GUAM SEEKS U.N. MISSION AMID MILITARIZATION OF THE TERRITORY

MARIANAS VARIETY

Guam’s Calvo approves letter requesting UN visiting mission

 By Manny Cruz - For Variety

Guam Governor Eddie Calvo

HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Gov. Eddie Calvo approved a letter addressed to the United Nations requesting a visiting mission by the United Nations, ahead of a U.N. Fourth Committee meeting in October.

“Despite Guam’s being one of the 17 non-self-governing territories recognized by the United Nations, our administering power, the United States, has yet to facilitate a visiting mission to our island,” the letter reads. Calvo agreed to sign the document at a Commission on Decolonization meeting ...

Commission members also requested the inclusion of an appendix detailing recent developments in the struggle for decolonization, such as a ruling by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood of the District Court of Guam, in favor of Arnold “Dave” Davis, which deemed the island’s prospective plebiscite unconstitutional; and the subsequent appeal by Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson.

“While the court ruling currently hinders the ability of the native inhabitants of Guam to conduct a plebiscite on the island’s political status, we feel a visiting mission will draw attention to Guam’s current obstacles in achieving self-government,” the letter further states.

The Fourth Committee of the U.N. meets each October to take up the issue of the non-self-governing territories. Commission members encouraged Calvo to attend this year’s meeting to emphasize the island’s request for such a mission.

“This year is important because there is certain language in the Guam resolution which is far more critical about the U.S. militarizing Guam and interfering with the process of decolonization through the Davis case,” said commission member Michael Bevacqua. “It is important that we use that language to build a strong case for more international engagement about Guam, and in particular convince the U.N. to send a visiting mission to Guam to help expose our plight to the rest of the world.”

Calvo likewise expressed a desire to expedite the sending of the letter, so that international processes of approval can begin “as soon as possible,” he said.

“He’s planting an important seed,” said commission member Victoria Leon Guerrero.

The Commission on Decolonization also discussed the possibility of the creation of a curriculum writer position to spearhead efforts to bring political status education to Guam Department of Education classrooms as Guam edges closer to a long-delayed vote on self-determination.

“A DOE curriculum wouldn’t be too difficult to create, since all of the information is already there,” commission member Lisa Natividad said. “But we need someone who can compile and adapt the data to suit the needs of different grade levels.”

GUAM-SOLIDARITY WILL HELP WITH SELF-DETERMINATION QUEST

Michael Lujan Bevacqua 

for 

PACIFIC DAILY NEWS

The U.S. flag can be found all over Guam. It can be easy to forget that just because this well-known configuration of red, white and blue colors flies over Guam, it doesn’t mean Guam is a part of the United States.

We know this because there is over a century of court cases that reinforce this. We know this because even in the recent ruling of the Davis case, Justice Francis Tydingco-Gatewood argued while some of the Constitution should apply to Guam, other parts shouldn’t.

We also know this because as more than one non-voting delegate has reminded me, their role in Congress is often to remind Congress about the territories and its control over them.

We know our relationship to the U.S. and the rest of the world is defined by a broad, gray sea of inclusions and exclusions. Sometimes Guam is allowed to participate in international or regional forums, sometimes it isn’t. The same ambiguity persists at the national level.

Because of this lack of a formal or stable place within the international or national systems of governance and recognition, the concept of solidarity is of critical importance. Without a formal place, you are invisible, without direct power over the structure around you. There are ways you can fight for power, but solidarity is an important part of changing your invisibility or your lack of visibility, and therefore lack of relevance of standing, into something different, something more strategic — something from which a campaign to change political structure can be launched.

As the movement for decolonization and independence grows, it’s important we find ways to connect it to other similar movements that can offer lessons or inspirations. This was the case in the past, when members of Nasion Chamoru or Organization of People for Indigenous Rights achieved a greater sense of their place in the world through interacting with people who were members of Black, Brown and Red Power movements in the U.S. It was also true in general from Chamorros who traveled to the U.S. in postwar years and felt affinity with African-Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans.

Ignored by world

My last three appearances at the United Nations to testify before the Committee of 24 have reminded me of the importance of solidarity. Those of us who remain colonies, non-self-governing territories, the pieces that still don’t quite fit in the global order, we are often forgotten or ignored by much of the world, including our own colonizers.

Solidarity can be difficult, as our experiences are so diverse and the geographic distance mirrors historical, cultural and political differences between the 17 colonies spread across the Pacific, Caribbean and Atlantic. But the colonies that come to the United Nations and build alliances with nations willing to support their cause can make progress. Those who don’t remain stuck.

