Dutch Govt seeking to usurp authority through visa law

September 26, 2011 7:34 AM

PHILIPSBURG--The Dutch government is attempting to "usurp" an authority it does not have under the Kingdom Charter with its draft Kingdom Visa Law, a move that does not have the support of members of the Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations Committee of St. Maarten's Parliament.

The committee's position will be forwarded to the Central Committee of Parliament in the coming days, as the goal is to have Parliament issue a formal response to the Dutch ahead of a meeting on the matter by the Dutch Second Chamber in the third week of September.

Kingdom Relations Committee Chairman Member of Parliament (MP) Roy Marlin (DP) said during the committee's meeting on Thursday that the committee "fully underscores" the stance of the Parliaments of Aruba and Curaçao on the draft visa law, which if passed would take the authority to issue visas away from the countries and place it in the hands of the Kingdom Government.
At present, each country within the Dutch Kingdom regulates its own admittance and expulsion policies. This was the basis for St. Maarten implementing a visa requirement in April for nationals of Jamaica and Guyana.

Marlin urged a speedy handling of the response as any delay would not be doing St. Maarten justice in this matter, especially considering that this draft law was not known formally to the local authorities until after country status was attained in October 2010. The draft was sent to the former Netherlands Antilles Parliament and not passed on to the then Island Council of St. Maarten for its review.

MP Johan Leonard (UP) said he saw "a lot of inconsistencies" in the proposal from the Dutch Government and wanted to hear the standpoint of Justice Minister Roland Duncan on the matter as soon as possible.

Marlin said with the time limitation the minister's opinion may well be received after the meeting of the Dutch Second Chamber later this month and for expediency a response needs to be taken care of now by Parliament – a response to say simply that the draft "infringes on the right of the country."
MP Dr. Ruth Douglass (UP) concurred with Marlin's standpoint about the need for a speedy response as well as about the draft law's infringement on the country's autonomy within the Kingdom. She noted that the country's main economic activity is tourism and "we have to know who we are letting in." She also added her view that "the crime rate has to do with undocumented people."

Justice Ministers of the Dutch Caribbean discussed the draft visa law with Dutch Minister of Immigration and Integration Geerd Leers on June 18.

Duncan had stated at that time that his protest was on the principal grounds that visas are an immigration matter and not a foreign affairs issue. He also feared that it will not give sufficient space for countries to determine and pursue their national interests.

(Source: The Daily Herald St. Maarten)

9 September 2011