THE HAGUE--Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk will await the Bonaire Government’s course of action following Friday’s referendum.
Plasterk stated in a brief reaction on Saturday that he had taken note of the referendum results. “It is now first up to the Island Council and the Executive Council to determine which direction they want to go,” he said.
The Minister stated that in the process of drafting a formal Government response to the report of the Evaluation Committee, the Island Governments would be consulted on the bottlenecks they are experiencing as Dutch public entities.
A majority of more than 65 per cent of the Bonaire people had indicated on Friday that they were dissatisfied with the direct ties with the Netherlands. The turnout was high: more than 60 per cent of the people showed up to cast their votes in the referendum.
Bonaire’s current government had advised voting “no.” The Democratic Party-led Government thinks the referendum result has provided sufficient weight to restart negotiations with The Hague to give a different content to the ties with the Netherlands. Having a greater say in internal matters will be a cardinal point in the negotiations.