This week, Gov. Eddie Calvo and the Commission on Decolonization approved a formal letter to the U.N., requesting it send a visiting mission to Guam to ascertain the status of our quest for decolonization and make clear what impediments the administering power is placing before us.

I offer my thanks to the commission and Calvo for taking this important step in helping build greater international solidarity to support our efforts.

SAINT CROIX CONTRIBUTION TO HARLEM RENAISSANCE

Hubert Harrison: Black Griot 

of the Harlem Renaissance

By Brian Kwoba 

The historical restoration of Hubert Henry Harrison (1883–1927) calls for a rethinking of the Black radical tradition in the early twentieth century. As a journalist, educator, and community organizer, this “Black Socrates” influenced a whole generation of Afro-diasporic intellectual and political innovation. Thanks to the decades-long and groundbreaking efforts of independent scholar Jeffrey B. Perry, a growing interest has emerged regarding the life and legacy of Harrison, who A. Phillip Randolph called the “father of Harlem radicalism.” Because he remains such an under-appreciated figure, his recovery requires us to expand and reframe multiple histories—including that of the socialist left, the New Negro movement, Garveyism, and the “Harlem Renaissance”—that have marginalized him. Harrison had a critical impact on all of these social movements, and exploring his angle of vision illuminates previously invisible connections between them.

Hubert Henry Harrison was born in 1883 to plantation workers of African descent on the Caribbean island of St. Croix. He obtained a grade school education as well as some religious training in the Anglican Church. Orphaned as a teenager, Harrison managed to relocate to New York City in 1900 thanks to his sister Mary.

At the turn of the century, lynching, segregation, and disfranchisement reigned supreme in the south, while anti-Black pogroms and other mechanisms of white supremacist racial cleansinggave rise to an epidemic of all-white “sundown towns” beyond the traditional south. Though Black life in the Caribbean emerged from a similar history of enslavement, Hubert Harrison’s native St. Croix (like most Caribbean islands) did not have the historical pattern of lynching and Ku Klux Klan-style terrorism that characterized the United States.1 For that reason, the encounter of Caribbean migrants like Harrison with the new regime of violent white supremacy in the United States became a major factor in their political activation.2

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

New Bermuda Home Affairs Minister to conduct national consultation on immigration reform

TODAY IN BERMUDA

HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER ASKS IMMIGRATION REFORM GROUP TO FOCUS ON 'PRINCIPLES FIRST' APPROACH

Press Release

The Minister of Home Affairs the Hon. Walton Brown has issued a new mandate to members of the Immigration Reform Working Group - a mandate which focuses on a 'principles first' approach.

"All laws should be developed or based on sound principles," explained Minister Brown. "That is why the creation of such principles must come before any amendments to legislation are made or even put forward. The principles I want to see embraced when it comes to immigration reform are ones rooted in a sense of justice for all parties within the context of 'Bermudians coming first' while also maintaining a framework that will foster continued growth in the business sector, using a friendly and accommodating approach."

The group, which was formed in April 2016, was previously tasked with proposing amendments to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956.

In a letter to the group's members this week, the Minister stated the terms of reference for the group as the following:

Continue the work on the survey. It is important to obtain sound statistics in order to make effective decisions. (The survey is designed to collect data on mixed status families).

Recommend the principles by which new policies will effect legislation in relation to: mixed status families; additional categories of Permanent Resident certificates, if applicable; and additional categories of Bermudian status, if applicable.

Produce a final report by no later than October 31, 2017.

"I would like to publicly thank the Immigration Reform Working Group for their participation over the past year," said the Minister. "The group has worked really well together. Their input has been and continues to be invaluable. The work to this point will certainly go a long way in accomplishing the reform of the Immigration Act."

It should be noted that the Minister will no longer be a member of the group, as he had been previously. All other members will remain the same.

Once the report is completed by the deadline of October 31, the Ministry will then launch a rigorous, island-wide consultation process with the public, the Opposition Party and various stakeholder groups, which will last for three months, concluding in the New Year.

"We want to give the public a fair amount of time to consider the principles put forward by the working group as well as other issues related to immigration reform inclusive of the work permit policy," said the Minister. "The question of immigration reform has been a challenging one, with many distinct groups effected by it. Our intention is to create a truly inclusive and collaborative approach to get the best fit for Bermuda. I look forward to an engaged public on this matter."

Only after this extensive three month consultation period will changes to both Legislation and Policy be proposed.

Members of the public may recall that the completion of comprehensive bipartisan immigration reform is one of the items of priority highlighted on the Government's agenda.

 ***************************************

Brown to consult on immigration reform

Owain Johnston-Barnes

• 

  Bermuda Home Affairs Minister Walton Brown

New home affairs minister Walton Brown has pledged a “truly inclusive” consultation period before introducing immigration reform.

