The Hague Member of Parliament André Bosman (VVD) has put written questions to State Secretary Knops (BZK) about the indictment that was submitted on Wednesday on behalf of the States of Sint Maarten to the special rapporteur of the United Nations. The Netherlands is accused of violating Sint Maarten’s right to self-government and of favoring white residents in the Kingdom over those with African roots.
Bosman wants to know whether the petition was also submitted on behalf of the five other islands and whether the accusations against the Netherlands have been brought forward by Sint Maarten in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom or other consultations. One of those accusations is that the democratically elected government of Sint Maarten is being supplanted by a neo-colonial fiscal authority. The wish of Sint Maarten to complete the decolonization process, Bosman sees as a call for independence, witness his questions: If Sint Maarten wanted to become independent, there are objections from the Kingdom or the countries within the kingdom? When could talks take place regarding the independence of Sint Maarten? In response to the widely supported petition of the States of Sint Maarten, are you willing to take the lead for such a conversation?
Are you familiar with “PETITION PRESENTED TO: THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE AND THE WORKING GROUP OF EXPERTS ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT ON EXCEPT OF THE PARLIAMENT AND CITIZENS OF SINT MAARTEN ”of March 9, 2021? Is this petition also on behalf of Bonaire Saba and Sint Eustatius? Is this petition also on behalf of Aruba and Curaçao? Has the accusation that “the Netherlands failed in its obligation to promote self-government” also been discussed in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom? If so, when? Have the above allegations been discussed in other consultations? If so, where? Has the government of Sint Maarten expressed support for this petition? If so, when? If not, why not? The petition speaks of “ousting a democratically elected government by a neo-colonial fiscal authority. Is that displacement taking place? If so, can you indicate where this displacement takes place? The petition states that: “Although precise statistics on race are not readily available for the islands and the Netherlands, it is clear that on the aggregate level , the Kingdom’s treatment of the overwhelmingly white population of the Netherlands is far superior than its treatment of the people of African descent and other racial and ethnic minorities that comprise the considerable majority of the three Caribbean islands ”. Do you recognize yourself in this statement? Which decisions by the Kingdom would show that the treatment would be different? Is it true that the country of Sint Maarten voluntarily agreed in 10-10-10 to accept external financial supervision when accepting the autonomy? for Sint Maarten? The financial problems of Sint Maarten are mainly attributed by the petitioners to the hurricanes of 2017 and the corona pandemic. Is that the case or have the financial problems been there for much longer? If those problems have existed for some time, what does this show? What about tax collection in Sint Maarten? How many hotels, businesses and wealthy residents receive a tax cut, or pay no tax at all, on Sint Maarten? What is the cause of the slow disbursement of the 550 Million euros made available by the Netherlands under the framework of the reconstruction of Sint Maarten after hurricane Irma? The petitioners blame the Kingdom for not being able to take out a loan with an external financier and now blame the Kingdom for becoming more heavily indebted through funding from the Dutch government. Is that correct? Who is responsible for poverty reduction and social affairs in Sint Maarten? What can the Netherlands be blamed for with regard to the differences in support in the social domain in relation to Sint Maarten? The petitioners accuse the Netherlands and the Kingdom of not doing anything about the prison of Sint Maarten? Under whose responsibility does the prison of Sint Maarten fall? What do you think about the accusations of racism, colonialism and discrimination that run throughout the play towards the Netherlands and the Kingdom? In accordance with your answers to my questions of 21 August 2019, the countries already had full self-government in accordance with Article 73 of the UN Charter when they adopted the Statute. What other form of complete self. https://dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl/2021/03/11/kamerlid-bosman-gesprek-aangaan-met-sint-maarten-over-onafhankelijkheid/
