|
|
|
 |
|
|
Arrindell, Laveist agree Franco Dutch Treaty is ‘unacceptable’
by he Daily Herald
Posted: Sep 6, 2005 16:58 UTC
|
PHILIPSBURG - The Franco-Dutch Treaty was about the only thing on which People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA) Councilwoman Gracita Arrindell and St. Maarten Democratic Party (DP) Councilman Commissioner Louie Laveist agreed during Monday’s Island Council meeting.
Arrindell announced that she would be approaching DP and National Alliance (NA), the third party represented in the Island Council, to discuss the Franco-Dutch Treaty, an issue brought up by Prime Minister Etienne Ys on which she said the Island Council needed to take a “strong stand against.” She suggested that the Island Council re-emphasise its stand of 11 years ago, rejecting the treaty in question.
She said she had always been “very critical” of this treaty, which she called “a sword of Damocles hanging above the heads of the people of St. Maarten.” She said it was “unacceptable” that this treaty would be ratified and forced on the island.
She compared the situation in which the island finds itself to one of “sleeping and waiting for the kiss of Prince Charming to wake us up.”
“We will say ‘no’ to the discriminatory Franco-Dutch Treaty. We’ll say ‘yes’ for the Treaty of Concordia and ‘yes’ for more police personnel and equipment,” she stated.
Laveist wanted to know why the Prime Minister seemed to be in such a hurry to have the Franco-Dutch Treaty ratified, a document he said had been “gathering dust for 11 years.” According to him, the treaty is “detrimental” to the island’s economy,
“social fabric” and relations with neighbouring islands.
“The Franco-Dutch Treaty doesn’t affect you, the Central Government; it affects us, St. Maarten,” said Laveist, stressing that the treaty didn’t have the support of the Island Council. He said he was hoping Parliament was conscious that the Prime Minister was trying to “ram it down.”
“What is the Prime Minister busy with? You want to allow European citizens to establish freely on the island and you want people from our neighbouring islands like Anguilla and St. Kitts to get a visa? Come on. The Prime Minister needs to get his priorities straight,” said Laveist, adding that there was a St. Maarten list with issues that were “much more a priority.”
Laveist also said Ys should be doing what had been requested: getting into contact with the Prime Minister of Dominica to address the issue of human smuggling. “How can the Franco-Dutch Treaty be more important than human smuggling?”
Arrindell was quick to remind Laveist that his party was part of the federal coalition. She said that if the DP didn’t agree with the Ys II cabinet on this issue, the party should withdraw its support, or “refrain from making these statements.”
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Content © The Daily Herald 2005 - All Rights Reserved.
You may bookmark this web page, print it or e-mail it to
a friend in accordance with the fair-use provisions of
copyright laws. The material is intended solely for the use
of the individual user.
Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this
material
on other terms, in any medium, requires the express
written permission of the author or publication and the
notification of the editors of Caribseek News. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