Mr Brown said the Immigration Reform Working Group is tasked with producing a report based on the principles that Bermudians come first, while the business sector is treated in a friendly manner that encourages growth. The group will report by the end of October.

That will be followed by a three-month consultation period involving the public, the Opposition and stakeholder groups, before policy and legislation changes are finally proposed.

Brown said in a statement: “We want to give the public a fair amount of time to consider the principles put forward by the working group as well as other issues related to immigration reform inclusive of the work-permit policy.

“The question of immigration reform has been a challenging one, with many distinct groups affected by it. Our intention is to create a truly inclusive and collaborative approach to get the best fit for Bermuda. I look forward to an engaged public on this matter.”

In the statement, Mr Brown announced that he is no longer a member of the working group and has called on the remaining members to take a “principles first” approach.

“All laws should be developed or based on sound principles,” he said. “That is why the creation of such principles must come before any amendments to legislation are made or even put forward.

“The principles I want to see embraced when it comes to immigration reform are ones rooted in a sense of justice for all parties within the context of ‘Bermudians coming first’ while also maintaining a framework that will foster continued growth in the business sector, using a friendly and accommodating approach.”

The group, formed in April last year following public anger over the One Bermuda Alliance government’s pathways to status proposal, had been tasked with proposing amendments to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956.

In a letter to the group’s members this week, Mr Brown stated the terms of reference for the group would be to continue work on their survey to obtain “sound statistics” on mixed-status families.

The members are also tasked with “recommending the principles” of new policies in relation to mixed status families along with, if applicable, additional categories of Permanent Resident certificates or Bermudian status.

“I would like to publicly thank the Immigration Reform Working Group for their participation over the past year,” Mr Brown added. “The group has worked really well together. Their input has been and continues to be invaluable.

“The work to this point will certainly go a long way in accomplishing the reform of the Immigration Act.”

• This article was amended to reflect that Mr Brown advised the Immigration Reform Working Group to obtain sound statistics on mixed-status families, not mixed-race families as previously incorrectly reported.

*****************

PROVIDENCIA & SANTA CATALINA, COMMEMORATE EMANCIPATION

The Western Caribbean islands of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina are presently under Colombia jurisdiction

Reseña del libro "Diasporic Blackness: The Life and Times of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg"

Efraín Barradas

Como con tantos otros casos relacionados a la historia de los puertorriqueños en los Estados Unidos, fue un pasaje en las Memorias de Bernardo Vega que me hizo interesarme por la vida y la obra de Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874-1938). Ya sabía algo de su importantísima labor como bibliófilo y participante con José Martí en los esfuerzos por la liberación de Cuba y Puerto Rico. 

Pero fueron los elogiosos y atinados pasajes de Vega los que en verdad me encaminaron a investigar más sobre este fascinante personaje. Vega ofrece en unas pocas páginas – son meramente dos pero llenas de datos y atinadas interpretaciones—una excelente síntesis de la vida de Schomburg a quien, contrario a otros boricuas del momento, Vega no desprecia por haber dedicado la segunda parte de su vida a explorar la cultura de la diáspora africana y, al hacerlo, quedar identificado como afro-estadounidense. Es que Schomburg pasó de ser Arturo Alfonso, un tabaquero puertorriqueño y negro que emigró a New York a finales del siglo XIX, a ser Arthur A., uno de los pilares intelectuales del llamado Harlem Renaissance. Para Vega este significativo cambio de nombre y de su vida como totalidad es un “¡magnífico ejemplo de identidad de pueblos oprimidos!” (244)

Desde entonces trato de leer todo lo que sobre Schomburg se publica. Por ello, leí con gran interés y atención el nuevo estudio de Vanessa K. Valdés, Diasporic blackness: The Life and Times of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, libro donde se nos ofrece una especie de autobiografía intelectual del gran bibliófilo. El libro es una contribución de importancia al campo, pero todavía tenemos que depender del trabajo de Elinor Des Verney Sinnette, Arthur Alfonso Schumburg: Black bibliophile and collector(1989), para tener una visión amplia de su vida y de los dos volúmenes compilados por Flor Piñero de Rivera, Arthur Alfonso Schumburg: A Puerto Rican quest for his black heritage / Arturo Schumburg: Un puertorriqueño descubre el legado histórico del negro (1989), para familiarizarnos con sus escritos. Por su parte, Valdés intenta contextualizar la vida y la obra de Schomburg y, por ello, estudia sus publicaciones, sus lecturas formativas, sus imágenes fotográficas y, sobre todo, su labor como creador de archivos sobre la negritud.

