PHILIPSBURG--Progressive Labour Party (PLP) Island Council member Clyde van Putten said over the weekend that the success of the mediation process between the Government Commissioners and members of the Island Council, which is slated to begin Monday, March 7, will hinge on the willingness of both parties to strike a compromise.
Van Putten said in a press statement that if the mediation process is to yield any success members of the Island Council and the Executive Council must be willing to add water to the wine and to make compromises in reaching an agreement that must serve the interest of all the people of St. Eustatius.
The mediation process between the Government Commissioners and Island Council members became necessary following an acrimonious meeting of the Island Council on December 23, 2021, which led members of the Island Council to table a motion calling for immediate mediation between both parties.
As a result, both sides were able to put forward a mediator in the persons of two former Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Antilles: Suzie Camelia Romer and Maria Liberia- Pieters.
Van Putten said he has every confidence in the track record and experiences of both women and that they would be able to bring the two parties together with the ultimate aim of reaching lasting cooperation between members of the Executive and Island Councils.
“After all, it’s not about us, it is about the general interest of the people of St. Eustatius,” Van Putten said. “I am going into these meetings with an open mind, but with a clear understanding that we must reach agreements that will serve as an impetuous in working towards the general well-being of the people of St. Eustatius.”
He said he was of the view that the whole process towards the restoration of democracy in St. Eustatius is the main point of contention in the working relationship between Executive and Island Council members.
He further stated said that it is the view of Island Council that they are kept in the dark and there is not enough transparency and trust between the two parties. He also said it is the hope that after this mediation process the impasse can be broken, whereby the trust and working relationship can be restored based on mutual respect, understanding and equality.
He also believed that State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitization Alexandra van Huffelen must play an important role by expediting the full restoration of democracy in this process going forward, in keeping with the wishes expressed by the people during the elections for the Island Council in October 2020.
