SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - The ONESXM Association views the recent discussions surrounding the ratification of the border agreement between the Republic of France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands as another example of why restorative justice is critical to the advancement of the St. Martin people, ONESXM Association said in a press statement on Sunday.
“For nearly four centuries, the division of our island rested on an arrangement originating in 1648 and which was never formally ratified. It was an agreement reached exclusively between two colonial powers, without the knowledge, participation, or consent of the people who called this island home.
“Those negotiations took place during an era in which the Indigenous people and the African men, women, and children brought here in bondage were regarded as property, not as citizens with rights or voices. The agreement for the free movement of goods included the movement of enslaved people to work on the various plantations throughout the island.
“Rather than viewing this loophole as an opportunity to begin a conversation about the future constitutional status of St. Martin, our governments have instead chosen to formally ratify the Partition Treaty of 1648, signed 200 years before the enslaved people would get formal emancipation.
“We believe this represents a missed historic opportunity. Around the world, peoples and territories are increasingly discussing sovereignty, constitutional reform, self-determination, national identity, flags, symbols, and the democratic right of communities to decide their own future.
“These conversations are taking place across the Caribbean, the Pacific, Africa, and Europe. Yet on St. Martin, one of the Caribbean's last colonies, a decision of profound historical significance has once again been made without directly consulting the people.
“No island-wide referendum was held. No broad public consultation took place. No opportunity was given to the people of St. Martin to express how they envision the future of their own island. Instead, an imaginary border originally conceived during the unholy period of chattel. Slavery has now received modern legal endorsement.
“ONESXM recognizes that governments must provide legal certainty, particularly regarding jurisdiction, environmental management, maritime boundaries, and economic development. We understand the practical reasons advanced for settling the Oyster Pond dispute. However, legal clarity should never be confused with democratic legitimacy.
“The question before history is not whether the boundary required clarification. The question is who possesses the moral authority to permanently define the future of St. Martin. We maintain that the answer must ultimately be the people of St. Martin themselves.
“This issue extends far beyond the location of a line on a map. It concerns the fundamental principle that constitutional questions affecting the identity, territory, and future of a people should not be settled solely by external sovereign powers, but through meaningful participation by those who live with the consequences.
“The ONESXM Association therefore renews its call for a genuine island-wide dialogue on the future of St. Martin, including mechanisms like a referendum that allow the people to participate directly in decisions affecting their constitutional destiny.
“History should not simply be ratified. History should also be questioned. And wherever possible, it should be democratically rewritten by the people whose lives it continues to shape,” the ONESXM Association statement concludes.