Leer más aquí

New Tahiti Assembly member not surprised by compo stalling

 RNZ

• Share via email
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Last week six of nine members of the French committee assessing compensation claims quit, rendering the body inoperational as it was about to reconsider the hundreds of cases which had been thrown out.

The possible resignation of experts was foreshdowed earlier this year after the loosening of the compensation law, as some warned that the experts would no longer be needed because everybody in the wider testing zone was now entitled to claim compensation for their illness.

French National Assembly member, Moetai Brotherson Photo: AFP

A spokesman for the French Polynesian government expressed surprise at the announcement, describing it as brutal.

However, a new local member of the French National Assembly Moetai Brotherson told Radio1 in Tahiti he was not surprised at the decision.

The head of the Moruroa e tatou test veterans organisation Roland Oldham said he would seek talks with the local government.

He pointed to the repeated delays in winning compensation.

France ended its weapons testing in the Pacific in 1996 but refused to recognise any link to radiation-induced illnesses until a law was passed in 2010.

FRANCE CONTINUES TO DEFY U.N. DECOLONIZATION DECISIONS

 Slow Tahiti decolonisation process regretted

Dateline Pacific  

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French Polynesia's pro-independence party regrets that France keeps shunning the UN decolonisation process.

Four years after the UN relisted the territory, its C24 committee meetings take place without input by Paris.

Richard Tuheiava of the Tavini Huiraatira Party told Walter Zweifel that although things move slowly, advances are being made.

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Richard Tuheiava Photo: AFP

TRANSCRIPT

RICHARD TUHEIAVA: There are two new provisions in the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations that have been successfully inserted under our initiative, the Tavini Huiraatira. One of the provisions is dealing with the report of the secretary-general of the United Nations on period of nuclear testing in French Polynesia, especially the economical, the environmental and the health consequences of these testings. The second provision was pretty much of importance to us too and it is the assertion of the General Assembly that the Maohi people, the Polynesian people here in French Polynesia were fully and permanently sovereign on the natural resources, including the mineral resources of our ocean, the economic exclusive zone of French Polynesia. On the other hand the work of the administrating power, France , the state of France, at the UN level is really hard and there is still no place for cooperation or dialogue within the work and the debates of the C24 at the moment because France is not showing up. And every time the case of French Polynesia/Maohi Nui is considered at the UN level, the ambassador of France is standing up and moving from the room until the item, the agenda item, is closed.

WALTER ZWEIFEL: What does that mean? That France can stay away forever?

RT: Well it is still the same of what happened once upon a time for New Caledonia/Kanaky. The first years after Kanaky was relisted on the UN list, France did the same and after five or six years the dialogue took place because France came back around the table for the discussion. From our understanding, what we understand is that France is still not acknowledging the fact that we have been enlisted on the C24 list. That is a matter of urgency for us because as long as France is not going to be able to discuss and come for the dialogue that we are waiting for it's not going to be possible to implement decisions concretely on the field if the administering power is not playing the game.

WZ: At the last meeting in the Carribbean there was a delegate from the French Polynesian government suggesting French Polynesia be taken off that list. How successful could that be, that bid to take the territory off altogether?

RT: It's not a new position that has been taken by the local elected government of French Polynesia. I would just mention that when French Polynesia/Maohi Nui was relisted it was not because the minority or majority of the population of our territory was voting for. The General Assembly of the United Nations back in 2013 took a decision, without a vote, to reenlist Maohi Nui on the list because the international community was assured and aware that French Polynesia was not meeting the criteria of a self-governing territory.

BONAIRE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER CALLS ON U.N. INTERVENTION

To the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, R.H.A. Plasterk,

President of the 1st Chamber, Mrs. Broekrs- Knol and members

President of the Second Chamber Mrs. Khadija Arib and members

Turfmarkt 147

2500 EA Den Haag

Netherlands.

Bonaire, July 20, 2017

Subject: your letter reference: 

2017-0000318708 Appeal Sint Eustatius on the United Nations Charter

Dear Minister Plasterk, Mrs. Broekrs-Knol, Mrs Khadija Arib and members of the 1^st and 2^nd chamber,

We request your attention to the following regarding your aforementioned letter to Sint Eustatius and our previous letters directed to your Minister, 1^st Chamber and 2^nd Chamber regarding violation of the peoples of Sint Eustatius and Bonaire Self-Determination and Human Rights:

First of all we would like to make clear to Mr Plasterk and his administration and colleagues who are cooperating with Mr Plasterk inhumane views and policies that above-mentioned rights are inalienable, indivisible and pertains exclusively to the people of Sint Eustatius and Bonaire and not to the consent or discussion of the colonizer and the administering power.

