Saba News News and Information from Saba Island, Dutch Caribbean
The Island Councils of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will visit the parliaments of Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten this week to request joint support in The Hague for “equal treatment and participation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.”
The initiative is prompted by the draft of the new WoIBES law, which assigns the Kingdom Representative the role of watchdog for good governance. The BES islands, however, want to abolish the position, arguing that it “severely limits local autonomy and decision-making.”
Although the amendment is currently open for online consultation, allowing all parties to submit feedback, the island governments say they feel sidelined. “The voice of the islands is drowned out by the majority in the European Netherlands, where there is often little understanding of the unique situation of the islands,” the Island Council of Bonaire stated.
The Council emphasized that the purpose of the mission is to gain moral support from the other countries within the Kingdom and to present a united front on behalf of all six islands. “It is about us, but without us. That cannot and should not be done. The Island Council calls on both the people of Bonaire and partners within the Kingdom to show solidarity and stand together for a just and balanced position of the islands,” the statement concluded.
The delegation consists of five members of the Bonaire Island Council — Desiree Coffie, Rolanda Hellburg-Makaai, Daniel Crestian, Cyril Vrolijk and Benito Dirksz — along with Bonaire’s Deputy of Constitutional Affairs Anthony Weber and St. Eustatius Council member Clyde van Putten. While the Island Council of Saba has opted not to travel, it will participate in the discussions digitally.
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