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.

Pending U.S. Measure Labels 19 Caribbean Territories as Tax Havens

List includes dependencies of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands; as well as the autonomous countries of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Maarten.

SAN JUAN – The Caribbean Association of Banks is expressing concern over the inclusion of 19 Caribbean islands and territories on a list of tax havens in the District of Columbia Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Act of 2015, which is awaiting approval by the U.S. Congress.

The D.C. legislation seeks to expand the definition of tax haven to the detriment of Caribbean territories that are making good faith efforts against tax evasion, the CAB said Wednesday in a statement.

“While the CAB fully supports the District of Columbia’s efforts to combat tax evasion, the CAB feels that the designation of Caribbean territories as ‘tax havens’ is prejudicial,” the Castries-based organization said.

Because the District of Columbia is federal territory, D.C. legislation must be approved by Congress.

In this case, the review process is expected to continue for several more weeks and CAB has sent letters to members of Congress urging them to remove several territories from the tax haven blacklist.

CAB said that 10 of the 15 Caribbean Community member-states on the list “are fully or largely compliant and have committed to Automatic Exchange of Information.”

Those 10 CARICOM members are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Non-CARICOM members included on the D.C. tax haven list are: Anguilla 1/, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Maarten, British Virgin Islands 1/, Cayman Islands 1/, Turks and Caicos Islands 1; and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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1/ These British dependencies are associate members of CARICOM (OTR).

Bonaire activist informs Netherlands of violation of the constitutional wishes of the people of Bonaire and St Eustatius

(Translation  by OTR

original Dutch below)

To:

The Lieutenant Governor of Public Body Bonaire Executive Council of Public Body Bonaire Island Council of the Public Body Bonaire Mr Ronald Plasterk, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

Members of the Standing Committee members of Standing Committee of the 1st and 2nd Chambers

Kralendijk, October 12, 2015

Dear Directors:

In connection with the evaluation of the new state structure, five years later, on October 10, 2015 and the official report released today October 12, 2015, we invite your attention to the following:

October 10, 2010 the country Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the autonomous countries Curacao and St. Maarten emerged joining Aruba which already had autonomous status. As a result, the islands of Saba, St Eustatius and Bonaire, (known as the BES islands) were (partially) integrated into the Dutch state under Article 134.

In Bonaire and St Eustatius, various groups have continuously protested against this illegal annexation of both islands. St Eustatius is going so far have brought this matter recently to the Decolonization Committee of the United Nations and the reasons:

Netherlands has not complied with resolutions 1514, 1541 and 2625, and the Charter of the United Nations, since 1954 and the dismantling of the former Netherlands Antilles with the consequences that these islands were wrongly removed from the U.N. list of Non-Self-Governing- Territories. 

The Netherlands has not adhered to the constitutional wishes of the people of Bonaire and St Eustatius, and have thus made them miserable.

The Netherlands continues its position as a (former ?) colonizing power perpetuating abuse, violating fundamental human rights and interfering unduly with the local political process.

This brings the legality of the (five-year) assessment into question, and we do not accept the official document which placed the islands on the illegal trajectory of the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles, and the illegal incorporation of the BES islands into the Dutch state. This process has no legal basis for the future development of the peoples of the BES islands. This structure of (partial) integration  into the Dutch state under article 134 was never a free and conscious choice of our people.

Hoping to have sufficiently informed, I remain,

With kind regards,
James Finies 

Kaya Mamore 3, Bonaire

(Original Dutch) 

Aan:

De Gezaghebber van Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire Bestuurscollege van Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire Eilandsraad van het Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire Mr Ronald Plasterk, Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties
Leden van de Vaste Commissie Leden van Vaste Commissie van de 1ste en 2de Kamer

Kralendijk, 12 oktober 2015

Geachte Bestuurders,

In verband met de evaluatie van de nieuwe staatstructuur, vijf jaar later op 10 oktober 2015 en welk raport vandaag 12 oktober 2015 oficieel is overhandigd aan de opdrachtgevers verzoeken wij Uw aandacht voor het volgende:

10 oktober 2010 is het land Nederlandse Antillen opgeheven en de outonome landen Aruba, Curacao en St Maarten als gevolg en de eilanden Saba, St Eustatius en Bonaire, bekend als de BES eilanden geintegreerd in het Nederlands staatsbestel onder artikel 134. 

