Press Release NKBB ( We Want Bonaire Back )
Historical successful 4th symposium on the political future, right of self-determination and reparations in the Caribbean
Foundation We Want Bonaire Back (NKBB) looks back on a very successful symposium that took place on Bonaire on the 6th, 7th and 8th of December. The main themes of the conference discussed were the right of self-determination and reparations in the Caribbean. Mr. James Finies, president of Foundation We Want Bonaire Back emphasized that one of the main objectives that the Foundation was founded on was to re-list, re-inscribe Bonaire on the list of Non-Self-Governing-Territories of the United Nations.
Bonaire was the scenario of this historical reunion where representatives of 9 Caribbean countries/territories that are still under colonial administration reunited.
Governments, leaders, experts, scholars, human rights defenders from Aruba, Curacao, Sint Eustatius, Bonaire, Puerto Rico, San Andres, Old Providencia, Virgin Islands US and Cayenne-Guiana all with the same common objective for justice, development and welfare for their peoples has shown solidarity towards the Bonerian peoples. We all are in the same struggle to regain, restore and respect of our fundamental human rights.
Highlights and revelations of common practice by the colonizers that emerged out of the presentations and discussions, was the fact that the modus operandi, the same system to divide, oppress and dominate all the colonizers are using against the territories and peoples that they have under their administration and domination.
The most impacting conclusions after the sessions of the academic-part that took place in the conference room of the Captains Dons Habitat and the public speeches in the Wilhelmina Park was that the only way forward is with a united-front direction of the international community and United Nations. Especially to be re-listed, re-inscribed on the list of Non-Self-Governing-Territories that falls under the Committee on Decolonization with its only objective; the protection of these territories and their peoples according to article 73 of Chapter XI of the United Nations and guide, facilitate and help them realize their development, welfare and self-government and finally to eradicate colonialism in all its existing forms in the Caribbean.
ENGLISH VERSION of SPEECH BONAIRE. (Un-official translation)
Speech dr Whiteman
Members of the Foundation “Nos Kier Boneiru Bek”, Speakers and special guests, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
People of Bonaire here present, and also those at home that are following this event via the different media of communication, good night.
The members of the Party Pueblo Soberano (The Sovereignty Party), send a warm salute to you with a breath of support from Curaçao.
The Party “Pueblo Soberano” is a party that believes in the process of emancipation and sovereignty that finally results in the independency of Curaçao.
Information and education of the people are the most important critical success factors to achieve an emancipatory and sovereignty way of thinking.
You cannot become sovereign based on the traditional submission of “Yes Master, No Master”, and believing that the world begins and ends in Holland.
In the same way that in English there is a distinction between “Liberty” and “Freedom”, in Papiamento we can say that “having Liberty” is different from “being free”.
Liberty is an external feeling and it means that we are free to choose as long as we choose within the framework that is presented to us or that has been permitted to us.
On the other hand, being free is an internal feeling and it means that we ourselves have the possibility to decide our own destiny with dignity.
Colonialism has been replaced by a new way of domination known as neoliberalism.
In neoliberalism apart from the dominating foreign policy from a few developed countries, within these countries you encounter real powerful structures that dictate the agenda of the world from behind the curtains.
These are the big corporations, multinationals or transnationals.
Holland is no exception to this. The real agenda for our islands within the Dutch Kingdom is being dictated by big corporations in Holland and the United States, such as SHELL, UNILEVER (a British – Dutch Transnational Consumer Goods Company), and ING (International Netherlands Group – Dutch Multinational in Banking and Finance).
In Curaçao we experienced the rebellion of the slaves in 1795, and in 1863 slavery was abolished, but at the same time new ways of colonizing our people were introduced. Worse than that; The so called autonomy that we received in 1953 was the result of the fact that the owners of Capital found a way to submit political power to them.
Before autonomy the political power was in the hands of the owners of Capital and they themselves did the governing. The Owners of Capital became so powerful that they could step back and govern from behind the curtains.
Thus a great part of the political power is being directed by the power of capital.
Many are those who believe in capitalism. Many are those that believe that the duty of the human being is to give an added value to the world of capitalism.
It is fresh in our memory how the capitalist system and its financial speculation resulted in a financial crisis affecting the banking system, which began in the United States of America in 2007 and affected the whole world in no time. It was a shame for those who defend capitalism.
