PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Parliamentarian George Pantophlet says it seems the citizens in the Kingdom of the Netherlands have to fight for rights equal to those of their counterparts in the Netherlands.
In a press release on Sunday, Pantophlet said: "In the midst of having to deal with the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles, which includes division of assets and liabilities, currency issues, the central bank, consensus kingdom laws, Committee for Financial Supervision, our justice system, the Police Force – in short, putting our infrastructure in place to take over the tasks now provided by the Central Government – we as citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have to fight for our rights, equal rights within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
"At a time when we need the most cooperation from all partners, especially big sister, we are told no voting rights by almost all the members of the First and Second Chambers. But we are told about equality in the Kingdom and that we have to accept gay marriages, euthanasia and who knows what else.
"We were told to get our immigration problem under control, so we instituted the Brooks Towers Accord, and the Netherlands said that non-nationals will have easy access to the Netherlands and the Dutch nationality. Then we have the law that is still being proposed to send Netherlands Antilles problem youths back to the Netherlands Antilles while at the same time giving more rights to European Dutch to reside in the Dutch Caribbean islands.
"And today, as far as I know without any discussions with the representatives of the Netherlands Antilles, the vast majority in the Second Chamber approved the legislation proposal to amend the Kingdom Law on Dutch nationality.
"How much effect can a few English-speaking persons from the Netherlands Antilles have on a population of 16 million? I mention English because that was the previous requirement for the islands of St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba, while in Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire it was Papiamentu."
"If remaining within the Kingdom of the Netherlands brings with it the need to be able to speak, write and understand the Dutch language, why weren’t we given an opportunity to at least take part in those discussions?
"But, of course, it is a Kingdom Law approved by the First and Second Chambers, which are the highest legislative bodies in the Kingdom. The democratic deficit continues. Now I am reading where members of the Second Chamber are complaining about the decision of the Executive Council of Bonaire to exclude a group of European Dutch nationals from voting in the March 26, 2010, referendum.
"I believe the efforts of those two bodies should be on assisting St. Maarten in ensuring that all finance generated on the island remains here. These finances are needed to set up our dependencies and have a strong starting position (November 2, 2006 Final Agreement).
"I have always said that big sister (the Netherlands) has the financial and human resources with which to assist St. Maarten. It is time to put these to work in the interest of the people of St. Maarten. Then I would not have to ask the question: what rights do we have?" he said.
