By: James Finies,
BONAIRE 28th September 2025 — In a long-overdue admission, Bonaire’s political leaders have recently publicly acknowledged what many citizens have known for years: they hold no real power. Since October 10, 2010 (10-10-10), it has been the Dutch government in The Hague that ultimately dictates the laws and decisions affecting Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba — the so-called BES islands.
This loss of autonomy did not begin recently, as some politicians now claim while stirring up drama, but in 2010, when the island was returned to what many view as illegal foreign control. That is why James Finies has campaigned since 2012 against voting in Dutch elections — to protest the imposition of a political structure rejected by the people of Bonaire in referendum.
Voluntarily participating in what is considered unlawful arrangement only serves to legitimize violations of the island’s democratic rights.
The situation worsened in 2017 when local politicians made a motion and agreed in the local parliament of Bonaire to give the Dutch Senate and Dutch Parliament and Government greenlight, agreed to anchor Bonaire in the Dutch Constitution. Mr. Finies’s call to boycott elections contributed to a significant drop in voter turnout — from over 80 percent to under 30 percent — as a form of protest against the ongoing political subjugation.
The only way to reverse this situation is by holding the Dutch government internationally accountable and restoring Bonaire to the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The path forward is clear: once Bonaire is placed back on that list, the Netherlands will be obligated to report to the international community and the UN General Assembly on the island’s development and the well-being of the Bonerian people — economically, socially, politically, culturally, and educationally.
To support this effort, in 2018 James Finies commissioned an international UN expert to conduct an assessment of Bonaire’s self-governance sufficiency in accordance with internationally recognized standards. The report is recognized and used by the United Nations as an independent evaluation, as it includes “self-governance indicators” established and accepted by the UN General Assembly.
The people of Bonaire deserve their full right to self-determination — not empty words from the very leaders who helped erode that right. Being placed on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories is a protective measure designed to safeguard the rights and interests of the island’s people — same as turtles, coral reefs, flamingo’s, carco’s are protected on Bonaire.
Similar small islands, such as the US and British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands, enjoy high standards of living, with GDPs up to five times higher than that of Bonaire. In those territories, local people lead their institutions, hold real power, and chart their own course for development — not under foreign rule, but with oversight from the United Nations’ Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24) and Human Rights mechanisms.
Bonaire’s people deserve no less.
