Members of the Island Council (left) in discussion with members of the First Chamber’s Permanent Committee on Kingdom Relations (right).
ST. EUSTATIUS--The Island Council of St. Eustatius met with the delegation of the Permanent Committee on Kingdom Relations of the Dutch Parliament’s First Chamber at Mike van Putten Youth Centre on Tuesday, March 1. An icebreaker meet-and-greet was held for Island Council members and the government commissioners at Old Gin House on Monday.
Councilman Koos Sneek said the “standard topics” were discussed such as poverty, the social minimum and cost of living, the banking and notary situation, poor and expensive airlift, healthcare insurance and the need for a dialysis centre.
“For most of the Island Council members, including myself, the main topic was the Restoration Act and the return to a normal local democracy. The parliamentarians were thereby interested to know how we experienced the first meeting with the new State Secretary [for Kingdom Affairs and Digitisation – Ed.] Alexandra van Huffelen, who visited Statia last week,” said Sneek.
He considered the discussion with visiting Senators “positive and respectful” from both sides. “I noticed a certain level of understanding from the part of the Parliament members about the frustration the Island Council is feeling while functioning under the Restoration Act with very little influence on government policies and decisions made by the government commissioner.”
Sneek stressed the need for a “point on the horizon” with a fixed date for the return to democracy, “this particularly with the date for the election March next year fast approaching.”
Rechelline Leerdam said the delegation had asked some good questions and asked each council member what their top-three priorities for Statia were. One of the top issues besides democracy was health insurance. “At the end of the day this is what is plaguing our people the most. Our people are basically dying because of issues related to health insurance,” Leerdam said.
As to the mediation process between the Island Council and the government commissioners, Leerdam said that transparency and communication have been declining to a state that has created “a lot of mistrust” and a “non-working relationship”.
The Audit Chamber was also addressed. According to Leerdam, the Island Council is basically being held hostage, as implementation of an Audit Chamber is one of the criteria for a return to democracy.
She referred to a statement by Van Huffelen, who said it takes three to tango and that everybody plays a role in the restoration of democracy. This includes the First and Second Chambers, as these gave then-State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops the authority to remove democracy in Statia.
“Knops stated then that it was a sound law and as we go through this restoration process. we realise that it was not sound. There are a lot of areas of concern that need attention.
“The Island Council hopes that this fight continues in a positive manner and for the people of Statia. We need to raise our voice and let The Hague and the world know that we need our democracy back. It’s not a luxury, but a right.”
The Senators and the Island Council members both said they are looking forward to the results of the mediation by former Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Antilles Maria Liberia-Peters and Suzy Camelia-Römer, who will visit Statia next week.
