Airport: --- The constitutional affairs delegation representing St. Maarten along with leader of government and commissioner of constitutional affairs William Marlin told reporters on Thursday that the St. Maarten delegation and those of Curacao managed to sign off an agreement with the federal government and Holland, which states that both St. Maarten and Curacao would receive its separate status by October 10, 2010.
Marlin said that one point he felt that St. Maarten would have had to return without an agreement since the negotiations were extremely difficult. Marlin said St. Maarten and Curacao did not get all they wanted in the agreement but with the help and persistence of Denis Richardson, the delegation managed to strike a deal for the agreement. Marlin said Wednesday was indeed another grueling day like the other days when they negotiated each agreement pertaining to country St. Maarten. He said that through hard work and tough negotiations the team was successful in pinning down a date to when the island would become country, that date will be October 10, 2010. He said this is the first agreement where Holland signed off to date when the Netherlands Antilles will cease to exist.
Marlin made clear that having this agreement is not the end of the road since the island and its delegation has a lot of work and discussions, which has to continue.
He said one of the bottlenecks in the discussions is what would happen if St. Maarten and Curacao did not fulfill the requirements when they are to become country. Marlin said after tough discussions parties were able to come to an agreement midway.
Commissioner of finance Xavier Blackman in his address said this is indeed a milestone in this journey towards country status. Blackman said he read a news article from Holland, which stated that the Netherlands Antilles had agreed on a date for their country status, and that Holland went along with the decision. The commissioner said he wants to stress that the agreement signed on Wednesday was a joint agreement and all parties are onboard.
He said from the financial and economic side this agreement is indeed significant since the federal government would have to provide the necessary resources as well as transferring of the responsibilities to St. Maarten. He said in June this year there were two agreements signed where parties pledged to help St. Maarten with the necessary resources. He said with Wednesday’s agreement the other agreements were further strengthened which would allow St. Maarten to get its financial house in order.
Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams and former constitutional affairs commissioner said this agreement has brought St. Maarten closer to obtaining the status the people voted for some nine years ago. Chanting the date 10.10.10 which could have not be possible without the mandate of the people on June 23 2000. She that said during the past nine years a lot of relentless work was done to bring the island where it is today. She said while nine years is a long time, the work that has been accomplished over those years in her opinion doubles the time. She said had their not been passion and conviction towards obtaining country status they would not have been anywhere close to where the island is at this moment. She said that because of the hard work the island has its constitution and consensus Kingdom Laws on which they would be judged.
Wescot Williams said she is calling on the central government to do all they can and to live up to the agreements and commitments. Most of all she is calling on the central government to meet the deadlines and to truly help St. Maarten. Wescot Williams said even though there is an agreement with a date, there still needs to be a vetting and depending on the outcome, it will determine the areas that would fall under the new Kingdom Resolution.
She said St. Maarten continues to make its case for a joint police service and not a fourth police force. The proposal on this matter must be submitted no later than November 1 2009 with the basis on Kingdom Consensus law on police. She said crime-fighting remains a critical proponent and the proposal is the RST protocol will remain in tact for two years after St. Maarten and Curacao achieve its country status and transitions. Also approved on Wednesday is five of the consensus Kingdom Laws and joint regulations. She said after receiving a report on the police, the force is not what it should be and thus she is calling on the central government once more to follow the guidelines in the draft Kingdom regulations that were approved to upgrade this department. She said the vetting with the St. Maarten’s state of readiness is yet to take place, which confirms that St. Maarten is not yet out of the woods and a lot of work is still ahead. She said in the next political steering group meeting St. Maarten should be presented with the draft resolution which would fall under the general resolution. She said the draft Kingdom Resolution must also be ready by November 15 for handling. Wescot Williams also called on all politicians to be involved in the process in a real way. She said these meetings offer the people’s representatives to critically evaluate the proposals placed before them.
In the meantime, team advisor Richard Gibson Sr. said that St. Maarten is free at last now that a date is fixed for country status. Gibson who was the president of referendum committee and former constitutional affairs Minister said he was pleased to see when the parties signed off a document that would bring an end to a fiction and the iron ball that was on the legs of the people of the Netherlands Antilles. He said with Wednesday’s agreement it brings full meaning to his words “free at last.” He said to the unbelievers and those that had doubt about the achievement of county status, they now have documents signed by all parties that stated 10.10.2010. Gibson said St. Maarten should not get carried away since it has been a long haul for many years which include a lot of sacrifices. He said the work really starts now and a transformation and a changing of thinking where the people must say ‘we can do it ourselves”. Gibson who has the mandate to upgrade the justice system said he is confident that St. Maarten would be able to meet the demands of the agreement. He said the RST was supposed to be eliminated but that had to be postponed. He said they added water in the wine by accepting the postponement of the RST.
Also addressing reporters was Denis Richardson the brains behind the agreements said he appreciated the kind remarks directed toward him, but he made clear that there are number of people who worked behind the scenes fighting for St. Maarten’s status. Those persons include island secretary Joan Dovale Meit and Drs. Eugene Holiday. He said despite the hard work done by the team it was the political leaders who had to carry the ball and come to conclusions.
Richardson said the political leaders had to stand tall and give leadership when defending St. Maarten’s interest. He assured that the politicians really worked and has given the team their full support to battle for St. Maarten. He said there were times when the opposing delegation would call for the heads of St. Maarten advisors but at no time, the political leaders fell for it. Richardson also shared the same sentiments by saying now the real work has begun and while St. Maarten was distracted on negotiating its status instead of building country St. Maarten. He said the biggest challenge would be to build this nation.