PHILIPSBURG–Former National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) Rodolphe Samuel wants Parliament to pass a motion to have Government of St. Maarten do what is necessary to “declare that all persons born in Sint Maarten since October 10, 2010, be called Sint Maarteners.”
Samuel said some things have changed in the Kingdom of the Netherlands since St. Maarten assumed its new constitutional status. These include the non-existence of the Antillean House; that persons born in one of the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles cannot be called Antilleans; that in the Netherlands, the Antillean House has been replaced by Curaçao House and Sint Maarten House and that the Aruba House came about when that island stepped out of the Netherlands Antilles and became a country within the Dutch Kingdom on January 1, 1986.
“The Aruba house is expected to look out for persons from Aruba, the Curaçao House for those people from Curaçao, while the Sint Maarten House has to work in the best interest of residents of Sint Maarten,” Samuel said.
He said he would like to see a motion passed by the Parliament of Sint Maarten that defines and/or establishes “who we are talking about in the Kingdom when it comes to the Sint Maartener. In the past, we had policies and programmes established geared specifically towards the Antillean. In Holland, we even have municipalities that called themselves Antillean municipalities. Today some of those programmes still exist. However, it is unclear whom the programmes are targeting.”
He sent an example of the draft motion that can be passed. The draft considers that since 10-10-10 the Netherlands Antilles no longer exists; that the Antillean House in Holland no longer exists; that the Sint Maarten House has been established to represent St. Maarten and its people; and that persons born in Sint Maarten after 10-10-10 cannot be called Antilleans.
In addition to the motion calling for government to do what is necessary for persons born in St. Maarten after October 10, 2010, be called St. Maarteners, the motion can also state that there are persons born in Sint Maarten before October 10, 2010, who are Sint Maarteners and “being a Sint Maartener does not automatically give a person any specific nationality.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/84271-samuel-wants-mps-to-pass-motion-on-sint-maarteners
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