It is difficult for me to be shocked by anything that happens here anymore yet there it was, front page news on Monday, a failure of such manifest proportions that it left me speechless.
At a time of civil unrest on the French side, a time of protest and violent criminal action that threatens every law-abiding resident on both sides of the island, the legal and duly elected government of the French side asked permission to use the Dutch side port to land those desperately needed law enforcement reinforcements so as to protect its citizens against the lawless violence. The local government of Sint Maarten denied this permission. And, if read correctly, it also denied free transit of these reinforcements across the mutual border.
What that means in plain language is that the local duly-elected and -appointed Government of Sint Maarten, i.e. those individuals charged with the absolute responsibility of protecting its own citizens from anarchy, simply abdicated that responsibility. It said, in so many words, “We side with the criminals in this instance and will not support the government of the French side in its efforts to enforce law and order.”
Do you understand what that act of denial and that implicit statement means? That means that those ministers involved in that decision have placed their sympathies with the rioters above and beyond their sworn responsibility to protect those that elected them.
So what of the issue itself? In fact, I believe the protesters are correct in their analysis and that the French-side Government with their property reforms, etc., is seriously screwing the property owners. I believe this notion of “well, it’s only a proposal now but trust us, it’s like a law right now but we’ll fix it later” is insane on its face and that the protesters are absolutely correct, but that’s not the point.
Being a closet anarchist myself, I actually believe that sometimes armed insurrection is the only way to get people’s attention. It’s actually the very basis for the American Constitution. Sometimes it takes electing someone like Donald Trump to show you how completely wrong and often crooked and out of touch the politicians have been for years and years. Unfortunately, there is no way for that to happen here because the political system doesn’t allow for anyone to actually be in charge. You have faceless committees who have all the authority but no responsibility or accountability.
And that is what this most recent faceless committee has done and they are categorically wrong and they have hung you out to dry. When a duly-elected government comes to you and asks for your help to maintain law and order there is absolutely no way that you say “No” no matter how much you personally sympathize with the criminals. That’s not your job. Your job is to protect your residents and citizens and the fact is that the French asked nothing of you but your permission, which was in no possible way detrimental to the interests of Country Sint Maarten.
They didn’t ask for troops or guns with rubber bullets and tear gas. They asked for the ability to solve their own problem with their own people and you spit in their face. If a single person gets injured in this continuing confrontation it will be as much as your fault as it was the person that swings the club, burns someone’s car or loots someone’s store.
Someday this will come back to haunt you. You will need the French for something and what you will get back is the universal one finger response. And you will deserve it.
Steven Johnson
