Grisha asks Prime Minister to consult with Parliament before responding to Dutch apology | SOUALIGA NEWSDAY

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - In the notification round of the public meeting of Parliament regarding the situation at N.V. G.E.B.E., MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten addressed the Prime Minister, the Hon. Silveria Jacobs about the issue of the apology for slavery by the Dutch Government.

Heyliger Marten asked the Prime Minister specifically if she will consult the people of St. Martin, represented by the Parliament, before accepting the apology which is expected to be presented on December 19^th, 2022.

“We don’t know what this apology will entail, but it is important that we understand what the Prime Minister’s take is”, Heyliger-Marten stated during the meeting.

Heyliger-Marten’s statements and question are directly related to the presentation by One SXM Association during a presentation to Parliament a day prior, on December 13^th, 2022.

During said presentation, One SXM Association urged Parliament to issue an instruction to government not to accept the impending December 19^th apology from the Dutch government for slavery past. According to the association, the apology will not include discussions on reparations. Spokesperson Dr. Rhoda Arrindell stated that it is not against an apology, but that it opposes the process and conditions of the apology which the Dutch State intends to issue because it “lacks all the variables of a valid, sincere national apology.”

According to Heyliger-Marten, the answers from the Prime Minister to her written questions about reparations left much unclarity regarding the issue of reparations. “That’s why it is crucial for the Prime Minister to inform te people of St. Martin what Government’s intentions are when it comes to the impending apology from the Dutch State.

“Thus far, the Prime Minister has been very vague about the entire matter of reparations”, Heyliger-Marten stated.

“There does not seem to be any comprehensive plan or at least a clear direction on how Government intends to move forward, other than the expressed intention to discuss and study the matter, and seek more involvement for St. Martin in the process.

So while One SXM Association has championed the CRC's 10 point reparations plan and joined the CARICOM Reparations Commission as an NGO and representative of St. Martin, the Government does not seem to be involving the association in the process of consultation.

This is very unfortunate, and yet another example of the absence of planning, direction, and a result-oriented approach by Government, which will ultimately leave St. Martin without any tangible results again”, Heyliger-Marten concluded, adding that she will hold the Prime Minister to the commitments she made regarding the findings of the advisory committee.