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Sarah is playing with fire

April 21, 2008

Leader of government and commissioner of Constitutional reform on St. Maarten, Sarah Wescot-Williams, is playing with fire when she mentioned that St. Maarten should pause and plan a new strategy in obtaining country Status within the Kingdom.

A remark she made in last Wednesday’s press briefing should raise some eyebrows, however none of the news sources on St. Maarten has picked up on it. Wescot-Williams said that on December 18, 2007 the St. Maarten Executive Council passed a motion to invoke article 26 of the ERNA. This article could force a break-away of the Netherlands Antilles by all means possible.

Wescot-Williams mentioned that St. Maarten should present its case to the Council of Ministers, Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles, The Kingdom Council of Ministers and the Dutch Parliament. The motion is still on the table after the Dutch Government declared that reaching a separate status by the target date of December 15, 2008 was not feasible.

She further stated that no official document or letter from the Dutch on the postponement of the target date was received. So as far as St. Maarten is concerned, the target date is still December 15, 2008 and it should work towards that date.

If no official letter was received, why than “planning a new strategy”. More wasted time. The mention of invoking article 26 of the ERNA can only be based on “the belief that St. Maarten will not be ready for status change by December 15, 2008 by its own politicians” else there is no need to “change strategy”?

The mention of invoking article 26 alone can be construed as “trying to break iron with your hands for the lack of tools and methods”. The question remains: Has St. Maarten done everything that it needed to do to be ready for a constitutional change? If Yes, than the government should be confident about being granted the Country Status within the Kingdom.

Musing on actions to be taken such as “pausing for planning a new strategy” and “invoking aricle 26 of the ERNA” can only mean that St. Maarten has not done what it needs to do to be ready for a constitutional change!

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One Response to “Sarah is playing with fire”

  1. Bread and Butter? | St. Maarten and Saint Martin ZebraBOT Search engine and Island Information on April 22nd, 2008 4:41 pm

    [...] On top of that, the announcement of Curaçao that St. Maarten is holding up the process of “becoming a country within the Kingdom for Curaçao and St. Maarten” has threatened to seek it’s separate way and let St. Maarten fend for themselves. See article “Sarah is playing with fire” [...]

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