While something had to give in the disturbed relations between the Government of St. Eustatius and The Hague, a full takeover of the island’s public administration by the Dutch still came as a shock to many. State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops will consequently have some explaining to do when he arrives today, not just to the Executive and Island Councils that are being sent home, but also the population starting with his Town Hall meeting,
This far-reaching intervention is based on a devastating report by the Committee of Wise Men consisting of a former Aruban Governor and a Council of State member. They wrote of gross negligence, an atmosphere of fear and political intimidation, discrimination, physical neglect of the island, etc.
Despite reservations over – among other things – postponing the 2019 elections for two years, both the First and Second Chambers of Parliament in the Netherlands unanimously approved the measure. That’s how serious the mismanagement of the people’s affairs by the public entity’s governing coalition is apparently considered.
As usual, opinions depend on whom you talk to. Two local groups described as grassroots organisations condemned the move side-lining a democratically elected government as neo-colonial and a violation of the Treaty for Human Rights, while opposition party DP called it very unfortunate, but unavoidable.
Councilman Clyde van Putten took it a step further, saying the Dutch were bringing in a special police force to unleash state-sponsored terror on the island. With support from the organisation of Caribbean and Latin American socialist (democratic) parties COPPAL, he wants the United Nations to send peacekeeping troops and kick the Netherlands out of the UN.
The self-proclaimed government leader even drew comparisons to the controversial so-called “police actions” by the Dutch in Indonesia after World War II, saying 150,000 natives were massacred there and suggested the same “genocide” would be committed in Statia.
Truth be told, his reaction alone probably says a lot about why all this is happening in the first place.
