DUTCH RECOLONIZATION OF CURAÇAO MUST
BE STOPPED. REFERENDUM 2009
REQUESTING INTERNATIONAL
SOLIDARITY
Greetings Brothers and Sisters,
Here we are (again!) involved in a referendum nobody
asked for to take place May 15. You know the situation 'cause
you've been here. The puppet government wants the people
to approve (not asking them if they agree or not) the
December 2008 agreements they signed with their Dutch
masters- without consulting anybody - that put back in
the hands of the Dutch administration the vital areas of
national life such as justice, public finances, education
and control on good governance. So were going back in
time instead of decolonizing.
The contradictions manifest in a much harder way now than
when you & David came to support us in 2005. This set
against the background that in this globalized era the
remaining colonial powers are seeking to rapidly
consolidate their control of "their" colonies
in the midst of the crisis they themselves caused and
making sure that no independence or national liberation
movement will stand in the way of their industrial and
financial capital to expand "their" markets
outside their own national borders.
We see the USA administration opposing, jailing and
plotting against Puerto Ricans fighting for independence.
The UK government has declared more than once that it
will under no circumstances recognize any government that
proclaims independence in Montserrat, Anguila, Virgin
Isles etc. We recently saw an arrogant Sarkozy ignoring
the call for freedom that echoed through the streets of
Guadeloupe and Martinique. The Dutch government is
executing the same policy. In the year 2010 the Committee
for Decolonization of the UN will cease to exist. So the
great world powers have decided that those who are not
independent by 2010, will never be because colonies will
have ceased to exist by then because their own people
have decided so in "democratic" referenda.
Hence the May 15th referendum to legitimize the
recolonization. The opposition parties here keep
repeating their backwards position that the government
should restore "what we had", which is of
course a state of colony. They do not mention
independence as an option "because the people are
not ready for it", although they are strongly
campaigning for NO in the referendum. The latter we
support of course.
In this political - economic- social - cultural -spiritual
unbalanced situation people tend to seek security more
than ever. The ones promising to sooth the daily pain of
hunger, incarcerated sons, pregnant teenage daughters,
extremely high index of diabetes, blindness, amputations,
obesity -due to malnutrition-, heart attacks and cancer,
ever failing children in a oppressive and inefficient
Dutch imposed school system, disoriented youth, chronical
lack of democracy, oppression of the national culture
& language if you only vote SI are more likely to get
the votes. However, as dialectics teaches us, oppresion
creates it own resistance. The number of people rejecting
shameless Dutch intervention in their daily life is
growing steadily at a never before experienced pace. The
large crowds at the meetings, the call-ins on the radio
talkshows, the strikes (busdrivers, health care workers,
university students etc.) are evidence people are sick
and tired of being trampled on and that the mental as
well as the material circumstances favor a transformation
or revolt. These subjective and objectives conditions
should be turned into political action to bring down this
corrupt system of exploiting people and there resources.
Hence the mobilization and agitation propaganda required.
One particular point of concern is the huge migration
wave from the Netherlands bringing rough settlers to
"their" colony in the Caribbean. They come with
the strong euro currency, buy land, manipulate humble
country people into selling their property for a mere
trifle, chase others from their property, bring in many
Dutch students to "do their practice" here, but
in fact work fulltime, also in mangement positions and
companies "are sorry they have no place" for
local students etc etc. The governments grants Dutch
"investors" many privileges: they buy beaches
and shut out locals or charge high entrance; unemployment
has increased but offical numbes say it went down. Why?
Because Dutch immigrants register as having found work
and thus manipulate the unemployment numbers. They are
coming in in crowds to vote for YES in the referendum,
although they should be living here in order to vote, but
who controls the apparatus? They themselves. In last
elections we experienced personally the results of their
tampering with the electronic voting machines, which will
be used again in May. So vigilance is essential.
The Dutch government has already announced that
regardless of the outcome of the referendum they will
continue their "restructuring" of the islands.
This means that the process they agreed for the smaller
islands (Bonaire, Saba, St. Eustatius) to become an
integral part of the Netherlands or a municipalty will
continue. They have already executed part of their plans.
The two larger islands (Curacao as the largest and St.
Maarten as 2nd) will become as of 2010 an "autonomous
country within the kingdom", or simply continuing
colonialism in the next stage of imperialism:
recolonization & denial of any independence, let
alone national liberation reality. We simply do not exist
as opposing political factor.
We are engaged in a intense process to promote NO. It is,
as you can figure, tough with ignorance, bad education,
poverty and fear guiding people. The local bourgeiosie is
tapping into these issues to promote YES, telling people
the Dutch government will pay the national debt of the
country, build schools, houses, bring in money, finance
progress etc. etc.
I have expanded to explain to you as interim chair of the
GAC and, through you the GAC and others, the urgency of
the situation and I am asking, on behalf of the Afrikan
family in diaspora in Curaçao for your solidarity. We
need all the assistance we can get to spread the word, to
help us build an international campaign denouncing the
deprivation of peoples'a rights by the Dutch government,
a government pretending worldwide to be democratic and
tolerant. (As the attached article shows the Dutch
hypocrisy: Money laundering in Netherlands amounts to 18.5
billion annually: Amounts to 5% of Dutch GDP) We need to
reproduce banners, folders, posters, T-shirts, stickers,
we need funds to cover the media - mind manipulators par
excellence - who are seizing the time and charging extra
rates for interviews, adds and so on since we are
covering everything from personal funds. We could use the
help of Brothers and Sisters helping us to get a website
especially for this purpose online, to design posters and
other propaganda material, to write statements of support
to be sent to the local media and other forms of
solidarity.
My place is here at this crucial moment. So I won't be
able to go to Geneva for the Durban Review Conference
where I know you all will do an excellent job guided by
our brave ancestors who resisted extermination and made
it possible for us to be here today, a job for which you
have my unconditional support.
Honouring the work entrusted on us by the ancestors
Joceline Clemencia
Chair Independence Party of Curaçao
Language is more than language
Instituto Kultural Independensha (Cultural Institute
Independence)
drs. Joceline A. Clemencia, director
Tel./Fax (5999) 869-3443 Cel. (5999) 562-4122
jossy3011@hotmail.com
|