy to pretend to the world that the Dutch stand in defense of human rights and democracy where your government does not respect the democratic voice and decision of the peoples that never chose to be annexed nor integrated and embedded under unequal rights as second class citizens in a colonial status and to be ruled by the Hague. A status that was overwhelming rejected with a No-vote of 66% in the last referendum of 2015 and the recent island council election where your government denied the people of  St Eustatius democracy and could not vote, the people of Bonaire protested and boycotted this election as never before and continue showing their unhappiness towards a system of government which is against the wishes of the peoples.

As never before I write this letter with a lot of positivism and hope for our peoples of Bonaire that you as the new minister of Kingdom Relations with your first working visit and introduction to our island will understand our situation and our struggle contrary to all your predecessor ministers of Kingdom relations. All prior ministers and your accompanying state-secretary Mr Knops and us could never reach an understanding or consensus on the  most simple fundamental aspect of humanity that we  'all are born equal in rights and dignity' and we Bonerians have the same right to be as free and as equal and as human as the European Dutch.

I expect that before coming to our island, and as my previous letter to you in March 2018 kindly asked you, to take note of my various previous letters to the Dutch government in which I am informing your Government that your dictatorial un-democratic course of action infringes against your own agreed treaties and the international legislation.

Your visit fuels us with reborn hope to be freed from this illegal colonial status imposed on us on October 10, 2010. The reason we put our hope back in a Dutch minister, in your honorable, is because of the compelling facts that you are completely different then your predecessors and you would be able to understand and feel our pain and help us:

You studied and have a MA in history and have the capability to look into our common colonial history and understand this hidden dark truth where the Dutch being a insignificant fishing village became one of worlds richest nations through piracy, smuggling and slave-trading. Your travel-partner mr Knops publicly proclaimed to me during his first visit to Bonaire that he don't know nothing about our collective colonial past and treaties and human rights and this illegality does not seem to interest him either. 

However recently Mr Knops admitted based on continued criticism of the Advisory Council of International Affairs (AIV) in violation of the Fundamental Human Rights in the Kingdom that your cabinet has decided to change course, and that Human Rights treaties will now apply not only in the European Netherlands , but also in the Caribbean Netherlands. This good news increases our hopes. Our hope is now fully fixed at you as besides your capability to study and understand the history, what is more compelling, is that your father - a Finnish-Swede - was born in a Dutch colony, in Sumatra and lived and understood colonialism and that in the 21^st century, anno 2019, colonialism is a crime against humanity declared by the international community and United Nations. 

As all previous Dutch ministers and statesmen have shown no human-feelings towards us as they see us as as not-equal and not-as-human as themselves and as colonized peoples this could be a  deficiency either by mis-education of human values or could be transferred by Dutch-ancestral-DNA. Your ancestry that your are not Dutch but Finnish-Swedish could save us from the current course of systematic eradication, ethnic cleansing of the Bonerians.

Above arguments that you may possess human compassion towards us contrary to your predecessors, we appeal on your humanity not to be accomplice with this crime against humanity and be at the wrong side of history and according to above recent proclamation that your cabinet will change its course and respect our Human Rights to start immediately by respecting and restoring the first and most fundamental human rights of self-determination and right to self-governance of the Bonaire and Statian peoples.

Respectfully yours,

James Finies, 

president Foundation We Want Bonaire Back

A historical low turnout of voters in Bonaire elections 2019

Press Release

 Nos Ke Boneiru Bek (We want Bonaire back)

 Bonaire- March 25, 2019

NKBB congratulates the peoples of Bonaire for their unprecedented act of courage and resistance of massively protesting and boycotting the March 20, 2019 cover-up elections organized by the Dutch government in a desperate action to legitimize the Dutch colonial status imposed on October 10, 2010.  

As all political analysts are analyzing the results, NKBB determine that the referendum 2015 base of 5040 No-Votes remained steady and grew further. The 2019 elections results shows (that) 5269 No-Voters and 215 blank and invalid votes, and the pro-Bonaire parties (EN-UPP-FSP-URB) with 1284 votes totaling 6768 voters,  remained unhappy and protested against the current colonial status. 

