Lower Chamber confused about date 10-10-‘10

THE HAGUE — There was confusion in the Lower Chamber this afternoon during a general consultation of the committee for the Netherlands-Antillean and Aruban Affairs (Naaz). State Secretary Ank Bijleveld-Schouten (CDA) of Kingdom Relations tried to explain why she thinks that the land the Netherlands Antilles could cease to exist per 10-10-’10.

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However, once she had finished speaking, the consultation had already ended. A second term, during which the Chamber-members could present their follow-up questions, was postponed due to a lack of time. For the time being, it seems that the Chamber-members have little appeal for the plans. During the first term, there seemed to be substantial doubts on the feasibility of the mentioned date. "It will more likely be 10-10-’20, if it’s not going to be 10-10-‘30", said Ineke van Gent of Groenlinks. Hero Brinkman of the PVV was more optimistic when he mentioned 12-12-’12.

At the time, the Chamber-members had considered that the Netherlands Antilles would continue to exist until all conditions had been complied with, as previously agreed upon. Bijleveld then tried to explain that during her working visit to the Antilles it had been agreed upon that the land would cease to exist on 10-10-’10. "We will stick to the criterion", said Bijleveld. "If they do not comply, an Order in National Council will become effective in order to guarantee the land’s tasks. The lands should takeover in due course."
Chairman Willibrord van Beek then ended the meeting even though all committee members were bursting to ask Bijleveld questions.
"This is not what we had agreed upon", Ronald van Raak of the SP articulated the confusion on the explanation of the State Secretary. "The agreement was that everything would be accomplished first. Now they want to do the opposite. Few islands will be ready by that date, which means we will soon have empty lands."

Bijleveld’s fellow party member, Bas Jan van Bochove wondered if this was the famous Plan B. Bijleveld did not get the opportunity to answer this, but the assumption is there. "I have some questions to ask then", said Van Bochove. "Is it true that the Minister-President of the land eventually has to take the decision on such a regulation? That’s the same as having the butcher qualify his own meat."The VVD does not fancy this plan of the State Secretary at all. "This is apparently Plan B", said Johan Remkes. "In this, she agrees to a house without a roof. One must have walked in the sun for a long time in order to agree with this."

For that matter, a large part of the meeting dealt with Bonaire’s wish not to belong to the Dutch constitutional system any longer. It was agreed upon to temporarily continue with the legislation course, "and we will then wait for the final viewpoint of the Island Council", says Bijleveld. "Until then we will discontinue the debt reconstruction, and a renegotiation is not up for discussion."

John Leerdam (PvdA) was absent today. His fellow party member Pierre Heijnen replaced him. Undoubtedly, this had cheesed off Hero Brinkman, who was in the possession of a leaked out e-mail from Van Leerdam to Jopie Abraham. He also read it aloud. "Mi amigu Jopie. You’re right", Leerdam had supposedly written in the e-mail. It caused hilarity amidst the other committee-members. Leerdam had supposedly asked to hang around together. "Is this double play", Brinkman wonders. "Is this not an indictment against the policy which we pursue"?
Brinkman said that he had personally received the e-mail from Abraham. "I had asked him if I could use it and he concurred", the PVV-member chuckled. "You don’t need any enemies with friends like that", said van Gent, who stated that the e-mail had aroused her interest.
The phrase ‘Your John Leerdam’ also caused a round of laughter. Heijnen still attempted to defend him. "It seems to me that there’s nothing wrong here. He simply has a friendly way of getting along with the people there."

Lower Chamber-member Ronald van Raak of the SP is worried about the sea containers, which are going to be used as cells. His attention had been drawn to this through a picture in the Balans magazine, where the manager had mentioned his construction of the cells. "I am aware that the prisoners are not used to all that much there, but are we going to do this to them?" Van Raak wondered during a General Consultation of the Committee for the Netherlands-Antillean and Aruban Affairs. "What will the temperature be in such a container after a day in the blazing sun?"The picture had shown the shortest end of the container with bars. However, according to the State Secretary Ank Bijleveld-Schouten of Kingdom Relations, nothing is the matter. "The bars are placed at both ends of the container so that it is ventilated", said Bijleveld. "A roof with ventilation will also be placed above the cells and they don’t have to stay in there the entire day."According to Bijleveld, the sea container cells do not differ from other cells in other parts of the Caribbean region.