WILLEMSTAD–While Curaçao governing party MAN at first indicated that it continues to regard the island as a peace zone, as has always been the case in the past, agreement was since reached with coalition partners PAR and PIN to use of the Dutch Caribbean country for humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Venezuela.
The blue party, led by Minister of Social Development, Labour and Wellbeing Hensley Koeiman had initially reacted “with astonishment” to statements by Kingdom of the Netherlands Foreign Minister Stef Blok saying that Curaçao would act as a logistical hub for aid to the troubled neighbouring South American nation. MAN was surprised because no official request had been received by Parliament before Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath (PAR)apparently made this offer.
The party said it could not understand why Curaçao now must take a different position than that of neutrality in the current power struggle between the embattled Maduro regime in Caracas and the South American nation opposition’s self-proclaimed interim president, backed by most western countries and much of Latin America. “Under no circumstances can our community fall victim to geopolitical actions, whereby local authorities have no influence whatsoever on the developments.”
The party considers the Venezuelan population to be a good neighbour and expressed sympathy in this context for the tough times the country and its people face.
“MAN is pro humanitarian aid. We believe, however, that this assistance should be provided under the current circumstances by international organizations specifically responsible for such missions, such as the United Nations and the Red Cross,” added the press release.
However, during a coalition meeting on Monday morning, agreement was reached on the issue. Rhuggenaath assured those present the country would not become “an instrument for forced aid that could provoke confrontation and even conflict.”
He wrote the same to umbrella trade union entities CGCT and “Solidaridat Sindikal” that had expressed similar concerns.
Meanwhile, an urgent meeting of Parliament has been called on the topic for today, Tuesday, at the request of opposition parties MFK, KdNT, PS and MP.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/85349-coalition-agrees-over-humanitarian-aid-hub
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