And we still have to add to count to this amount all the citizens that in the election, voted out of tradition, emotion, loyalty, etc to their PDB and UPB leaders and candidates but are against this system, and wants Bonaire back, and voted No in the referendum of 2015.

NKBB called to the people to either don't vote or vote blank as protest, don't fall in the Dutch democratic trap and to protect the results of the massive rejection of the current status in the 2015 referendum. Don't vote to continue to show the dissatisfaction against the illegal annexation and embedding of the territory and the peoples of Bonaire in the Dutch constitution without equal rights and under Dutch colonial rule from the Hague.  

The protest-vote was simultaneously an act of solidarity with the peoples of our sister island Sint Eustatius where the Dutch government through undemocratic abusive actions deposed the legitimate elected government and deprived the citizens of St Eustatius of their democratic human rights by blocking the scheduled free election.

The political party MPB which campaigned extensively and publicly in 2015 referendum for the Yes-vote and lost the referendum with 2649 yes-votes, grew with 927 votes in this election more merely of Dutch-European immigrants, who voted to maintain the current status won the 2019 elections but will remain to be against the people of Bonaire which rejected this structure in the 2015 referendum. 

This result is evident since 2015 the population keeps on growing at rate of  immigration over 400% with mostly immigrating Dutch-Europeans with the right to vote after 90 days residing on Bonaire. The cruel reality is the fact that Bonerians are displaced and facing an inevitable ethnic cleansing process, and are reduced to the minority on our own island.

A  revolution was initiated with NKBB call to boycott and protest against this political system that is illegal and a clear colonial structure got the whole local island leadership which still believes in this system where they have no-power and the Dutch government in the Hague governs and decides, were challenged in their core beliefs, stood up against NKBB.  

The Dutch propaganda machine mobilized intensively to counter the possibility of the peoples protesting and not voting.  All media outlets were flooded, thousands were spent by the Dutch-government to promote go-vote. The “RijksDienst Caribbean Netherlands” (RCN) the Chamber of Commerce, the elite and service groups leadership united , the Dutch press/ media conspired and intimidated the local press to boycott and stop NKBB from exposure in the Dutch and  local press, innocent popular Bonaire icons where miss-used to promote go-vote etc. 

The governor Mr Rijna, not-elected and appointed to represent the King and the Kingdom interests, was used as some kind of main mascot, almost everyday in the media, to call on the people to make use of their sacred-right to go-vote. Hypocrisy at its highest to oblige the people to go-vote and legalize a system that has shattered and violated all their sacred fundamental human , democratic and self-determination rights. 

On election-day as never before in our history, an all day-long all media campaign, also from our sister islands, headed by the governor to call on the people to go vote.  And despite all this propaganda to promote a non-existent fake-democracy, voting in a Dutch ruled colony, the people of Bonaire stood strong and showed that they will fight to the end for their island and defeated all powers of manipulation. All prior elections the turnout was over 80%, now fell to about ca 60% and deducting all the Dutch-Europeans and immigrant loyalists and mercenaries we can safely establish that the turnout is under 50% .

With this result the people of Bonaire has rescued and re-established their dignity. The hope is alive and regained new strength and we are urging the people to come together and support NKBB trajectory to re-list Bonaire back on the NSGT list of the UN to get the international community involved to regain our rights, and to be as free and as equal as all Dutch-Europeans.

DUTCH MEDIA REPORTED TO CONSPIRE TO CENSOR BONAIRE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

Complaint filed with Dutch-appointed Governor of territory

Bonaire,  March 15, 2019

To: Mr Edison Rijna

 Governor of Bonaire

 Plaza Wilhelmina 1

 Bonaire     

Subject: Dutch State and Dutch media gestapo tactics - violation of human rights freedom of free press

Honorable Governor Rijna,

With this letter we denounce conspiracy and extortion by the Dutch State interference to undermine the Bonerian press and media fundamental right to freedom of free press.  

Recently on March 6^th the major leading daily newspaper of Bonaire, the Extra, on page 31, through an editorial article denounced that they were approached by the Dutch media, based on a “general media pact and agreement”, to conspire to boycott and silence Mr. James Finies, president of the civil society organization : foundation Nos Ke Boneiru Bek (We Want Bonaire Back).

