The end of the Dutch Antilles, but when?

This week the Netherlands moves a step closer to establishing a new relationship with the five Caribbean islands which make up the Dutch Antilles.

A concert was held in the Curacao capital of Willemstad last night to commemorate the day that the Netherlands formalised relations with its former colonies in 1954. But soon the Dutch Antilles will cease to exist as a country. Instead, Curacao and St Maarten will get a new, independent status. The three smaller islands of Saba, Bonaire and St Eustatius will become part of the Netherlands, and their island governments will become local councils.

That agreement was negotiated in 2007, but the transition is not proving easy. Hundreds of people at the concert on Sunday protested at the Dutch government’s plan to set up an ethnic-based register of delinquent Antilles youths resident in the Netherlands. The protestors wore yellow stars of David pinned to their chests - as the Jews were forced to during World War II - a move which deputy home affairs minister Ank Bijleveld said was “totally inappropriate”.

Relations between the Netherlands and Curacao have been better. Bijleveld and prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende are both in town for a conference on the future of the islands. And although this conference is doing no more than examine whether the laws that underpin the new status are in line with good governance practices, feelings have been running high on the island.

Controversial pay-off

One of the conditions for the new status is a controversial deal to write off 70 percent of Antillean debt in exchange for a Dutch say in the islands’ finances and legal system. Opinions are divided on the subject. Giving a Dutch justice minister the power to intervene in the island’s judicial system in serious crime cases does not sit easy with either the government or the opposition.

Three Curacao lawyers have enlisted the help of former Dutch Antilles prime minister Don Martina and other prominent Antilleans and have been staging large-scale demonstrations against the Dutch right to intervene. Monday saw a protest march to the statue of Tula, leader of the Curacao uprising against slavery in 1795.

It is not clear whether the controversial clause is still on the agenda for this weeks conference. Another moot point - whether Curacao government enterprises meet with the criteria set out for good governance practice - will not be on the agenda either. The subject has not yet been discussed by the Curacao Island Council.

The conference, although no more than a formality, has been controversial in the Netherlands as well. Members of parliament have urged the prime minister and deputy minister Ank Bijleveld against taking “irrevocable steps”. But Bijleveld thinks parliament is unduly worried.

Setting a date

That does not mean that it is going to be a smooth ride. Another Antillean island, Aruba, which gained independent status in 1986, wants to be home to the Court of Justice which is presently on Curacao.

More trouble may be expected from St Maarten. The Dutch government’s worries about the island’s corruption do not seem to have made a big impression on its political leader Sarah Wescot-Williams. While parliament urges Bijleveld to make clear that the new independent status will not be on the cards for some time to come, Wescot- Williams is demanding a definite date.

Earlier dates to dismantle the country, such as July 1 2007 and December 15 2008, did not turn out to be feasible. To make up for it, December 15 or “Kingdom day” was chosen to host this conference.

St Maarten, which started the process of the break up of the Dutch Antilles by voting for an independent status in a referendum in 2000, wants the Dutch government to commit to January 1 2010 as an official date. But Bijleveld has already stated that the final date will only be established at the last conference. It is public knowledge that the cabinet does not expect the new status of the Dutch Antilles to become reality before 2011.