Op Bonaire en St Eustatius hebben diverse groeperingen continu geprotesteerd tegen deze illegale inlijving van beide eilanden. St Eustatius is zelfs zover dat ze kort geleden deze zaak hebben voorgelegd aan de Dekolonisatie Comite bij de Verenigde Naties en met redenen:

Nederland heeft niet voldaan aan de resoluties 1514, 1541 en 2625 van het Handvest van de Verenigde Naties sinds 1954 en bij de ontmanteling van de voormalige Nederlandse Antillen met de gevolgen dat deze eilanden ten onrechte verwijderd zijn van de lijst van Non-Self-Governing-Territories.

Nederland heeft geen juiste inhoud gegeven aan de constitutionele wensen van de bevolkingen van Bonaire en St Eustatius en hebben hun hierdoor diep ongelukkig gemaakt.

Nederland blijft haar positie als (voormalige) koloniserende macht misbruiken en schend fundamentele mensenrechten en bemoei op onrechtmatige wijze met de lokale politieke process.

Hierdoor is de legaliteit van de evaluatie te betwisten en accepteren wij niet als officiele document voor de ilegale traject van het ontmanteling van de Nederlandse Antillen en het ilegaal inlijven van de BES eilanden in het Nederlands staatsbestel en zal geen basis kunnen zijn voor het verder voortslepen op in of andere wijze van de ongelukkige volkeren van de BES eilanden en in ons geval specifiek Bonaire in deze struktuur, geintegreerd in het Nederlands staatsbestel onder artikel 134 dat nooit een vrij en bewuste keuze was van ons volk.

Hopende u voldoende te hebben geinformeerd, verblijf ik,

Met vriendelijk groet,

James Finies, Kaya Mamore 3, Bonaire

French Colonialism in Polynesia under United Nations scrutiny

 RNZI/PACNEWS

Tahiti at UN decolonisation talks

A French Polynesian delegate to the UN decolonisation discussions in New York says he hopes France won't boycott the upcoming meeting as it has done in the past.

Richard Tuheiava of the opposition pro-independence Tavini Huiraatira Party has noted that although France is a member of the UN Security Council, it routinely defies the UN decolonisation process by staying away from his delegation's presentation.

Two years ago, the UN General Assembly returned French Polynesia to the list of territories to be decolonised, which still includes 17 territories - 70 years after the UN set it up.

Tuheiava has told the local newspaper that he also wants to raise the issue of strategic resources - a reference to rare earths in the territory's seabed.

The meeting may also raise the aftermath of the nuclear weapons testing conducted by France.

The French Polynesian government is opposed to the decolonisation process.

Tahiti Political Leader tells United Nations of French exploitation of territory's natural resources and diversion of its revenue

Statement to the United Nations Special Political 

and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) 

Hon. Richard, Ariihau TUHEIAVA 

Elected Member of the House of Assembly of French Polynesia

9th October 2015 

Hon. Richard, Ariihau Tuheiava addresses United Nations (U.N.) Special Political and decolonisation Committee (Fourth Committee) at U.N. Headquarters in New York. The U.N. Committee was considering the 2015 recommendations for the decolonisation of French Polynesia/Ma'ohi Nui  - photo: OTR

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, 

On behalf of the Group “Union Pour La Démocratie” (U.P.L.D.), I wish to express our appreciation to the Special Committee of Decolonization for the adoption last June of recommendations on French Polynesia presently before this Committee. 