But a bigger shame was the fact that public funds, funds of the community, were used either directly or indirectly to recover the banking system and the capitalist system.
During the years 86 – 89 “Jan de Koning” was appointed as Minister for Antillean Affairs and Aruba.
In those days, to dominate the Dutch islands the policy of “DIVIDE AND RULE” was applied.
In those days we experienced a Bipolar World being transformed in a Unipolar World due to the fall of the Soviet Union and the Wall of Berlin.
Nevertheless, after barely three decades, with the return of Russia as World power and the rise of the Asia Giant, China, the Unipolar World was transformed in a Multipolar World.
This process was accompanied by the rise of different economic blocks.
Just to mention a few of them, important for the Caribbean Region and Latin America we have: CARICOM (Caribbean Community); the Association of Caribbean States (AEC-ACS, the Greater Caribbean), CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), MERCOSUR (the Southern Common Market), UNASUR (Union of South American Countries) etc.
In view of the expansionist thirst of Holland that has always relied on its foreign policy, and the thirst to dominate and use our islands as stepping stone to Latin America and the Caribbean, the policy of “divide and rule” was changed.
They have been trying to bring us back together in one body but did not succeed in this. The efforts for this, exercised by Ernst Hirsh Ballin, Minister for Kingdom Affairs, failed. The divisionism between the islands was far advanced. We learned to fight with each other while a few of us were praising Mother Holland.
As time passed by we became aware of the fact that the sole interest of Holland was to dominate the islands in favor of the economic and political interest of Holland, while not permitting developments in the islands that would finally make the presence of Holland obsolete and tell her “GOODBY”.
Well now they are trying to catch us back one by one.
We have noted this by means of the process of modern recolonization that Holland currently is applying to the islands.
This has started with St. Maarten, followed by Sint Eustatius, Bonaire and now Curaçao.
Holland torpedoed the project of the Century which would put Curaçao on the world map as an economic power.
It is the project that we agreed upon with the Chinese company GZE (Guandong Zhenrong Energy), to modernize the refinery, integrate the Utility Plant into the refinery, increase the storage capacity for crude oil and oil product at Bullenbaai, construction of a LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) Terminal for Cruise Ships at Bullenbaai, construction of an electricity plant which would produce electricity with such a surplus that it could also serve as backup for islands in the Caribbean, establish an area of modern agriculture in the vicinity area.
All of this was torpedoes by Holland and the U.S. using our current Government, which has the characteristic of being a puppet of Holland, a traitor, cruel, dishonest, non-transparent, and which systematically governs WITH THEIR BACK TO THE PEOPLE.
Instead of permitting development with dignity for the people of Curaçao, all efforts are directed toward the closure of the refinery either immediately or in a deferred manner by closing a deal with a weak partner that has a doubtful reputation.
Using the so called “Growth-strategy paper” which is nothing else than a modernized version of the “Imposition Paper” (Imposition Paper of Hirsh Ballin), they want to dominate all important areas of government with the aim of creating opportunities for Dutch Businesses (from Holland) to take over our Harbor and other strategic properties, and also to use us as stepping stone to Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Pueblo Soberano has the firm conviction that in spite of all of this, Holland and their Corporatocracy finally will not succeed in preventing the process of emancipation, self determination, sovereignty, and finally Independence of Curaçao.
They will not succeed because of the following reasons:
1. The killer bullet with which tried to silence our emeritus political leader, Helmin Magno Wiels, only caused the multiplication of Helmin in many of us all over Curaçao;
2. The colonizer made the mistake of teaching us to read and write, and hence we can determine our own awareness through the accumulation of knowledge;
3. The systems sold by the globalizing world has made it possible that events are communicated world-wide within minutes or even seconds after taking place;
4. People around the world are increasingly protesting against domination, discrimination and the exploitation of human beings, and are demanding constitutional changes to guarantee popular power, changes in the current suffocating economic model and rejection of colonization by money;
5. There is another world emerging, in which people are receiving alternative opportunities; Opportunities that enable human development with dignity, win-win situations based on a people to people approach; and finally,
6. The spirit of rebellion of Tula is very much alive in our fellow men and women in the Entire Caribbean, and like the revolution of May 30th in Curaçao, sooner or later it will show itself if our rights continue to be denied.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for your attention.
