Dear Editor,
Please allow us some space to express our deep disappointment in what has been happening in the political sphere on St. Maarten over the last few days. For some two months there has been, what many of us in the community, thought was a breath of fresh air in St. Maarten politics: a group of dedicated young professionals headed by what we thought was a driven environmental activist. We all rallied behind the Citizens for Positive Change because we thought that it would be exactly that, a group of citizens that would change St. Maarten in a positive way. On Friday we were disappointed to learn that because of the inability to form a political list, the CPC would not contest the elections. We were disappointed but hopeful; indeed, as the article stated it was the hope that the CPC would ensure organic growth that it would focus on the issues that affect this island resulting in solutions.
That is why we were so very disappointed to find out that we were manipulated by the founder and president of CPC, that we were given false hope and information, that the party was just established as a platform for the benefit of another party, a party whose leader has illegally filled in hundreds of meters of the Great Salt Pond for a ‘race track’ and a ‘cricket stadium’. How can a self-styled environmentalist someone who we all thought would bring positive change and who it is not obvious just complained for complaining state condone a political party that has filled in our heritage and our nature. How can we have been so mislead, with facebook messages and assurances that ‘rumors of CPC joining another party are false’ and then going on a slate? One Facebook post even said to beware of campaign trinkets and propaganda while the leader, founder, president of CPC was dancing in the street with his own campaign propaganda and motorcycles revving asking for support to fill in the Great Salt Pond for a race track. It is sad that once again there is jumping ship, but this time the ship was jumped even before the elections, before anyone even reached in parliament. The ship was left to sink by the very captain who the crew believed in. There is no greater disappointment than that. At least with the other political parties what you see is what you get.
We are very, very disappointed in this political maneuvering, playing politics and acting as politicians while we were assured by the leadership of CPC that this would not have been the case.
He will not get our vote. We continue to hope for positive change and not for getting into power by manipulation and lies.
Beware St. Maarten of wolves in sheep clothing, or as some have said about this issue, of lions with the hearts of a mouse.
John C. Fredericks on Behalf of former believers in the Citizens for Political Change
