Radical Administrative Changes
Expected for Islands in The Netherlands Antilles

The relationship between the Netherlands and the Antilles islands as set forth in the Statute of the Netherlands Antilles is fast approaching a decisive moment. On Saturday the 9th of April 2005, the residents of the islands of Curaçao and Sint Eustatius went to their respective polling stations in a referendum over the future status of the islands.

At the moment, the Netherlands Antilles, with its capital in Willemstad, Curaçao, consists of this island, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius. A sixth island, Aruba, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but not officially part of the Netherlands Antilles.

The voters on Curaçao and Sint Eustatius, just as previously in 2000 on the islands of Sint Maarten, Saba and Bonaire, were asked in a referendum Saturday to make a choice between four preferences with respect to the future constitutional status of their island.

The options were A to remain within the Kingdom, but independent of the Netherlands Antilles, B to become an independent country, C to remain within the Kingdom as well as within the Netherlands Antilles, and D to become a direct part of the Netherlands.

Of the 114,500 registered voters, out of a population 130,000 in Curaçao, 62,245 turned out to vote or 64% of the total. Of these, 68% voted for option A, that is, a status similar to Aruba, 5% for B or independence, 4% for C, or to remain a part of the Netherlands Antilles and 23% for D, or to become an integral part of the Netherlands.

On Sint Eustatius with a population of 2,500, some 75% of the 1,439 persons who voted, a turnout of 56%, chose to remain within the Netherlands Antilles. The people of Sint Eustatius were alone in wanting to remain within a government for all of the Netherlands Antilles.

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles, Mr. Etienne Ys, says he is satisfied the people of Curaçao took his advice and voted for an independent status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Mr. Ys will receive soon the new Democrats66 Minister Alexander Pechtold for Electoral Reform and Netherlands Kingdom Affairs, in order to review the situation with a view to the Round Table Conference over the future of the Netherlands Antilles. The conference is scheduled to take place in The Hague this coming July.

In the meantime, the local government in Curaçao will decide which responsibilities now assumed by the island administration of the Antilles will be assumed by them and which by the Government of the Netherlands in The Hague. On Sint Eustatius some 9,000 km away in the North Leeward Islands group in the West Indies, local officials will hold a two-day meeting the end of April with similar officials from the islands of Sint Maarten and Saba in preparation for the Round Table Conference in The Hague. 11 April 2005