Governor Rijna, a non-democratic appointed governor-institution, representing the King and Kingdom, maintaining powers above/and to over-rule the elected government,  main duty is the legal protection of the rule of international law and as such to respect, to protect and to comply with our peoples rights. Above described gestapo tactics by the Dutch State and Dutch media conspiracy and intimidation of the local media could lead to a totalitarian or dictatorship rule if the people are not informed by free press.  Mr Rijna should take note of the fact as the people if they are not informed freely, cannot make up ones mind and cannot have an opinion. They will be deprived not only from its capacity to act but also of  its capacity to think and to judge. With such a people you can then do what you please.             

As Mr Rijna is aware that our foundation NKBB has position itself towards the upcoming elections advising the people of Bonaire to protest and boycott this election to vote blank or no vote. Contrary to Mr Rijna press-conference urging the people to use their sacred rights to go vote in a illegal system, rejected by the people and where the power is held by the Dutch parliament in the Hague. A blank vote or no vote is internationally  recognized as same, exercise of this sacred right.  This “protest-vote”  is to demonstrate the peoples dissatisfaction of political alienation by the imposed current political system of public entity and as rejection of the Dutch democratic trap to legitimize the 1^st chamber, the Dutch senate, with the ultimate aim to legalize the current illegal status and all imposed laws against the Bonerian peoples.  Our “protest-vote” is also in solidarity with the peoples of our sister island Sint Eustatius. Statians cannot vote and are deprived from their “sacred-democratic-rights” because the Dutch government deposed the legitimate elected government in February 2018 through undemocratic abusive legislative, military and police actions and stopped the scheduled free election. 

Our main request to Mr Rijna as governor  is to condemn above revelation of the Dutch state and media conspiracy and blackmail against the Bonaire free press as a serious threat and commence a investigation. Secondly please rectify your last public statement of misinformation and to tell the people of Bonaire the truth that a blank vote or no vote is also a legal exercise of their “sacred”democratic right as a “protest vote” .  And finally as Mr Rijna inspiring initiative of promoting, voting, by writing 685 personal letters towards the first-time-youth-voters on Bonaire to go vote. It would be morally correct, an heroic act of compassion and brotherhood towards our alienated brothers of Sint Eustatius that are deprived of democracy and cannot vote to do same and write 150 letters to all Dutch 2^nd chamber parliament members and another 75 letters more to all members of the Dutch Senate requesting them to restore democracy back on Sint Eustatius so the peoples of Sint Eustatius can also make use of their sacred democratic right as civilized peoples in the Kingdom.

Sincerely yours,

James Finies, 

President 

Foundation We Want Bonaire Back

CARIBBEAN WARNED OF DUTCH RE-COLONIZATION AND MILITARIZATION AS THE CRISIS IN VENEZUELA INTENSIFIES

"These major developments are contributing to re-establishing colonial regiments back in the Caribbean and these re-colonized territories are misused as this Venezuela case and crisis is unfolding to destabilize the region and vision towards a united and integrated Caribbean."

- James Finies, Foundation We Want Bonaire Back.

_______________________________________________________________________________

OPEN LETTER TO SECRETARY-GENERAL OF CARICOM

James Finies, President Foundation We Want Bonaire Back

H.E. Ambassador Mr. Irwin La Rocque

Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Community

Caricom Secretariaat

Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown

Guyana

Bonaire, February 6th, 2019

Subject:  Urgent appeal from the people of the Dutch Caribbean islands to the CARICOM and Latin America.

Excellency,

I would like to congratulate your excellency and the secretariat on attending the upcoming meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay. In reference to the escalating Venezuela crisis and our previous letters of June 11, 2018 urging the CARICOM and the Caribbean region to intervene and object to prevent an armed conflict in the Caribbean and recent letter dated January 29^th, 2019, as the crisis and conflict is deepening we herewith would like to request your urgent attention and call to action on behalf of the peoples of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Curacao and Aruba.

