Parliament not in favour of proposed dispute law | THE DAILY HERALD

PHILIPSBURG–Members of Parliament (MPs) have again signalled their discontent with the proposed dispute regulation that puts the Dutch kingdom government de facto in charge of deciding on its own stance, with which the Dutch Caribbean countries may find fault.

  Wednesday’s Central Committee meeting was seen as a formality in which Parliament can signal its stance on the proposed kingdom law set to be handled in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament in the coming days.

  MPs Rolando Brison (United St. Maarten Party), Sarah Wescot-Williams (United Democrats), William Marlin and Silveria Jacobs (National Alliance) all voiced their disapproval of the draft kingdom law. Their queries echoed those MPs made when the law was handled in the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations and sent on to this Central Committee meeting.

  St. Maarten, Curaçao and Aruba want an independent body to review disputes and render binding advices. The draft kingdom law puts the review with the advisory division of the Council of State and the advice would not be binding, rather the kingdom government can deviate from it by giving a “grave reason.”

  Also, the need for conflict management as an option before the dispute regulation comes into play is called for by the three Dutch Caribbean countries,

  Marlin and Jacobs used the forum to call for serious decisions to be made about the country’s future in the kingdom, especially the need to leave its “colonial” status behind. Marlin called for a move to get the country back on the United Nations list of colonised countries. He sees that as a step to keep the kingdom government in check.

  Wescot-Williams does not agree with going back on the list. She sees that as a step backwards and would prefer to deal with present-day issues.

  Jacobs said it was time for a referendum on the future of the country. A poll of the people’s feelings is needed to map the way forward for Parliament, she said.

  “If we walk the road and it leads to nowhere, we will have to take the decision if we are in or out,” she said. St. Maarten “cannot continue to be nice and stay peaceful” when the country is disregarded. A strong motion to fight against the continued disrespect is needed, she added.

  Brison said it was time to lobby the Second Chamber for the changes to the draft kingdom law that St. Maarten wants. In the interim, the country has to draft a “Plan B” and if all else fails, he wants the situation to be taken to court as St. Eustatius did in its battle with the kingdom government, and eventually to the United Nations for its attention.

  Under the current system, Parliament can only take note of the pending law and signal its discontent in the report of this Central Committee meeting to be sent to the Second Chamber. St. Maarten does not have any representation in the Dutch Parliament where decisions are made on kingdom laws that affect the kingdom parts on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/84861-parliament-not-in-favour-of-proposed-dispute-law

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