Mr. Chairman, 

We maintain our consistent commitment to the role of the U.N. in the decolonization of our territory pursuant to international law. We once again urge the administering power, France, to comply with its obligations under Article 73(e) of the U.N. Charter to transmit information, and under Article 73 (b) to develop genuine self-government with political equality. In this regards, it is regrettable that the administering power - in particular, a member of the Council of Security - continues to ignore its U.N. Charter obligations.  

We solemnly recall the provision 3 of the UN resolution 1514 (XV): « (…) Inadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence.

Mr. Chairman, 

From our perspective, decolonization is fundamentally about justice. But justice delayed, is justice denied. The existent political status quo, which finds the administering power exercising control of the main governance functions, denies us the fundamental right to an equitable and genuine self-determination process, and is reflective of a false autonomy. 

Mr. Chairman, 

The General Assembly has adopted a host of resolutions confirming that the ownership, control and permanent sovereignty of natural resources, including marine resources, lies with the peoples of the non self-governing territories as part of their heritage. U.N. resolutions have also affirmed that the exploitation and plundering of these resources by foreign economic interests is in violation of relevant U.N. resolutions, and is a threat to the territories' integrity and prosperity.  

Mr. Chairman, Our administering power continues to unilaterally usurp the marine resources of the people of French Polynesia contained in the 5 millions square kilometers of Economic Exclusive Zone of deep ocean. These resources include the vast array of “strategic metals” such as rare earths, manganese, cobalt, and more. This deprives the people of French Polynesia of the means to build a sustainable economic and social future, and to move away from the profound economic dependency created by the false economy based on the legacy of the French nuclear testings. 

Further economic exploitation occurs by other means. Since 2009, revenue in the form of taxes paid by more than 10 airlines to land at our own Tahiti-Faa’a International Airport goes to the French treasury. Even taxes from our own airline Air Tahiti Nui are paid to France, along with fees paid to cross through our own airspace. For decades, the fees associated with at least 12 geostationary satellites that cross our spatial area, the telecommunications system - including fiber-optic cables crossing our seabed -, and many more revenue-generating competencies have been controlled by our administering power.  

Mr. Chairman, Natural resources and revenues from the territories appear to be the essence of contemporary colonialism. But the inalienable right to self-determination of the People of French Polynesia shall not be impeded by the orchestrated colonial pretext of “inadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness”. We stand ready to work with the U.N. to implement the decolonization mandate for our people, as a matter of urgency. Justice delayed, is justice denied.

 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Frank Martinus, Curacao Linguist, Activist, political thinker joins the ancestors

Writer Frank Martinus Arion Passed Away

WILLEMSTAD – The popular writer Arion (78) has passed away. A close friend just announced that to media in Curaçao.

Arion wrote in Dutch and Papiamento. His most famous book is “Dubbelspel”, the novel with which he made his debut in 1973.

The book was also made into a film and was the leading book in the 2006 campaign “The Netherlands Reads”. Dubbelspel was handed out for free through the libraries in the Dutch Kingdom.

Frank Martinus Arion, pseudonym of Frank Efraim Martinus, was born on December 17, 1936 in Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. He is a poet and a novelist, and a language advocate.

He moved to the Netherlands in 1955 and in 1981 returned to Curaçao, where he became head of the Curaçao Language Institute that promotes the use of the Papiamento language. His works include The Last Freedom (De laatste vrijheid)and Double Play (Dubbelspel). The latter novel is considered to be his magnum opus and was published in 1973.

Columbus - "He fool everybody, with a whole lot of fantasy"

Columbus Day 

12th October

(How we can celebrate dat ?)

notmytribe.com

"Columbus Lie"

"...The man with the Santa Maria

Was as great as a man can be

He sailed down to Venezuela

For another discovery

He said he discovered new lands

And he thought I wouldn’t know

He discovered a lot of Indians

Who discovered the lands before..." - Mighty Shadow

NKB