Statia alliance circulates petition to move First Salute commemoration to The Hague

The St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance has circulated a petition dated Tuesday 13 October calling for the First Salute 250 commemoration to be moved from St. Eustatius to The Hague.

Kenneth Cuvalay, founder of the alliance, said the group opposes the commemoration of the First Salute, which marks the 16 November 1776 exchange of gun salutes between the Dutch-held island and the American vessel Andrew Doria. The alliance said the event does not adequately address slavery and colonialism on St. Eustatius.

Cuvalay also said the alliance has opposed the 2021 exhumation of ancestral remains, which he said was carried out without involvement from the Afrikan community.

The alliance’s statement said a motion by then Dutch MPs Ronald van Raak of the SP and André Bosman of the VVD was passed in the House of Representatives in February 2018 and laid the foundation for the commemoration.