Mr Plasterk answers that he does not respect the United Nations Charter as accorded and co-signed by the Netherlands in 1945 and will resort to his own  interpretation hereof and further that his non-respect and own interpretation should not be a surprise.  We feel as it may seems hypocritical that Mr Plasterk does not understand the main objective the United Nations was founded after the WWII , was because of the annexation and occupation of Holland by Hitler, Germany. At 10-10-10, Holland has done the same to annex and occupy the innocent, humble peoples of Sint Eusatius and Bonaire showing no remorse and respect to humanity. These inhuman actions are now putting light back on the hidden dark Dutch colonial history, where we were ahead and making progress in the healing and reconciliation process and now Mr Plasterk and colleagues are reincarnating this taboo, where the Dutch were the world cruelest colonizers. We invite Mr Plasterk and colleagues to view a short summary of “what every Dutch should know” and most important for Mr Plasterk that has to have a exemplary and honorable position as Minister representing the Dutch peoples. 

As a start please view this short video and then please read the book of Vanvught : “Roofstaat”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?=olncX67VKtk

We are only hoping after Mr Plasterk and his colleagues understanding of our common history and past will realize that they have been miseducated as human beings and the people of Sint Eustatius and Bonaire also are equally human beings same as them, and to our salvation and to avoid another humanitarian crisis, Mr Plasterk and colleagues will interpret the Charter of the United Nations in the correct human context and not continue in the same inhuman path as their forefathers.

We totally disagree with Mr Plasterk which states that now Sint Eustatius (same as Bonaire) has the status as public body within the Netherlands and that in discussions with the United Nations it has been confirmed that relations within the Kingdom are an internal affair and these discussions can be done without the intervention of the United Nations. At this point Mr Plasterk is confirming all above that the Dutch government does not respect United Nations Charter and does not respect democracy, and is confusing himself as island council members elections is not same as a self-determination referendum choice of political equality, because only the people can decide on a change of status as the case of 10-10-10. Not the possibly bribed, corrupted, extorted local and Dutch politicians, decides on the self-determination and human rights of the peoples.  The peoples of Sint Eustatius and Bonaire never opted for this imposed illegal status and all illegal democratic attempts by the Dutch to legitimize this illegal status has failed up to now.

Last March 2017 Dutch elections over 80% of the peoples of Statia and Bonaire rejected Mr Plasterk and the Dutch second chamber politicians as their representatives. In their respective 2014 and 2015 referendum the same rejection, which constituted of  a legitimate refutation of this illegal public body status.  For sure the United Nations naturally will tell the visiting Dutch colonizer officials that they should adhere to the set Charters and resolutions of the United Nations that are a clear mandate and that there is an official translation of the Charter of the UN in Dutch language to avoid any kind of misinterpretation. And of course that this is an internal exercise as the whole world has adhere to and the Dutch government duty is very simple as to respect, protect and comply.

What the United Nations never would have thought was that these Dutch officials, as Mr Plasterk is stating, would have their own interpretation of the United Nations Charter contrary to these clear set human values and rights. To refresh Mr Plasterk and colleagues memory that it is a shame that it came to our understanding that the Dutch delegates helped by the Antillean elite(bribed, extorted?)  in 1955 misinformed and manipulated the United Nations General Assembly, resolution 945, in a controversial and disputed vote, to discharge the Netherlands of its reporting obligations under the condition that we, as colonized Antillean islands, will remain under the protection of article 73. And this discharge can be revoked at any time in the future, as this was a safeguard for us , the colonized Antillean islands to come back and knock at the door of the United Nations if the need arise. 

This exercise of the United Nations was because the majority did not trust the Dutch government which duty was to comply with political equality in accordance with self-governance standards. Instead the Netherlands did set the Antilles in a direction of self-destruction which became in effect on 10-10-10 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles and Holland re-captured, annexed and occupied the smaller in-defensive islands of Sint Eustatius, Bonaire and Saba and started a new era of recolonization in the Caribbean region. 

To finalize we would like to remind Mr Plasterk and colleagues that recently in United Nations, General Assembly, Special Committee on Decolonization C24 seminar reported that the Netherlands holds colonies again in the Caribbean (BES-islands) and that the United Nations has ruled that colonialism is a crime against humanity and that the peoples of a colonized territory has the right to use all measures which they desire to get out of colonialism and this is in accordance with United Nations and international law.

