Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG--The rescinding of the Dutch nationality of a number of people in the Dutch Caribbean due to administrative errors, and the subsequent statelessness of those persons as well as their children and in some instances grandchildren, is an issue Members of Parliament (MPs) want on the table for the Inter-Parliamentary Affairs Contact Meeting IPOK in Aruba January 6-9.
Parliament's Permanent Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Kingdom Relations met in Parliament House on Thursday afternoon to review the draft agenda and preparations for the meeting of members of the Parliaments of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.
The issue about people who have had their Dutch nationality taken away was raised by independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo. She has had first-hand experience with such cases from her former job as Civil Registry head. She was particularly concerned about children who have been left "stateless" through no fault of their own.
Committee Chairperson MP Sarah Wescot-Williams said the matter already had been raised by Aruba. St. Maarten's interest will reinforce the need for the nationality issue to be placed on the meeting agenda.
United St. Maarten (US) party MP Frans Richardson called for his fellow MPs to gather statistics about the number of people, their ages, the number of generations affected and other facts to present at the meeting. He also called on government to give information about the types of residence permits the people affected have been given while their situation is sorted out.
Parliament Chairman MP Lloyd Richardson (United People's Party) said the Dutch government needed to pay attention to the issue. People who have lost their Dutch nationality "create a social issue for St. Maarten" to deal with, an issue that was not caused by the country as it does not have any authority over naturalisation.
This issue, as well as others dealing with the screening of ministers and the use of the governor's regulation, will be discussed at the meeting in Aruba.
