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www.sxmislandtime.com
 PHILIPSBURG - The Dutch Second Chamber has approved the first package of laws that will allow for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (BES) to become Public Entities of the Netherlands. The legislation now heads to the First Chamber for approval.
The WOLBES packet is part of the wider Antillean dossier which was deemed non-controversial by the Second Chamber.
That means the Parliament will continue to handle the laws. Included on the list of approved laws are the financial regulations for the Public Entities, the amendments to the charter allowing for the three islands to become public entities, the plan to have the three islands comply with treaties signed by the Kingdom Government and privacy laws that will apply on the BES Islands.
In a first reaction Will Johnson, advisor to the Saban Government and MP elect, called Tuesday's passage "a step forward."
He's also hoping that this momentum will continue and that October 10th, 2010, the date for the new statuses to take affect, will be "attainable" once more.
Johnson is now calling on the Antillean Parliament to complete its work in the coming weeks on legislation that will allow for early elections to be held.
That law requires a two thirds majority in order to be passed. A new Parliament is scheduled to be sworn in on March 26th.
"I really hope the Antillean Parliament will not play politics and put the whole process in danger by not giving the legislation that has to be passed by them a two thirds majority," Johnson said.
The Dutch Government did not get full support though. The Christian Union faction, led by Deputy Prime Minister Andre Rouvoet, voted against the passage.
The party believes the laws should have been retracted because parts of it do not comply with the agreements made with the islands.
"The agreement has always been that we would take into account the individual character, scale size and culture of the islands," the CU's spokesperson on Antillean & Aruban Affairs Cynthia Martijn Ortega said.
She stressed that voting now was a sign of disrespect as the commitment was made that the process would be consultative.
The particular concern is whether it is ethical to force abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage on the islands. These are accepted practice in the Neherlands, but are fiercely protested by some groups in the Antilles. That opposition forms part of the CU's reasoning.
"These subjects are very sensitive on the BES islands and will not find a majority over there. It is unnecessary to impose binding legislation on the islands in this fragile process of constitutional reform," Martijn said.
Without making specific reference to any of the matters mentioned by Martijn-Ortega, Johnson said the media had portrayed some elements of the relationship with Holland as negative.
He's now calling for people that the legislation passed now was important in allowing Saba to leave the Netherlands Antilles.
"I had to fight many battles and now things are ordered already pretty well since Holland started taking charge on budgetary matters and taxes and so on.
So we're looking forward to the completion of the process and then we will be critical of our association with Holland if we see things that are appropriate for people," Johnson said.
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