Yours sincerely,

 James Finies 

Foundation Nos Kier Boneiru Bek

______________________________________________________________

 PAPIAMENTU

 Boneiru , 20 Juli 2017

Topiko: karta referensia: 

2017-0000318708 apelashon Sint Eustatius riba Karta di Nashonan Uni

Apresiabel Minister Plasterk, Sra Broekers-Knol, Sra Khadija Arib I miembronan di 1ste I 2de kamer,

Nos ta pidi boso atenshon pa lo siguiente enkonekshon ku boso karta ariba menshona na Sint Eustatius I nos kartanan previo dirigi na boso Minister, 1ste kamer I 2de kamer enkonekshon ku violashon di derechonan di outo-determinashon I derechonan humano di pueblonan di Sint Eustatius I Boneiru:

Na prome luga nos ke pone kla na Sr Plasterk I su administrashon I koleganan ku ta koperando ku Sr Plasterk su vishon I maneho inhumano, ku e derechonan ariba menshona ta sagrado I absoluto I ta pertenese esklusivo na e pueblonan di Sint Eustatius I Bonaire I no ta na konsentimentu ni deskushon di e kolonisado o poder administrado.

Sr Plasterk su kontestanan ta ku e no ta respeta e tratado di Nashonan Uni manera akorda I co-firma pa Hulanda na 1945 I ku e tin su propio interpretashon I mas alew ku su non-respet I su mes interpretashon lo no mester ta un sorpresa. Nos ta sinti ku esaki ta parse hipokresia pasobra Sr Plasterk no ta komprende e prinsipal obhetivo ku Nashonan Uni a wordu funda despues di Segunda Guerra mundial tabata pa motibu di aneksashon I okupashon di Hulanda dor di Hitler, Alemania. Na 10-10-10 Hulanda a hasi meskos di aneksa I okupa e inosente I humilde pueblonan di Sint Eustatius I Boneiru demonstrando ku nan no tin ni respet ni remordimiento pa humanidat. E akshonan inhumano aki awor ta pone luz bek riba e historia skur kolonial Hulandes, ja kaminda nos tabata hopi adelanta den e proseso di rekonsiliashon I kurashon pero awor Sr Plasterk I koleganan ta reinkarnashon di e taboo, kaminda ku e Hulandesnan tabata e kolonisadonan di mas kruel di mundu. Nos ta invita Sr Plasterk I koleganan pa mira un resumen kortiku di”loke kada Hulandes mester sa” I mas importante  Sr Plasterk ku mester ta un ehempel ku e posishon honorabel di minister di e pueblo Hulandes. Komo un komienso por fabor wak e video kortiku aki I despues lesa e buki di Vanvught: “Roofstaat” https://www.youtube.com/watch?=olncX67VKtk. Nos ta spera despues ku Sr Plasterk I koleganan komprende nos historia I pasado komun lo realiza ku nan a wordu maleduka komo sernan humano I ku e pueblonan di Sint Eustatius I Boneiru tambe ta igual ku nan, I ta mes un sernan humano ku nan mes. I esaki por ta nos salbashon I pa evita un otro krisis humanitario, Sr Plasterk I koleganan por interpreta e tratadonan di Nashonan Uni den e konteksto humano korekto i no kontinua den e mesun kaminda inhumano manera nan antepasadonan.

Nos ta kompletamente di desakuerdo ku Sr Plasterk ku ta bisa ku awor Sint Eustatius (meskos ku Boneiru) tin e status komo entidat publiko den Hulanda I ku den deskushonan ku Nashonan Uni a wordu konfirma ku relashonan den reino ta asuntunan interno I e diskushonan aki por wordu hasi sin intervenshon di Nashonan Uni. Na e punto aki Sr Plasterk ta konfirma tur lokual ariba menshona, ku gobiernu Hulandes no ta respeta tratadonan di Nashonan Uni I no ta respeta demokrasia I ta konfundi su mes ku elekshon pa miembro di konseho insular no ta meskos ku referendum di outo-determinashon, eskoho pa igualdat politiko, pasobra ta solamente e pueblo por disidi riba un kambio di status manera tabate kaso na 10-10-10.  No e posibel korupto, soborna I ekstorshona politkonan lokal I Hulandes, nan no ta disidi riba e derechonan di outo-dterminashon I derechonan humano di e pueblonan. E pueblonan di Sint Eustatius I Boneiru nunka a opta pa e status ilegal impone aki I tur intento ilegal demokratiko di Hulanda pa legalisa e status ilegal aki a frakasa te awor.

