Constitutional Affairs Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams says the Curaçao referendum could have consequences for the other partners involved in the negotiation process.
She said the upcoming referendum must be placed in historical context and explained that it was a result of the political fallout that had occurred in Curaçao directly after the signing of the November 2, 2006, agreement between Kingdom partners. She further explained that after the euphoria of the moment had passed, there had been disagreements between the parties in Curaçao concerning how to proceed.
"Because of that fallout, Curaçao extracted itself from the entire constitutional change process and while St. Maarten signed an accord with the Dutch in February 2007, it was not until August 2007 that Curaçao, by means of another accord, rejoined this process," Wescot-Williams explained. She said that for the political impasse in Curaçao to end, an agreement had been made to hold a referendum at this stage in the process. "This agreement for a referendum was what kept the process on track for Curaçao," she said.
She said the case was different for St. Maarten and that was the reason no referendum would be held locally. "St. Maarten was never in that situation, that fallout. We never made that commitment to hold another referendum and as far as we are concerned, the wishes of the people in the 2000 referendum are very clear. What we are seeking is Country St. Maarten," Wescot-Williams said.
According to her, the people of St. Maarten constantly have been informed and consulted about developments in the constitutional change process. She also said the situation in which Curaçao now found itself was complicated and one which might have ramifications that could be felt throughout the Netherlands Antilles.
"Whatever agreements are made, we always inform the people of St. Maarten. From my perspective, this referendum places a lot of pressure on Curaçao, with this constitutional process and the amount of work that needs to be done in 2009 and then also with the amount of work that must be done for the referendum. Of course, it also leaves a question mark for the other participants in the process as to what will happen if the answer to the Curaçao referendum is a no," she said.
Wescot-Williams said St. Maarten’s concern about this possible outcome had been made known to relevant parties in Curaçao on numerous occasions.
"The only response that we have received each time is that the Curaçao government will do all it can to reassure people about the process and to ensure that the decision is a positive one so that we can all proceed," Wescot-Williams said.
Curaçao citizens will be afforded the opportunity to vote for the negotiations that took place up to and including the Round Table Conference on December 15, 2008. No date has been set for the referendum as yet, but a referendum committee was named recently and charged with distributing all the necessary information.