Dutch politicians have been ranting and raving for the past two weeks that the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament is not a rubber stamp; that no definite decisions can be taken at the RTC and that no date for country status can be establish; and that everything has to be in place for St. Maarten to receive country status.
St. Maarten does not want to be entangled in Dutch politics where politicians are jostling to be in the spotlight. St. Maarten's constitutional future should not be held back due to the inexperience of some Dutch politicians.
When certain Dutch politicians talk about that the nation of St. Maarten is too small to receive country status, they should inform themselves properly of the various examples of nation-states that exists throughout the world that are smaller than St. Maarten, and have full-self government and are a member of the United Nations.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende should not allow himself to be swallowed into the political rhetoric of his colleagues in parliament. He should rise above the rhetoric and point to the agreements that have been made on how the process has to go and what has to be put into place.
What has transpired during the past two weeks in Holland is a lack of respect towards the people of St. Maarten as well as our right of self determination. The statements made in Holland by Dutch politicians about no separate status for St. Maarten is revealing because it means that they do not value our vote; they do not respect what we have decided as a people back in June 2000.
A number of excuses have been made by Dutch MPs why we shouldn't get country status within the Dutch Kingdom. The people of St. Maarten already decided what we wanted almost 10-years ago and the process of putting the building blocks in place have been on-going within that period of time and have even intensified within the past three-years.
Agreements have been reached on law and order as well as financial supervision at the end of November clearing the way for the December 15 RTC. The trajectory of upgrading the St. Maarten Police Force has received positive comments from Dutch authorities according to the Antillean Minister of Justice David Dick who stated this early September, and adding that the Dutch Minister of Justice Hirsch Ballin was satisfied with the on-going change process within the judicial field.
According to the highest advisory council in the Dutch Kingdom, the Council of State, the latter presented a report in early September stating that the formal establishment of the new countries Curacao and St. Maarten and the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles does not have to wait until all conditions to transfer all authorities to the new countries are complied with.
The goal must be to transfer the bulk of authorities to Curacao and St. Maarten by January 1, 2010, the Council of State wrote in its advice on how to accelerate the constitutional change process.
The Dutch representative in the Netherlands Antilles Rob Vermaas added his voice to the Council of State advice where he stated at the presentation of the Kingdom Budget back in September, that constitutional change for the islands does not have to wait until everything is ready. Vermaas even used Aruba as an example that an agreement for separate status had been reached in 1984, but that the new status had become a fact in 1986 and up to today certain things have not been regulated.
"It's a lengthy procedure and not everything has to be ready by the time the islands attain their new status. However, there should be an agreement on the basic ideas," Vermaas was quoted as stating.
It would be very unfortunate that the people of St. Maarten's constitutional future should continue to be tied up in Dutch political rhetoric. Our nation's future is more important that the future of any Dutch politician. The choice for constitutional change was ours and not that of the Dutch politician.
Roddy Heyliger