Mart 2017 ultimo elekshon Hulandes mas ku 80% di e pueblonan di Sint Eustatius I Boneiru a bolbe rechaza Sr Plasterk I 2de kamer su poltikonan komo nan representantenan. Den nan respektivamente  na 2014 I 2015 referenduman tabata mesun rechazo, kual a konstitui un refutashon legitimo di e status ilegal aki komo entidat publiko. Ta sigur ku Nashonan Uni naturalmente lo a bisa e bishitantenan I ofisialnan Hulandes kolonisado ku nan tin ku tene nan mes na e tratadonan I resolushonan di Nashonan Uni ku ta un mandato kla I ku tambe tin un traduskhon ofisial di e karta di Nashonan Uni na idioma Hulandes pa evita kualke malinterpretashon. I por supuesto ku esaki ta un asuntu interno manera mundo kompleto a tene nan mes na dje ta ku e gobiernu Hulandes su deber ta masha simpel di ta respeta, protega I kumpli ku esaki.

Loke ku Nashonan Uni nunka por a pensa ta ku e ofisialnan Hulandes aki, manera Sr Plasterk ta menshona, lo por duna nan mes interpretashon na e karta di Nashonan Uni kontrario na e klaramente delinja balornan I derechonan humano.  Pa refreska Sr Plasterk su memoria ta un berguensa pa nos hanja na komprende awor ku e delegashon Hulandes juda pa e elite Antiano (soborna I ekstorshona?) na 1955 a malinforma I manipula e Asamblea General di Nashonan Uni, resolushon 945, den un kontraversial I disputa voto, pa deskarga Hulanda di su obligashonan di raporta bao di e kondishon, ku nos, komo islanan kolonisa Antiano, lo keda bao di protekshon di artikulo 73. I ku e deskargo aki por wordu revoka na kualke momento den futuro, I ku esaki tabata un garantia pa nos, e islanan Antiano kolonisa  pa por bin bek bati na porta di Nashonan Uni si mester.                  E ehersisio aki di Nashonan Uni tabata pasobra ku mayoria no a konfia e gobiernu Hulandes ku su deber tabata pa kumpli ku igualdat politiko di akuerdo ku standardnan di propio-gobernashon. Na luga di esaki Hulanda a dirigi Antias den direkshon di outo-destrukshon ku a sosede na 10-10-10 ku desmantelashon di Antia Hulandes I Hulanda a re-kaptura , aneksa I okupa e islanan mas chikitu I indefenso di Sint Eustatius, Boneiru I Saba i a start un era nobo di rekolonisashon den region di Karibe.

Pa finalisa nos kier rekorda Sr Plasterk I koleganan ku resientemente den un seminario di Komite Spesial di Dekolonisashon C24 di Asamblea General di Nashonan Uni a wordu raporta ku Hulanda ta posee atrobe kolonianan den Karibe( islanan BES) I ku Nashonan Uni a determina ku kolonialismo ta krimen kontra humanidat I ku e pueblo, e suidadanonan di e teritorio kolonisa tin derecho di usa tur medio ku nan ta desea pa sali for di bao di kolonialismo I esaki ta di akuerdo ku Nashonan Uni I ley internashonal.

Sinceramente,

James Finies, Fundashon Nos Kier Boneiru Bek

‘Secret Code’: A Book Of Virgin Islands Triumph And Struggles

Press Release

A book that offers an exclusive glimpse into the Virgin Islands’ triumph, struggles, resilience and exploration (was) launched on June 20.

The book, titled ‘Secret Code’: British Virgin Islands’ is penned by Mrs. Mitsy J. Ellis-Simpson and will be launched through the collaborative efforts of the author and the Department of Culture.

Director of the Department of Culture, Mrs. Luce Hodge-Smith said that the department continues to promote literary arts in the Virgin Islands and that the novel contains comprehensive up-to-date facts on the economic history and current affairs of the British Virgin Islands.

Mrs. Hodge-Smith added, “We, at the Department of Culture, are always pleased to learn of authors writing and finding ways to document Virgin Islands culture and heritage. We are especially pleased to learn of the book, ‘Secret Code: British Virgin Islands’ and would like to congratulate Mrs. Ellis-Simpson and wish her success on all her future endeavours.”

Author, Mitsy J. Ellis-Simpson said her book goes far beyond navigating the World's Sailing Capital, and is packed with exclusive content.

She added that it is the first publication that beautifully illustrates the political, economic and social environment of the British Virgin Islands.

Mrs. Ellis-Simpson said, “The book presents a thrilling experience of struggles, triumph and resilience like none other. Whether you are an investor, a citizen, a tourist, a student, a financial professional or just a passerby, Secret Code: British Virgin Islands is a book for everyone which amplifies our vision of “Nature’s Little Secrets”, the British Virgin Islands.”

