Regional trade union reps informed
about island’s constitutional changes
PHILIPSBURG--The constitutional changes St. Maarten is pursuing and their effects on cooperation with the region are among several issues being explained to trade union representatives of the region, currently in St. Maarten for a mini-conference on Caribbean Integration and Globalisation.
The three-day conference, which started on Monday, was organised by the Caribbean Workers Council (CWC) in collaboration with Windward Islands Federation of Labour (WIFOL) and Caribbean and Latin American Workers (CLAT).
Conference participants were drawn from Saba, Statia, Curaçao, Suriname, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad, Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia and Windward Islands Civil Servants Union (WICSU) and WIFOL of St. Maarten.
Constitutional Affairs Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams told the participants that the status change meant more authority for St. Maarten. “It is about transferring the powers from the Central Government to the islands of the Netherlands Antilles,” said Wescot-Williams. She also fielded questions from the participants, said.
She alluded to the referendum held in 2000, during which the population voted for separate status. She also touched on the issue of cooperation with the region under the island’s new status. She said regional cooperation and agreements would continue, but with an emphasis on each individual island nation.
“We in St. Maarten have our work cut out for us where it relates to regional cooperation in all areas eventually, as well as in the areas of regional integration and harmonisation in fortifying the areas of functional cooperation which exist, but because of our constitutional status are in most cases informal in nature.”
Is the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles in contravention of the integration and cooperation movement, she asked.
“I submit not. To the contrary, if only we view this dismantling as the coming of age of those making up the Netherlands Antilles. If we view ourselves as island nations in development, seeking our rightful place in our regional sphere to subsequently position ourselves regionally, poised to promote and defend the interests of all our people of the region as a collective force,” she said.
She continued: “The assurances which we have given our people of cooperation among the new constitutional entities are being predicated on not so much the form, but the formation of this cooperation. And if we don’t or can’t get the cooperation right, we surely can’t speak of integration, the critical factors in both processes being ‘voluntarily’ and ‘equality.’
“The uncoordinated attempts being made now at last minute regional cooperation by some Netherlands Antillean authorities are doomed to fail in the face of the unsolved issues regarding the new constitutional entities, like in the case of Country St. Maarten.
“I concur that these are the most difficult times to involve any island of the Netherlands Antilles in any regional cooperation movement, let alone integration, because of the transitional phase we find ourselves in within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.”
Conference participants quizzed the Commissioner on the impact of the new status on relations with the region, the Caribbean Community Caricom and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), the movement of people, currency and the island’s constitution. They also asked whether the December 15, 2008, date was feasible.
In brief opening remarks CLAT Deputy Secretary Anselmo Pontillus said it was important for participants to be aware of the “historic” constitutional changes the Dutch Antilles were going through.
WIFOL President Theophilus Thompson welcomed the overseas delegates to St. Maarten and urged them to enjoy the island and what it had to offer. Similar sentiments were expressed by Wescot-Williams.
The conference continues today with speeches by CLAT, politician Will Johnson, and University of the District of Columbia International Affairs Department Director Paul Nehru Tennessee.
Constitutional Affairs Minister Roland Duncan is scheduled to speak on Thursday, the last day of the mini-conference.
