Great Bay – St. Maarten’s commissioner in charge of sports affairs, Frans Richardson, strongly disagrees with the position taken by the Netherlands Antilles Minister for social development, Omayra Leeflang, regarding the hosting of the 2011 Kingdom Games in the Windward Islands.
Minister Leeflang has informed the Executive Council of St. Maarten that the choice has been made not to host the 2011 Kingdom Games on the island.
By correspondence of September 3, the minister was informed of St. Maarten’s interest to host the 2011 Kingdom Games. St. Maarten had been interested in submitting an integral proposal, along with Saba and St. Eustatius, for the hosting of the games.
According to Minister Leeflang, one important aspect of the Kingdom Games is the fostering of brotherhood. The minister has informed St. Maarten that the spreading of athletes, coaches and the general public over three different territories would not influence this brotherhood aspect in a positive manner.
The hosting of the 2011 Kingdom Games in the Windward Islands would additionally bring with it logistical and financial difficulties, said Minister Leeflang.
These arguments are however categorically dismissed by the commissioner of sports, who is of the opinion that arguments used for denying St. Maarten the opportunity to host the 2011 Kingdom Games are weak and unsubstantiated.
“Here again is another example why the entity known as the Netherlands Antilles has failed and reason for which people have opted to leave the Netherlands Antilles, to become a country with a separate status”, says the commissioner.
The commissioner of sports says that contrary to the arguments brought forward for not hosting the games in the Windward Islands, organizing the Kingdom Games on St. Maarten, with a few activities held on Saba and St. Eustatius, would have been exactly the kind of gesture benefitting brotherhood, unity and understanding for participants for participants from different parts of the kingdom.
“One should consider that, the islands of Saba and St. Eustatius, for instance, would have never been granted the opportunity to host Kingdom Games on their own; this was our way of displaying our solidarity with our sister islands and inviting visitors to be part of this unique experience”, says the commissioner.
Commissioner Richardson believes that other reasons, other than those communicated to St. Maarten, have played a role in the decision. This negatively impacts sports cooperation between the various islands of the Netherlands Antilles, he says.
“It cannot be so that while we make public statements regarding our working together through sports entities, St. Maarten and the Windward Islands are usually and systematically ignored or not given their rightful place”, says commissioner Richardson.
According to the commissioner of sports, St. Maarten has for too long been the victim of prejudice in many instances where sports decisions regarding the island are taken at central government level or by Netherlands Antilles sports organizations.
Commissioner Richardson says that the decision will however not discourage him from continuing to champion St. Maarten as a most suitable venue for Kingdom Games and similar events.
