THE NETHERLANDS, THE HAGUE – Tuesday, 17 December, the exhibition ‘The Kingdom of the Netherlands: Connected in Diversity” was opened on the premises of the Second Chamber in The Hague by the Chairman of the Chamber, Mr. Martin Bosman. St. Maarten Minister Plenipotentiary Drs. Gracita R. Arrindell and Minister Plenipotentiary of Curacao Carlton Emanuel were among the invitees.
The initiative celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Statute for the Kingdom of the Netherlands that still regulates the relationship between the constituent parts of the Kingdom, now consisting of the Netherlands and autonomous countries Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten.
The exhibition illustrates the path towards the creation of this important agreement that led to a new constitutional order in the Kingdom, based on principles of equality, mutual support and autonomy. The actual document as signed by then Queen Juliana on December 15, 1954 is on loan from the National Archives and forms the highlight of the exhibition.
Originally creating three countries within the Kingdom – the Netherlands, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles – the agreement was adapted after Suriname gained independence November 25th 1975 and in 1986 when Aruba attained “status aparte” and last on October 10th 2010 when Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten attained the status of autonomous countries. The exhibition is an initiative of the Parliamentary Committee for Kingdom Relations.
Minister Arrindell concluded: “We have come a long way from being a dependency of the “Colony Curacao” to Country St. Maarten, but we are not there yet. It is time to focus our attention and efforts on solving an essential flaw that still exists in this constitutional structure: the democratic deficit. The Caribbean countries still cannot properly influence decisions that directly impact them. Recent signals that the Kingdom government understands the issue and is constructively moving towards addressing it together with us form an encouraging and constructive step forward”
