Duncan’s islands
summit in limbo
PHILIPSBURG--Curaçao isn’t interested, at least not at this moment, in a summit with St. Maarten to discuss constitutional affairs matters.
Constitutional and Home Affairs Minister Roland Duncan scheduled a summit on October 3 and 4, but Curaçao has sent an official letter to the Minister informing him that it will not participate. Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams said Wednesday that if Curaçao wasn’t participating, St. Maarten also would have to consider its options.
The reason for the Curaçao Island Territory not participating is that the Dutch Government still hasn’t responded to the Netherlands Antilles’ answer to the Dutch constitutional reform position paper Partners in the Kingdom.
Duncan told The Daily Herald he understood “through the grapevine” that a letter from Curaçao was on its way to him. “I haven’t received the letter yet so I cannot comment on their reasons given not to participate in the summit,” he said.
He expects that when Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius reach an agreement on their quest for direct ties with the Netherlands this will influence the process of constitutional change for Curaçao and St. Maarten, which are each seeking an autonomous status within the Kingdom.
“The three smaller islands will have their summit next week. I hope all goes well for them. They will probably reach an agreement. That’s why I wanted Curaçao and St. Maarten to sit down next week to decide whether the two islands will further cooperate or not,” Duncan explained.
According to the Minister, it is also possible for Curaçao and St. Maarten to go their separate ways in trying to obtain their desired new constitutional status.
Commissioner Wescot-Williams stated at Wednesday’s weekly press briefing that if the comments by Curaçao Island Council member Cesar Prince were to be taken as the formal reaction by Curaçao, then St. Maarten would have to evaluate its position about attending the summit.
She lamented the apparent lack of coordination when it came to the tuning and scheduling of these types of meetings between the islands. She said it was important to contact the partners in the constitutional process and double-check the need, expectations and scheduling, before organising these meetings.
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