PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Prime Minister, the honourable Silveria Jacobs, will have to say whether the
Government of St. Maarten is prepared for the process of finalizing decolonization and assuming more autonomy to govern when she appears before parliament soon.
She has been requested to answer questions on decolonization by Faction Leader in Parliament for the United People’s Party the Honourable Grisha Heyliger-Marten. Heyliger-Marten brought forward her first motion to finalize of the decolonization of the Caribbean Netherlands, which started seventy years ago, on the anniversary of her 100th day as a sitting MP, May 20.
On June 8, she sent a letter to Prime Minister Jacobs questioning her awareness of the events that transpired during the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles. She asked PM Jacobs in the letter whether she understood the ramifications for especially the people of St. Maarten if the government failed to finalize the decolonization process.
Heyliger-Marten, says that she is convinced that the decolonization is a significant first step to allowing governments of the Caribbean islands to indeed manage the affairs of their citizens in accordance with the wishes of the people and not that of The Netherlands as is often dictated through financial coercion.
“As I have stated in the past, my goal is to finalize the decolonization process by July 1, 2021. I want to again emphasize that I am not looking for an independent St. Maarten at this time, but a fully autonomous St. Maarten within the Kingdom that can finally act in the interest of its people and do what is necessary to protect our economy and way of life. With full autonomy we can finally begin the work of building our nation on a solid footing and establishing institutions that work to protect the interest of the people of St. Maarten, Heyliger-Marten said Tuesday evening in a press release.”
MP Heyliger-Marten submitted over ten documents to PM Jacobs along with the letter, disclosing research that uncovered proof that Article 73 of the UN Charter is still applicable to The Netherlands.
In the letter, Heyliger-Marten stated, “It is also important that the people of Sint Maarten are aware of their rights based on the UN Charter and international laws, treaties, and conventions.” She said they should also be aware of “the negative effects of not having exercised these rights for the past decades, and the benefits that exercising their rights will bring to them and the future generations.”
Heyliger-Marten submitted several documents including a Dr Steven Hillebrink’s academic research on how The Kingdom Charter (“het Statuut”) came about in the early 1950s and information on budget debate statements from The Hague, which further substantiates the assertion that the Caribbean Netherlands according to MP Heyliger-Marten is well within their right to decide on the finalization of the decolonization process.
The MP will also be submitting these findings to local, regional and international media houses for their perusal.
