Presents Wishes of Strength from Arubans Living in St. Maarten
The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams traveled to Aruba at the request of Aruba Vice-Prime Minister Mike De Meza to show support to Aruban Prime Minister Mike Eman who is on the fifth day of a Hunger Strike. The Prime Minister also presented Prime Minister Eman with Wishes of Strength from the Chuchubi Aruba Foundation Board with whom the PM met on Monday evening in order to update them on the situation as it develops. The Chuchubi Foundation represents Arubans living in St. Maarten.
On Friday Aruba Prime Minister Mike Eman started an immediate hunger strike following a decision of the Kingdom Council of Ministers to have the Governor Fredis Rufenjol carry out an independent investigation of the 2014 budget and the tenability of Aruba’s government finances.
Prime Minister Wescot-Williams on Monday stated that the precedent for the Government of the Netherlands meddling in the affairs of Countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands was set in 2013 when the Governor of St. Maarten was instructed to carry out an integrity assessment; “This precedent was created when the Kingdom Government instructed the Governor to do the Integrity Assessments. I warned all stakeholders that this was going to happen and they are using the same approach in Aruba. All of our requests were overruled at that time and the Kingdom Government refused and they are doing the same thing on Aruba. We cannot have outside influences from the Kingdom Council of Ministers interfere in the autonomous affairs of a country. There was an understanding that they would investigate the budget; there was an agreement to an investigation but not that the Governor would have been instructed not to sign it,” stated Prime Minister Wescot-Williams.
I was asked if I would travel to Aruba to show my support and indeed I have met with Prime Minister Eman to do exactly that. I think it is key to show solidarity and that is what I have done. There are indications by the Minister that both the PM and the Kingdom Government will not budge so I am very very concerned for Prime Minister Eman’s health.