Philipsburg, Sint Maarten – Member of Parliament for the United People’s Party MP Omar Ottley says “the 2021 Parliament has exposed the untruth of the so-called 10-10-10 and St. Maarten’s autonomy, causing the main actors in that deal to “falsely claim that the March 9, 2021, Petition to the United Nations is a call for Independence.”
In a press release issued on Sunday, Ottley asked, “If since 10 10 10 the past Parliament and Governments of St Maarten have been telling the people that we are Autonomous and achieved self-governance, why did it take the parliament of 2021 to discover that this is not true?”
He said those scribes of the 10 10 10 agreement should have told the people of St. Maarten the truth long ago that the United Nations had informed The Netherlands that it must complete Article 73 if St. Maarten is to be fully decolonized.
Article 73 stipulates that countries administering colonies allows them to “develop self-government, take due account of the peoples’ political aspirations, and instruct the former colonizers to assist the Countries in the progressive development of their free political institutions. Article 73 also aims for these countries to receive support for their political, economic, social, and educational development.
“This Petition to the UN is in no way a call for Independence. We are simply finishing the job of getting full autonomy, Ottley reiterated. He said, unlike some politicians who had lied for eleven years about 10-10-10, we are open about the facts, and we welcome debates because that is part of a healthy democracy.” On October 10, 2010, St. Maarten became a Country within the Netherlands Kingdom and should have received a full self-government measure if it had received full autonomy from its former colonizer.
“It is sad to see the same politicians lying again to the people of St. Maarten, claiming that they didn’t support the recent Petition by Parliament to the United Nations for an investigation into Racial Discrimination and Injustices by The Dutch Government because it is “a call for Independence. The truth is the Petition uncovers your failure, and you want to distract from the truth.” Ottley called the claim “a cowardly act to hide their failure.”
Suppose St. Maarten receives a full measure of self-governance from the The Netherlands by finalizing Article 73 completing the decolonization process. In that case, it will address economic fallouts such as the one caused by the Corona Virus COVID-19 Global Pandemic by being able to broker financial agreements with better terms and fewer conditions imposed on the people.
Though he feels some of the accusations directed at the Petition are emotionally driven, he said the point remains that the perception of equal partners within the Kingdom is not accurate and will never be true, especially with the democratic deficit,” said MP Ottley.
Another concern the MP has is the flipflopping on the liquidity position for St. Maarten and some MP’s support of Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs in her negotiations with The Netherlands.
“It is amazing to see how the same MPs that criticize the Prime Minister for furthering negotiations with the Netherlands are now screaming over the liquidity support received from the same agreement that they ridiculed her for.”
I came into politics and, in a short time, learned that yes, while we can blame The Netherlands for many injustices, it does not exclude our shortcoming and lack of transparency.
He issued a call to other MPs to “stop playing politics with the people and tell them the truth. Put the interest of the St Maarten people first and stop promoting mental slavery.”
