Parliament supports Charter amendment

September 08, 2010 12:05 PM

THE HAGUE--The Dutch Second Chamber indicated its support for the Implementation Kingdom Decree to amend the Charter during a crucial debate Tuesday evening.

Their support will become clear when today, Wednesday, Dutch Parliament votes on four motions that were submitted during Tuesday's debate. The support clears the way for the Final Round Table Conference (RTC) which will be held in The Hague this Thursday.

Initially the Christian Union (CU) had some doubts earlier this week whether to support the Implementation Decree because they argued that much still needed to be done before Curaçao and St. Maarten could attain country status. But on Tuesday those doubts seemed to have been greatly reduced.

The only concern that remained of CU Member of Parliament (MP) Cynthia Ortega-Martijn was what she called the "unfair" treatment of Bonaire and its people in the process of constitutional reform whereby the island will have to accept integration into the Netherlands or become independent.

The liberal democratic VVD party also seemed less firm in its earlier criticism of amending the Charter to grant Curaçao and St. Maarten country status. VVD MP André Bosman said that his party would have liked to see a "more fundamental revision" of the Charter. "VVD has strong doubts about the limited changes to the Charter," he said. During the debate in April this year, VVD had voted against the Kingdom Law to amend the Charter.

Bosman said the current amendment was more a blend of measures and asked Dutch caretaker State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten to convince VVD that it was the right way to go by building in guarantees through the plans of approach.

Instead, the VVD party submitted a motion asking the next Dutch cabinet to include an admittance and expulsion regulation for Antillean youngsters in the future Kingdom Law that regulates the movement of persons in the Kingdom.

VVD wants Antillean youngsters to comply with certain conditions before they can enter the Netherlands. Admitted would be youngsters who came to the Netherlands to study and those with a prospective job. Youngsters who quit school, don't find a job or end up in crime, would be sent back to their island.

VVD's motion is expected to receive a majority support when it is voted on today, Wednesday. Bijleveld-Schouten said during Tuesday's debate that the Kingdom Law Movement of Persons is a separate issue and has no relation to the current constitutional reform process.

The Socialist Party (SP) and Party for Freedom PVV are against the Implementation Decree. According to MP Ronald van Raak of the SP, Curaçao and St. Maarten are "far from ready" to attain country status. He said the construction of the new house was not ready and wondered why the Dutch Government was willing to accept "camping in a tent."

Van Raak submitted a motion to defer the Final Round Table Conference (RTC) which takes place in The Hague this Thursday. Instead, there should be an "emergency conference" to discuss the "crisis" in the Kingdom. The State Secretary advised against this motion.

Bijleveld-Schouten said it was important to conclude the process of constitutional reform. She said the trajectory was bound to a limited time. "Sometimes you have to step into the deep," she said, referring to concerns by some MP's that Curaçao and St. Maarten weren't fully ready.

PVV MP Eric Lucassen said the new relations in the Kingdom weren't a historic decision, but a "historic mistake." He compared the constitutional exercise to parachute jumping and said that one needed to be well prepared before jumping out of a plane. Lucassen submitted two motions to cease the 1.5 billion-euro debt reorganisation and to refrain from executing the Implementation Decree.

Labour Party PvdA, Christian Democratic Party CDA, Democrats D66, the green left party GroenLinks, Christian Union CU, Party for Animals and the reformed SGP party will give green light to the Implementation Decree. Together the parties have 80 seats.

VVD will determine its position today. If Bosman's motion on the admittance and expulsion regulation for Antilleans is carried, the party will not resist the Implementation Decree. In that case, the number of proponents will increase to 111 seats. The motions of Van Raak and Lucassen are not expected to be carried.

7 September, 2010