Prime Minister: "Kingdom Act transfer of persons remains unacceptable"

August 21, 2009 3:32 PM

“It was and will remain unacceptable”, says Minister-President Emily de Jongh-Elhage on the Kingdom Act transfer of persons of which a draft had turned up. She reminds that Parliament ‘had unanimously declared against this Kingdom Act’. This was at the beginning of 2008.

The Minister of Justice at that time, David Dick (PAR), brought the message to his Dutch peer Ernst Hirsch Ballin (CDA). However, the Netherlands by no means intend to withdraw the plan of the Kingdom Act transfer of persons. And it does not concern a consensus-national law.

The Kingdom Act transfer of persons is also a part of the coalition agreement, which the Balkenende-cabinet reached in February 2007. “Following on the governmental re-organization of the Netherlands Antilles, the transfer of persons will be dealt with, within the Kingdom. The naturalization of Antillean and Aruban Dutch people will be included in the law. There will be further agreements with the Netherlands Antilles, amongst others, regarding the enforcement of the compulsary social education in the Netherlands Antilles in order to take on the problems of and with Antillean problem youngsters”, according to point 13 under denominator ‘Governmental organization and legislation’.

When Hirsch Ballin was on Curaçao for the political negotiations at the beginning of February last year (which was two weeks before the rejected motion in Parliament), he told this newspaper: “We do not have the intention to breathe new life into the repatriation scheme Antillean youngsters. That proposal was immediately withdrawn by the cabinet to which I belong.” He also said, “I have complete confidence, that all misunderstandings will be removed once we have this all worked-out. This concerns exceptional situations, and I think that people are not fully aware of this.” As an example, he stated, “One should think along these lines; if someone from the European part of the Kingdom had the intention to open a money laundering company in Willemstad, then he could be declared persona non grata. If someone from the Netherlands Antilles who has developed a lifestyle of criminal activities, wants to reside in the Netherlands, he could also be declared persona non grata.”

In the motion of February 14th, 2008 during an upcoming consultation, Parliament requested David Dick to inform the Dutch Minister as follows: that they "did not want ‘a repatriation scheme for the Antillean youngsters’, that this was not consistent with the political reformations, that they didn’t want the civil rights to be affected, and that they also required information on the intentions, and the realization of the Kingdom Act transfer of persons’.

(Source: National Newspaper Amigoe)

August 21, 2009