Today, June 13, is Flag Day, marking the 33rd anniversary of proclaiming the Dutch side’s own flag. There tends to be little celebration and it is not a public holiday either, chiefly due to St. Maarten/St. Martin Day on November 11, generally viewed as the entire island’s de facto “national holiday.” In fact, most flags seen on vehicles in traffic these days are from other nations participating in the FIFA World Cup.
It’s nevertheless a significant date, as pointed out in two full-page advertisements by government in this newspaper. The information they provide is certainly relevant and interesting because it concerns one of the country’s main symbols.
However, it would have been nice to confirm the importance of this day by officially raising a new flag at Bell’s Lookout Point. The pole erected on that location has been standing bare since early February, when strong winds ripped apart the huge flag placed there at the initiative of former VROMI Minister Christophe Emmanuel, who managed to inaugurate it before stepping down due to a change in government.
Some have suggested the apparent foot-dragging in replacing the flag was politically motivated, but current Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin denied these allegations and “to avoid any misunderstanding” even told Parliament she happens to like the flag. The problem is that any flag there must obviously be very storm-resistant and, according to protocol, properly illuminated at night, which was evidently not the case before.
That’s all well and good, but four months have passed now and planning to hoist a new one on Flag Day would seem like the perfect scenario, also in terms of showing the kind of unity that is appropriate when it comes to such a “national issue.” While perhaps this was indeed the intention and the work simply hasn’t completed yet, for now it appears Flag Day will be observed with St. Maarten’s biggest flag still missing.
