She was the State Secretary of Kingdom Relations at the time of the intensive trajectory leading up to the new constitutional structure in the Dutch Kingdom which went into effect on October 10, 2010 when Curaçao and St. Maarten attained country status and Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba became Dutch public entities. Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, currently the King’s Commissioner in the Overijssel province, interviewed on the occasion of the fifth anniversary.
How do you look back at 10-10-10?
It was very significant that ultimately we made 10-10-10 together, that we managed to bring the constitutional changes that had been discussed for decades to a positive close along the ideas present on the islands. We had agreed to a period of five years with a minimum of (new) regulations. That has not always been the case from the side of the Dutch Government. That is a pity. I hope that the Evaluation Committee will dedicate attention to that aspect. I believe it is important that we realise, also in light of the bicentennial of the Dutch Kingdom, that the islands are developing democracies, that there is growth. The preconditions for new constitutional relations were good. It now depends on the people how they will give content. The islands still have my keen interest.
The relations of the islands with The Hague have become more direct since 10-10-10. Did you consider at the time that this would result in more tensions within the Kingdom?
I was under the impression that the debt restructuring had created solid preconditions to enable the island territories that became a country, Curaçao and St. Maarten, to more or less stand on their own feet. If things are going well, the country in question would, in principle, not have to end up in a conflict situation with the Dutch Government. There were numbers of preconditions in the financial and legal area. The idea was to have a mechanism where countries could discuss issues on Kingdom level. Naturally, I will not go into what my successors and the government have done, but I do find it a pity that this has evolved. It was known that the Caribbean Netherlands, by becoming part of the Netherlands, would end up in an entirely different constellation. These three islands have a completely different relation with the Netherlands. They have a National Government Representative for their contact with The Hague. Of the latter person, one has to wonder if that position still requires an evaluation, to look at whether the construction at the time was of sufficiently direct nature.
The islands are saying that the Netherlands isn’t showing enough respect.
I find the current constellation very intriguing. As I said at the celebration of 200 years Kingdom, I find it very wonderful that we are diverse, that there are islands some 9,000km away that are part of the Kingdom with a very different people and culture. But those differences can be bridged if you look for true dialogue. The Kingdom Youth Parliament held in St. Maarten in May 2014 showed that this is possible. The countries have an autonomous status which was secured in the Kingdom Charter with a number of securities that were built in. The islands can appeal to the Kingdom. Some aspects were shared together like defence and foreign affairs. The countries can come along on trade missions with the King and Queen. I find that some people are too quick in saying that the islands’ autonomy is being affected. Maybe things can get better if we all would treat each other with mutual respect and interest. But it always has to come from two sides.
Looking back at the process, are there things that you would have done differently?
I am positive about the trajectory that we walked together. For me, it was a sort of now or never situation. We needed a solution for a situation that had been under discussion for a very long time. I believe that if we hadn’t concluded the process at that time, it would never have happened. I don’t think the new constitutional structure would have materialised in the current political climate. It’s a good thing that we concluded the process and that we reformatted the Kingdom. At times, you do wonder why certain developments are taking place in a certain way. That cannot be avoided. But I see this as a democratic development, be it that everyone treats each other in a respectful manner and with the securities that are built in our constellation. It is important to keep the dialogue going and to maintain mutual respect.
