Damage to Philipsburg, Sint Maarten after the hurricane. Photo: Ministry of Defence
The parliament of the former Dutch colony of St Maarten is accusing the Netherlands of having a ‘neo-colonial’ and ‘racist’ attitude for attaching conditions to a coronavirus aid package and has filed an official complaint with the UN rapporteur on racism.
The MPs claim the Netherlands is using the pandemic and the earlier devastation of the Caribbean island by hurricane Irma to make aid dependent on reforms, the AD reports.
St Maarten, the Dutch part of which comprises around a third of the island, has been an independent country within the kingdom of the Netherlands since 2010 but the Dutch state still has a say in a number of its decisions. It recently thwarted an attempt by St Maarten to borrow money on the open capital market because it was too expensive, the paper said.
The Daily Herald - Netherlands to provide vaccines for 50,150, but country could receive fewer based on demand
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Intense discussion at IPKO on St Maarten decolonization
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St. Maarten: Majority of MPs lend support to Dutch financing agreement
PHILIPSBURG - Despite several harsh statements, a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) on Monday threw their support behind Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs to accept the Netherlands’ proposal for further financial assistance and the creation of the Caribbean Entity for Reform and Development COHO.
The governments in The Hague and Philipsburg hope to conclude the agreement in the Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting this Friday. However, Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops in a series of letters over the weekend told Jacobs that the Dutch Cabinet required explicit approval of the deal by St. Maarten’s Parliament.