THE HAGUE--The Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament wants a meeting with the Progress Committees of Curaçao and St. Maarten to discuss the Plans of Approach which are likely to be terminated by October this year.
Member of Parliament (MP) André Bosman, of the liberal democratic VVD party, requested during a procedural meeting on Wednesday to invite the two Progress Committees for a meeting in the near future to discuss the process of the Plans of Approach over the six years since their inception in October 2010. Bosman’s request was honoured.
Chairpersons Nico Schoof of the Progress Committee St. Maarten and M. Marijnen of the Progress Committee Curaçao informed Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk last month that it did not make much sense to prolong the Plans of Approach, because the “instrument wasn’t conducive anymore after six years.” Plasterk in principle agreed with the proposal not to prolong the Plans of Approach.
Curaçao will be close to completion with the execution of the Plans of Approach for the Curaçao Police Force and the Curaçao Detention and Correctional Centre SDKK by October 2016. The Committee reported that the two organisations displayed the “ambition and energy” and concrete action to complete the plans.
St. Maarten, however, was a different story. Even though four of the seven initial Plans of Approach were completed, there are two important plans that have stagnated: the St. Maarten Police Force and the Pointe Blanche Prison. Both organisations have been considerably understaffed and lack the possibilities for quality training programmes and education.
The lack of progress in the execution of the Plans of Approach for the police and prison was mostly caused by financial restrictions of the St. Maarten Government, Committee Chairman Schoof stated. This situation was expected to remain unchanged in 2016, and therefore, both Plans of Approach can be considered as not having been completed by October this year.
“An improvement of the situation can only be found when the financial means again become available and a constructive cooperation with the Netherlands is realised in which external assistance is inevitable in order to achieve the desired level of security and law enforcement in the Kingdom,” it was stated in the letter.
The fact that the Plans of Approach for St. Maarten would not be prolonged caused concern in the Second Chamber. Bosman tabled a motion two weeks ago requesting the Dutch Government to prepare proposals containing “binding agreements and clear objectives” to improve the St. Maarten Police Force and the Prison before the termination of the Plans of Approach. The motion was adopted with a majority support.
It was decided during Wednesday’s procedural meeting that the Kingdom Relations Committee would await the written response of the Dutch Government to Bosman’s motion before proceeding to invite the Progress Committee for a meeting.
The Kingdom Relations Committee also discussed possible sub-themes for the March 30 Ambassador’s Conference in The Hague to which the Dutch ambassadors have been invited, as well as the Ministers Plenipotentiary of the three Dutch Caribbean countries and Members of the Dutch Parliament.
The main theme of the conference is cooperation within the Kingdom. Suggested sub-themes were economic cooperation opportunities and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). MP Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA suggested asking the ambassador in Cuba to talk about the effects of the opening up of Cuba for the region.
Committee Chairman Jeroen Recourt closed Wednesday’s meeting with a source of concern: the low attendance at meetings of the Kingdom Relation’s Committee. Generally two to three MP’s attend the monthly procedural meeting. He urged the two present members, Bosman and Van Laar, to talk to their colleagues about this. “I am starting to get worried,” Recourt said.
