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Dutch Government Are Racist, And Sxm Government Are Criminals The Latest. It’s that simple. The latest back and forth between Knops and Jacob’s seems to be the same vitriol on repeat. The world is watching. Below is the latest article by Sharina Henriquez’s Caribbean Network, based in Aruba.
Financial aid to Sint Maarten stopped again, ‘inappropriate decision by the Netherlands’ Translated from Caribisch Netwerk
THE HAGUE – For the second time in a short time, the Netherlands is turning off the money tap for the emergency management Sint Maarten. Prime Minister Jacobs believes that The Hague is constantly changing the rules of the game for aid.
The Netherlands paused the emergency loans earlier in April after Sint Maarten accused a The Hague of ‘racism’ and ‘neo-colonial’ behavior at the UN. Now Knops is again stopping financial aid due to maladministration at the Princess Juliana International Airport . The question is whether that is allowed.
In exchange for millions in emergency aid to get through the corona crisis, the island has signed a solid package of Dutch conditions for the coming years. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs finds it ‘inappropriate’ that outgoing State Secretary Raymond Knops (Kingdom Relations, CDA) is coming up with new demands.
Tense atmosphere with the Caribbean
It comes as a surprise that the relationship with Jacobs is now so tense. He promised to provide the loans, because the island has fulfilled ‘most of the agreements’ with the Netherlands. Two weeks ago, the State Secretary sent a letter to MPs in which he writes that Jacobs is doing good work.
Prime Minister Jacobs himself also talked about ‘friendly talks’ with the State Secretary and counted on the 39 million Antillean guilders that have been promised.
The unexpected move by political The Hague to stop emergency loans not only causes tension with St. Maarten, but also with the two other autonomous islands of Aruba and Curaçao, which have also previously concluded an agreement with The Hague.
Sint-Maarten wants to see the money
this week Jacobs wants a solution this week, because the ‘arbitrary decision’ of The Hague will soon be felt by the population, she warns. “We must ensure that the livelihoods of people who depend on the Sint-Maarten government are not endangered by the persistent actions of The Hague.”
‘It is hard to explain’ that the Netherlands keeps stopping loans to push the Hague ‘agenda,’ says Jacobs. “We expect the Netherlands to honor its agreements made on 23 April. These delayed actions by Knops disrupt the vital processes of the government and make it difficult for the government to meet its obligations. ”
‘Rules of the game are constantly changing’
The fear of the three islands was that the Netherlands would change the rules of the game during the game. The Council of State already warned about this undesirable risk in an advisory report in March.
Jacobs fears that relationships in the Kingdom will deteriorate. According to the prime minister, it is “a very worrying fact” that the Dutch government is now calling in old agreements on reconstruction after hurricane Irma to stop corona aid. “The National Package (the agreement for the corona aid, ed.) Does not cover these agreements.”
This week Knops will be making a planned travel visit to all three Windward Islands, including the Caribbean municipalities of Saba and St. Eustatius. Prime Minister Jacobs expects to speak to State Secretary Knops and his team in person on Wednesday and Thursday “to ensure that St. Maarten is treated fairly.”
“Without a dispute settlement, and without the willingness of the RMR and BZK to listen to the reality of the situation on Sint Maarten – even after the technical agreement – and to take into account the SIDS status these islands have, we remain in this Kingdom are struggling to be treated as self-governing countries “with a degree of equality and respect,” Jacobs said in a letter to Secretary of State.
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SOURCE CARIBBEAN NETWORK https://caribischnetwerk.ntr.nl/2021/05/17/financiele-hulp-aan-sint-maarten-opnieuw-gestopt-ongepast-besluit-van-nederland/
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