Parliament bars Brinkman,
tripartite meeting cancelled
WILLEMSTAD--The Parliamentary tripartite meeting on Kingdom Relations POK was cancelled Monday after the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles passed a motion that denied controversial Dutch Member of Parliament Hero Brinkman entrance to the Parliament building as long as he did not apologise for his derogatory statements about the people of the Netherlands Antilles.
The passing of the motion was Parliament’s way of seeking to safeguard the dignity of the Antillean population and the motion stipulated that, if necessary, the police would prevent the PVV party member from entering the building.
The motion was passed hours before the scheduled official beginning of the POK meeting in Curaçao with participation of the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and the Netherlands.
The motion was discussed in a presidium meeting consisting of delegation leaders President of the Antillean Parliament Pedro Atacho, President of the Aruban Parliament Mervin Wyatt-Ras and President of the Permanent Committee for Antillean and Aruban Affairs of the Dutch Second Chamber Willibrord van Beek.
Acting delegation leaders Glenn Sulvaran of the Netherlands Antilles, Ady Thijssen of Aruba and Marijke Linthorst of the Netherlands were also present at the presidium meeting.
Atacho told The Daily Herald he had explained the motion to the presidium, but Van Beek had indicated that the Dutch delegation would not participate in the meetings if Brinkman was not allowed to take part.
A proposal was tabled by the Netherlands Antilles delegation to conduct the meetings exclusively in the presidium, adding to those present the specific spokesperson of each Parliament when the topic with which he or she was associated came up for discussion.
Atacho said that proposal had been tabled because of the desire of the Netherlands Antilles to maintain a sound relationship with the Dutch and Aruban Parliaments.
However, this proposal was also rejected by Van Beek, who stated that the Dutch delegation wanted to meet only in plenary sessions, Atacho said. Subsequently, Van Beek proposed holding the meeting in either Aruba or Bonaire.
“I explained to the Dutch delegation that it would not matter whether the meeting was held in Timbuktu, Russia or China. If Brinkman did not apologise we would not meet with him,” Atacho said.
Consequently, the POK meeting and all other appointments of the delegations were cancelled. “If the Dutch delegation wants to stay and visit any particular location, Parliament has offered to provide the logistics,” Atacho said.
The parliaments of Curaçao and Aruba will hold a bilateral meeting to discuss certain matters during the next two days.
Brinkman’s first reaction to the motion was: “Deeply and gravely sad.” He also remarked that Antillean politicians had been led by emotions, which was not a good thing. “We are at an important crossroads concerning the constitutional change process. All eyes are focused on the Netherlands Antilles,” Brinkman said.
Brinkman pointed out that a recent survey in the Netherlands had shown that almost 50 per cent of the Dutch citizens want to break all ties with the Antilles. “Half of the Dutch population agrees with me. It’s not a wise decision to deny me entrance.”
Van Beek said he had thought at first that a solution could be found. “We understand the emotions Brinkman’s statements have triggered. But the importance of the POK is greater. For the population it would have been important if the meeting had continued,” Van Beek said.
The motion was carried with 16 votes in favour and one against. The only political faction that voted against it was the Democratic Party (DP) of Bonaire. All other parties present voted in favour. The UPB party of Bonaire did not attend the public meeting of Parliament.
When he motivated his vote against the motion, faction leader Jopie Abraham said he agreed that Brinkman’s statements were derogatory and should not be accepted, but keeping him out of Parliament would not solve anything.
“It’s our own people who created this situation. I don’t think we should keep any Dutch citizen from entering Parliament,” Abraham said. He believed Brinkman should be confronted with his statement. “Let him come to Parliament and we will deal with him personally on the matter.”
The Bonaire parliamentarian wondered what would happen next. “Will the Dutch Second Chamber be offended when we call the Netherlands a colonial power and prohibit us from entering the Dutch Parliament?’ he queried.
PAR faction leader Glenn Sulvaran voted, but he had not registered for the meeting so his vote was invalid. Frans Richardson of the National Alliance and Getmar Caldera of the FOL party were not present.
After the meeting, Reginald Zaandam of DP St. Eustatius stated that it was still his firm belief that, to have a sound understanding within the Kingdom, both sides of the Atlantic must possess open minds and common sense. “This must also be based on mutual respect and true understanding.”
After the derogatory remarks by Brinkman and his refusal to apologise to the Antillean people, Zaandam said he had been left with no choice but to stand tall and take a stand in defending the honour of his people.
In conclusion, Atacho said Parliament had nothing against the Dutch delegation, but against Brinkman’s statements. And, as stated in the motion, Parliament believed it had been called on to safeguard the dignity of the Antillean population.
