Venezuela crisis is a Caribbean wake-up call

Bonaire, 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 a term last year 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 last week has been forced by the Dutch government to surrender its 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, consider this a direct escalation, provocation, and violation of UN Charter’s 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 its 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 its limited autonomy and border control, budgetary, judiciary and went as far as they will to approve or who will be appointed in the government positions and are completely backed 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;

• undemocratically abusive actions of its 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 his re-colonized ABC islands 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, in Europe.

It would be no coincidence, because the ABC islands, all within eyesight's from each other, are all equipped with international military standards airports and deep harbors. That could be the mayor reason behind this war-campaign. The Dutch seem to be glancing back at their horrific colonial past, and, via war-economics and military actions, look to enrich themselves to become again one of world’s richest countries.

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 mayor colonial interests to remain in the Caribbean region, to have finally shown their real intentions. 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 as a wake-up call, and to stand up for all Caribbean peoples.

As we all came in the same boats, we all are still in the same boat. We all have the same common right to emancipation and freedom. We must unite and fight together to maintain a peaceful Caribbean, and to actively help to decolonize the Caribbean.

There is no free Caribbean until all Caribbean peoples are truly free.

Sincerely yours,

James Finies, We want Bonaire Back