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For more information on the latest addition in literary collections, persons can visit the Government of the Virgin Islands YouTube channel or use the following link to view the interview with author, Mrs. Mitsy Ellis-Simpson and Director of Culture, Mrs. Luce Hodge-Smith at https://www.youtube.com/BVIGovernment

Author

Decolonisation could be taught in Guam schools

RNZ

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Guam's Department of Education is formulating a plan to incorporate teaching about the self-determination vote and decolonisation in the local school curriculum.

Amanda Blas. 

Photo: Guam Governor's office

The department is currently working with the Commission on Decolonisation on the framework.

The executive director of the commission Amanda Blas said the aim was for the amended curriculum to start in kindergarten and be taught right through to high school.

Ms Blas said the new material would be added to existing subjects such as history and social studies, but she said the plan was still a work in progress.

"In the next couple of days the working session will happen, where we can discuss the curriculum framework more. Right now the commission is also looking at the possibility of strictly targeting high school students who will be able to vote for the plebiscite when the self-determination vote does happen," she said.

"Nothing has been finalised, but we have some great ideas and a bunch of the commission members and of course Guam's Department of Education are working together to really help see this through."

Puerto Rico Fiscal Fiasco: Congressional Abdication of Territorial Clause Power

PR 51ST

by Howard Hills

Legal counsel in the National Security Council for territorial status issues in the Reagan Administration; and author of the recent book on Puerto Rico

'Citizens Without A State.'

In 1961, President Kennedy signed an administrative order that limited federal oversight in Puerto Rico, creating conditions for the fiscal “perfect storm” now engulfing the island. The federal control board included in the House recovery bill for Puerto Rico appears to be the most direct and practical way to correct the mistake Congress made by going along with JFK’s intrusion into its territorial clause powers. Those in Puerto Rico who oppose the control board have offered no viable alternative, and want federal assistance without accountability.

But accountability at the federal level is the topic of a recent commentary published by Puerto Rico Report that examines President Kennedy’s 1961 directive drastically limiting federal management of Puerto Rico policy affairs by the U.S. Department of the Interior. With the stroke of a pen Kennedy exempted the “commonwealth” regime of territorial government from coordinated federal oversight that had been provided by territorial policy staff at DOI for decades, and continues to this day for all territories except Puerto Rico.

Just as Congress has accepted for more than a century the federal court decisions that say that the U.S. Constitution applies to Puerto Rico by analogy to the states rather than directly, for more than half a century Congress allowed Puerto Rico to take on debt using the illusion of federal backing. The local political party favoring the current status quo even invented the myth that “fiscal autonomy” was a “pillar of commonwealth, ” at the same time the illusion of federal backing was being used to debt finance expansion of local government programs and services.

The local party propounding “autonomy” opposes statehood or true nationhood, the only two status options that would mean real autonomy for Puerto Rico. Indeed, a former Governor from the autonomist party favoring the current status boasted recently that he had helped kill a 1998 bill that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives but died in the U.S. Senate. That bill would have allowed a federally sponsored vote in Puerto Rico between statehood, nationhood and the current status as defined by federal law, but the autonomist party lobbyists — including the same former Governor — joined forces with those who denied democratic self-determination to 3.5 million U.S. citizens in the last large U.S. territory.

Yet, only statehood or nationhood would end the current territory status in which a federal control board is within the power Congress exercises over the island. That is why 54% of voters rejected the status quo in a 2012 referendum, and 61% chose statehood, leading Congress in 2014 to authorize and fund a federally recognized vote to confirm the 2012 results.

The current fiscal meltdown has been used as an excuse by the anti-statehood autonomist party to delay that vote. Instead of recognizing that the non-sovereign status is the problem and statehood or nationhood is the solution, Republicans and Democrats in Congress are in denial that the “commonwealth” regime that abused its credit authority is a creation of Congress.

It is Congress that allowed the federal entity for administration of local civil affairs it instituted under a local constitution in 1952 to incur $70 billion in unfunded debt obligations. Yet, beguiled by wily Wall Street lobbyists, whose clients are scrambling for priority in any federal debt workout program for Puerto Rico, most in Congress have been chanting a “No bailout” and “Blame it on Puerto Rico” mantra.

As Congress evaded and avoided its historical and constitutional role in guiding territories to a permanent status, the local government emulated its “parent” government in Washington by making promises it could not keep without borrowing more money than it could afford to repay. Those who argue that is not Congress’ problem need to think again.

Congress retains full, unrestrained, plenary powers of sovereignty over Puerto Rico. The “commonwealth” regime of territorial government exists at the pleasure of Congress, and its delegated powers of “internal sovereignty” are limited to purely local matters not otherwise governed by federal law. So if we are talking about blame, let’s begin with the advent of the so-called “commonwealth” model of in Puerto Rico since 1952.

READ THE FULL ANALYSIS HERE .