WILLEMSTAD - The referendum committee couldn't turn in her report today, as was settled, said Douwe Boersema, who was brought forward by the committee as the new chairman. According to him, the committee will have the report ready as soon as possible.The committee will come with recommendations on among others a date, phrasing of the questions, and information campaign for the coming referendum about the political future of Curacao. The committee didn't manage to get the report ready due to the developments of the past period, like Armin Konket opting out as chairman after the opposition parties started to question his possible impartiality. Konket didn't want to be an obstacle for the political process in Curacao.
Boersema says that the committee will present the report soon; when exactly, he couldn't tell this morning. "Main thing is that we present a good report that was established by means of consensus."
Boersema went more in depth on the commotion around the referendum committee, something he regrets. He emphasized that there is need for peace and quiet around the committee. Boersema, who had the function of secretary in the then committee during the last referendum in 2005, doesn't think that this commotion would also affect his nomination
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The reaction of the opposition parties on the nomination of Boersema is very mixed. MAN-leader for example wants to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. This is his personal opinion, because the party hasn't discussed this internally yet. "But the way this happened, shows again how the BC functions. The BC doesn't want and cannot take decision and leaves it to others."
Also FK-member Gregory Damoen is willing to give Boersema the benefit of the doubt. "I do not know personally which option he prefers. He has experience and is an expert. The fact that he is a European Dutch citizen doesn't really matter. He lives and works here and the interests of this island are number one for him." Damoen still wants to know from the BC which criterion it used to nominate members in the referendum committee as chairman. He asked Ombudsman Fred Wile to include this matter in his investigation into the nomination of Konket.
PS-leader Helmin Wiels is not pleased with the nomination. "It is the same movie with a different main actor. He is a lawyer with a firm that does a lot of work for the government. You can't expect him to be objective regarding advising of the government. All these people were appointed for political reasons. The BC works very arbitrary in this process. Just look a John Jacobs, who is also appointed in the committee. He is managing director of the Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has already declared herself openly in favour of a ‘YES'. How do you expect such person to be objective?
Amigoe.com