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March 31, 2009
courtesy The Daily Herald
That Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has personally called on the First and Second Chambers of Parliament to help facilitate a smooth approval of legislation for the BES islands is noteworthy. It is not often that the chairman of the Kingdom Council of Ministers speaks out regarding the process of constitutional change in the Dutch Caribbean, usually leaving such to State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten.
The prime minister's direct involvement would seem to indicate that his government is serious about achieving the new relations within the Kingdom as agreed on with the Antillean Government and the respective Island Territories. It is without a doubt an encouraging sign for the people of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba that, after decades of haggling over the constitutional issue, the light at the end of the tunnel finally appears in sight.
That law proposals regarding the new status of the BES islands have been included in the semi-annual schedule of draft legislation for the first time raises the question whether that should not also be the case for legislation pertaining to St. Maarten and Curaçao becoming autonomous countries in the Kingdom. After all, the target date for both changes to take effect is early next year.
But the Kingdom law proposals that concern St. Maarten and Curaçao are obviously different than those for the BES islands, because of the nature of the respective future statuses. So the fact that only the BES islands are mentioned in this particular letter of Balkenende by no means should be reason to panic, although it is a good opportunity to look once again into the trajectory Kingdom laws for Curaçao and St. Maarten will have to follow in the context of deadlines that need to be met.
No new elections will be held for the Antillean Parliament when its term and consequently that of the current Central Government ends early next year, so there is little room for error. Unless the Curaçao voters reject the current constitutional agreements in the May 15 referendum on that island, the Netherlands Antilles in all likelihood will be left without elected representation and thereby in effect cease to exist as a constitutional democratic state, ready or not.
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