Chris Emmanuel: Co-ownership is a fantasy, St. Maarten does not need softer colonialism

GREAT BAY--Leader of the Nation Opportunity Wealth Party (NOW) Christophe Emmanuel on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Luc Mercelina's “ownership in the Kingdom” stance is a rebrand of the status quo.  

"St. Maarten remains a colony, subject to external control over budgets, laws, and policy. You are a stakeholder because you are a colony, plain and simple. A slave cannot own his master’s house unless one day that master is no more. Calling this moment a “second chance” does not change the legal reality or the lived reality. What does the Prime Minister mean by second chance? What was the first chance. Slavery? That was a chance? The Prime Minister of St. Maarten is the only leader in the Caribbean running towards more colonialism, and not towards a manifested, self-controlled, destiny," Emmanuel said.

Emmanuel explained that while he agreed with the PM about certain government entities being too large and costly for St. Maarten and that the country must "trim some fat", he cannot agree with the PM about the country's constitutional future.

"Saying that we should work on certain things before independence is one thing, but saying that we need to stay in this Kingdom and dream of equality tells me that the Prime Minister is a hopeless romantic. The Prime Minister says we have a romantic history with the former Netherlands Antilles. I say the Prime Minister is a hopeless romantic about equality in the Kingdom. We have a body of work of four hundred years. How much more proof do you need," Emmanuel said.  

He said real ownership requires equal sovereignty and that a passport is not power. "Ownership means the power to legislate without foreign instructions, to manage public finances without imposed boards, to negotiate international partnerships on our terms, and to set our own development path. None of this exists today and The Dutch sure as heck will not allow us to have that sort of influence in the Kingdom. They don't even want a dispute mechanism in which we are equal. Imagine, not even is dispute they want to give us a chance. That is a typical colonial mindset," Emmanuel said.

"The Prime Minister says we must be realistic about finance and capacity. I agree, but he does not explain why (in part) those constraints persist. Liquidity support arrived with conditions that tied the country’s hands. External reviews and instructions stalled projects, hiring, and reforms. You cannot blame St. Maarten for slow delivery while reserving the right to overrule St. Maarten."

Emmanuel said that true leadership would understand that our future requires a plan that moves power home and that the groundwork should start now for what will eventually be an independence vote. He mentioned, as example, convening a Constitutional Convention, publish a roadmap that lays out the independence option, put that roadmap to a binding referendum within twenty four months. Give the people a real choice with full costs and benefits on the table.

"Also, if the PM is serious about closer cooperation with our neighbors, he should do his utmost to open regional and global options, not just talk. Deepen CARICOM work on food security, pool medical services and disaster cooperation, establish educational opportunities via MOU's. Expand training and accreditation with Caribbean universities. Let us look for new energy sources that can facilitate the cut of prices. There are so many things he can be occupied with," Emmanuel said.

"But the Prime Minister is clear that independence is off the table for him. As leader, he has chosen a path. The public cannot trust that he will give fair consideration to other constitutional paths. It should be clear to all that while any self-respecting nation would aspire to be independent, St. Maarten does not currently have a leader in the PM's office to fullfil those aspirations."

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