By now it is very clear and obvious that the provocation and escalation is initiated and led by mayor world powers headed by the UK, France and the Netherlands and backed by the US as we witnessing a continuing military build up in Curacao, the ABC islands. We the people of the ABC islands highly object to be dragged into this conflict.

As the discussion is fundamentally based on the issue of democracy and human rights, the so-called ultimatum headed by these colonizing powers is directed towards a new election to re-elect a democratic president and government for the peoples of Venezuela we would like to illustrate herewith the hypocritical position taken by the government of the Netherlands (member of the UN Security Council) a front-runner in this provocation and escalation of this crisis.

The autonomous democratic Caribbean islands forming the country Netherlands Antilles in the Dutch Kingdom was dissolved and disintegrated on October 10, 2010. The Netherlands which maintained ultimate unilateral legislative and judiciary powers in the Dutch Kingdom abused these powers to continue with colonialism in the Caribbean region.

The more dense populated islands Aruba, Sint Maarten and Curacao, something what is not so obvious to outside world, they were all stripped from their autonomy and are back under Dutch control and rule. The Dutch which controls and decides on the budget (and judiciary) of the Curacao government, headed by the Secretary of State Mr. Knops, a ex-military and ex-lieutenant active in the Iraq war,  forced the prime minister of Curacao, Mr Rhuggenaath which is subordinated to the Hague powers to escalation of the crisis. 

Curacao Prime Minister Rhugenaath publicly sided with the ultimatum for a new election causing a direct interference in the sovereign neighboring country Venezuela internal affairs. Curacao which as Aruba, the closest Caribbean islands to Venezuela, are equipped with a full US military forward base and with international harbors and airports of military standards  are at the moment converted in the most strategic war-campaign-bases. War planes are already landing and troops are deployed from the Netherlands towards the ABC islands under guidance of Dutch brigade-general Peter Jan de Vin which was deployed to Curacao to overseer this military operation along with State Secretary Mr Knops.

Dutch troops patrol in Kralendijk, capital of Bonaire (December 2018) 

The less populated in-defensive islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire were annexed, integrated and incorporated in the Dutch constitution without equal rights, with all administrating, democratic, judiciary, powers unilaterally re-positioned  under the Dutch parliament in the Hague and at the moment are being governed in a colonial status against the free will of the peoples and not of their choosing.

As the Dutch government is preaching or claiming to support democracy and human rights in Venezuela meanwhile Bonaire is in a heavy humanitarian crisis by neutralizing and erasing their democratic and human rights. Imposing unilaterally laws for a systematic institutionalized ethnic cleansing of the local population, explosion of the crude death rate over 60% and massive immigration over 400%  increase of non-Bonerians. At the moment in a short period the local Bonerians became a minority on their own island and there is no stopping to this displacement and extermination process.

On Sint Eustatius the democratically elected local government were un-democratically removed from power, with claims of corruption without proof or formal investigation by the Dutch government with abusive use of legislative , military and police powers. The Dutch appointed a non-democratic ruler to govern and erased the peoples democratic rights by stopping elections on the island till further notice. Note that the government of Sint Eustatius is the only Dutch Caribbean island which stood up against the Dutch government because illegal annexation on October 10, 2010 and presently are in court-proceedings against the Dutch  government.

These major developments are contributing to re-establishing colonial regiments back in the Caribbean and these re-colonized territories are misused as this Venezuela case and crisis is unfolding to destabilize the region and vision towards a united and integrated Caribbean.

Our urgent call to attention and action is towards the Caricom countries and our Caribbean and Latin American brothers and sisters for supporting our islands of Bonaire and Sint Eustatius in our quest to get re-inscribed back on the list of the Non-Self-Governing-Territories of the United Nations and fall back under the scrutiny of the international community on our way back to regain and restore our fundamental human and democratic rights.

Yours sincerely,

James Finies, President 

Foundation We Want Bonaire Back 

SEE ALSO:

CARIBBEAN EXPERTS CALLS FOR REGIONAL ACTION IN SUPPORT OF SELF-DETERMINATION OF DUTCH-ADMINISTERED CARIBBEAN

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.