Second Chamber member in the Netherlands Andre Bosman wants to amend the Kingdom Charter and give the two other Dutch Caribbean countries an option to go independent that Aruba already has (see related story). He hopes to discuss this during January’s Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO in St. Maarten.
A similar change is suggested to the Dutch Constitution so that the so-called BES islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) can do the same. The VVD politician says this means no referendum is needed.
However, even if the latter were not a legal requirement, it would most definitely be a moral one. The idea of taking such a fundamental and far-reaching step without asking the population first is anyhow downright ludicrous.
It’s not hard to figure out that recent criticism of perceived intervention by The Hague on the islands led to Bosman’s latest divisive plans. Such a response only confirms that he is not too keen on maintaining the kingdom in its current form.
What’s more, the right of self-determination in principle has nothing to with the charter or constitution. It is the people’s freedom to choose recognised by the United Nations (UN) and acknowledged worldwide.
Even ex-colonies having decided to continue relations with the former coloniser cannot really be stopped from fully exercising that basic right, no matter what the documents say. In fact, the former coloniser must ultimately cooperate to help ensure an orderly process.
The proposal may therefore be viewed as just another nonsensical provocation.
