Own destiny
Now that each of the five islands has held a second referendum, after the majority choice of all to maintain the (restructured) Netherlands Antilles in the first one a decade go proved impossible to execute, the talks on the constitutional future of the Dutch Kingdom can begin. The islands spoke about their relations not just with each other, but also with Holland, and as such negotiations with the Dutch Government will be involved.
What is obvious is that the Netherlands Antilles as we know it, despite Statia’s majority vote to remain part of it, is a thing of the past. Without the biggest islands in terms of revenues and economic activity Curaçao and St. Maarten, each of which chose to become an autonomous country within the Kingdom, the Antilles cannot survive. It’s as simple as that.
That does not mean the vote of Statia is wasted one. Certain ideas concerning continued cooperation in a federal sense could very well form part of the negotiations. Holland wants guarantees through a bigger role for the Kingdom Government in certain areas, while Curaçao and to a lesser extent St. Maarten will have none of it. It is not unthinkable that some sort of body in which the islands are better represented than the Kingdom Government could take over some of that responsibility.
The fact is that the referendum results are the basis for negotiations; nothing more, nothing less. The Dutch also know that even if the Kingdom Government were to have a bigger role in an autonomous Curaçao and St. Maarten, there will be pressure to do the same in Aruba, which has already said it will not give up an inch of the separate (autonomous) status it was granted in 1986.
There is a long way to go and to think that any final decisions can be taken before the next Parliamentary elections early next year, even if a Round Table Conference can still be held this year, would be somewhat naïve. The politicians should take their time to negotiate the best possible results and then come back to the people for approval in another referendum, so they can indeed determine their own destiny.
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