Dear Editor,
With so many politicians facing serious legal challenges, jail sentences, distrust locally, as well as from abroad, loss of their illegally and immorally-amassed wealth – no wonder it is time for the ‘Friendly Island’ to become independent – for them of course.
But, what about the people, whose patrimony has been used as a piggy-bank for our corrupt politicians and their cronies? What about us first holding other types of referenda, before a constitutional one, with its predictable ‘We Ready’-outcome?
Here is one from me; Premise. There is a set of good-for-nothing, greedy, corrupt politicians, who do not care to attend important meetings, but still continue to collect their fat salaries and perks. Also, there are those, who have never proposed any legislation to define and protect St. Martiners as part of the nation-building/unification process.
Meanwhile, immigration continues to be the ‘mother-of-all’ problems, which will only get worse and possibly result in the ‘genocide by substitution’ of St. Martin people.
Independence? Really? Then there are those, who are under investigation, in bed with unscrupulous characters and who fill their pockets through personally profiting from our patrimony.
In my humble opinion, long before there are any meaningful talks about political independence, the island must be purged from the evil of corruption, nepotism and cronyism, if the people are to stand any chance of survival in an ‘independent’ Friendly Island.
Therefore, the following question should be considered. What should be done with the current politicians?
A. Those with even a ‘shadow’ of corruption hanging over their heads should be immediately kicked out of government and should repay every cent of their earning.
B. Those proven to have criminal records and/or connections, should be locked up – keys melted down in a furnace.
C. The young ones, really trying hard to build a country based on justice, should be trained and supported to prepare for real independence and unification.
D. Politicians of the old, corrupt, political dynasty should never be involved in talking about independence. Feel free to choose, one, or more of these answers.
In ending, the people themselves should become much more proactive and come up with ideas to clean up the island, before the nation is rushed and plunged into a very dangerous abyss, of which we all know, which families will become the new tyrannical, monarchs and new Plantation Massahs.
People, please speak out and speak up to let the Dutch Government and the world know, whether the politicians who are pushing for independence in 2020 are also talking for you.
Just for the record, they are absolutely not talking for our movement for sure – not the ‘old guard’ politicians – they cannot fool us.
Leopold James
President St. Martin Grassroots People Movement
