Half of Dutch willing to
break ties with Antilles
THE HAGUE--The appeal from Freedom Party PVV for the Netherlands to sever all political ties with the Netherlands Antilles has the support of 49 per cent of the Dutch population. This emerged from an opinion poll carried out by Maurice de Hond on Monday among 1,500 people, commissioned by free daily newspaper DAG.
The islands that want to stay with the Netherlands should be put under direct Dutch government, says 60 per cent of respondents. A minority of 37 per cent wants to keep the Netherlands Antilles within the Kingdom of the Netherlands no matter what.
The majority of Rita Verdonk, Geert Wilders and VVD supporters are in favour of a “divorce,” according to the survey. One in three CDA and PvdA voters is also of this opinion.
The Parliamentary Consultation on Kingdom Relations (POK) was to be on the agenda during the tripartite meeting of the Members of Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and the Netherlands, which was supposed to start in Curaçao on Monday. During these consultations counterparts were to discuss future political relations.
However, the meeting was cancelled after Antillean politicians had been threatening over the past few days to boycott the talks. They were demanding an apology from PVV Member of Parliament Hero Brinkman, who described the Netherlands Antilles as “largely a corrupt gang of thieves.”
The Antillean Parliament responded by stating that Brinkman would not be welcome in the Netherlands Antilles if he didn’t apologise to the Antillean public.
According to the timetable, the relations within the Kingdom are set to change on December 15. It has been agreed that Curaçao and St. Maarten will then be granted separate status, like Aruba. Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will become special municipalities of the Netherlands. The Dutch government is taking over part of the island’s debts but wants, in exchange, more influence in financial and judicial
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