By: James Finies
July 3, 2024
This day serves to remember the painful chapter in our untold history and honor the resilience and strength of our ancestors who endured so much. However, today crucial questions arise: Was the Dutch apology for slavery sincere? How can they apologize while still controlling Bonaire and the other Antilles islands without considering reparations?
Today, on July 1, 2024, our people, the descendants, remain colonized by the same Dutch government, still striving for equality and justice. The Dutch apology by the then Prime Minister Rutte and King Willem-Alexander, is insincere and merely propaganda. Its purpose is to patronize and distract Caribbean leaders seeking reparatory justice for historical atrocities, colonialism and their lasting impact. The apology is a tactic to undermine the CARICOM reparations movement rather than a genuine acknowledgment of past wrongs.
The apology is hypocritical, as the Dutch government continues its colonial agenda by depopulating and ethnically cleansing Bonaire. The native Bonerian population has dramatically been reduced from a majority in 2010 to under 32% in 2024. Unilaterally, the Dutch Parliament embedded Bonaire into the Dutch Constitution under unequal rights, disregarding the wishes of the Bonerian people, who overwhelmingly rejected the current constitutional status, with 66% voting against it in the December 18, 2015, referendum. These actions violate fundamental rights and systematically infringe upon several international legal instruments, including the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Decolonization Declaration, and various international covenants on civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.
Today, we also reflect on the division and dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on October 10, 2010. The islands of Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten (CAS islands) remained autonomous, operating under a mutually agreed Kingdom Charter. They have their own parliaments, governments, and prime ministers and participate alongside the Dutch government in the UN General Assembly. In contrast, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (BES islands) were expelled from the Kingdom Charter and annexed into the Dutch Constitution with unequal rights. The BES islands were given the status of “territorial public entity,” not the “special municipality” often used as a propaganda tool. Devoid of autonomy, their local governments are directly subordinated to multiple undemocratic decision-making institutions based in The Hague. This situation is perceived as continued colonization, perpetuating acts that the United Nations has declared as colonialism as crimes against humanity.
The Dutch have no intention of providing reparations. In response to James Finies’ question at the October 2023 meeting in Sint Maarten regarding the distribution of the promised $200 million “Slavery Past” one-time compensation, which turned out to be about $5 million hush money for each island, Dutch State Secretary van Huffelen declared that the Dutch government would not consider reparations.
Additionally, while the Dutch formally apologized to their former colonies like the Netherlands Antilles islands and Suriname, they did not apologize to other colonized and enslaved territories like Guyana (British), which the Dutch colonized for over 200 years before passing it to the British only about 30 years before the abolition of slavery in British Guyana.
Conclusion: The Netherlands’ apology for slavery and similar propaganda actions aim to preserve their international image as a philanthropic nation that respects human rights, symbolized by the presence of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. However, these actions serve as a smokescreen to divert attention from the BHRO and James Finies’ relentless international campaign to raise awareness about the Bonaire case. Since February 2022, this campaign has spanned over 600 days, making significant strides in Latin America, the Caribbean, the United Nations in New York, and across Europe. Despite efforts to mask the reality, the persistent advocacy by the BHRO and James Finies has successfully highlighted ongoing human rights issues, challenging the Netherlands’ carefully curated global image. This continued dedication underscores the importance of genuine action over superficial gestures in the fight for human rights and justice, giving the people of Bonaire hope for a better future built on the principles of freedom and dignity for all.
(The author is human rights activist in Bonaire)
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