The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

A SMALL delegation of activists from the Dutch special municipality Bonaire who are seeking to raise awareness of alleged undemocratic colonial rule of the island attended the 21st Session of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations on Monday.

James Finies, president of We Want Bonaire Back told The Tribune his organisation hopes to garner the support of CARICOM as they make their bid for re-enlisting on the list of non-self-governing countries and territories of the United Nations.

“The central point,” Mr Finies said, “is that at this moment in the Caribbean where all the Caribbean is striving toward Caribbean integration with our islands, Bonaire is a sovereign Caribbean nation. It was a Dutch colony and we were reversed to non-autonomy in 2010.

“We lost our autonomy and were reversed under Dutch direct rule and that is unacceptable in a civilised world that we live in. We have a major problem because we don’t have any representation on any level. No representation in the Caribbean, no representation in the United Nations, no representation even in Holland because it’s an undemocratic situation.

“We have no voice in any forum to stop any legislation, make any changes, we don’t have any representation in the European Union even though we are considered Europe now.

“We are a small island, a small nation, we are a nation like other Caribbean nations. We are a nation because we have our own culture, our own identity, our own history, and these things we should preserve are under threat.”

Bonaire has special Dutch municipal status alongside the island of St Eustatius, both of which were designated at the dissolution of The Netherlands Antilles in 2010. The pair’s struggle for decolonisation has intensified this year after local authority in St Eustatius was dissolved in February following a damning state report accusing its administration of lawlessness.

On Monday, Mr Finies criticised the report as false due to insufficient investigation.

“They (the Dutch government) came with 40 police on an island where we normally have six or seven police,” Mr Finies said. “They brought 40 police and a navy ship in the harbour to take them out of office by force, and they appoint a person nondemocratic to run the island now.

“It’s undemocratic. There was supposed to be an election next year in that island but they postponed it to further notice, that is the situation there. They are afraid that people will vote again for the same people. So this is a serious matter for the Caribbean, I think this should be known.”