Summary OF HIS informative OPINION. READ Full article at www.arcocarib.com > Main page > Knowledge Center
The referendum of May 15, 2009 is about Curaçao’s constitutional future and the economic and financial welfare and opportunities that the people and enterprises in Curaçao will be given.
One should vote YES:
- To go forward NOW, not in 10 years;
- To get an autonomous Curaçao, with one layer of government, and all taxes paid in Curaçao to stay in Curaçao;
- To get proper government, with proper bookkeeping and accountability to the people on how the tax money is spent;
- To get an acceptable financial start position, without the heavy debt burden of today, with more than USD 2,5 billion in direct monetary relief by the good people of the Netherlands in Europe;
- To get the hundreds of millions in additional funds through the Social Economic Initiative;
- To give government the oppor-tunity to pay for education, health care and welfare for all its people who need it;
- For better roads and more housing;
- For fewer (but in any case not more) taxes;
- To remain within the Kingdom and to enjoy the benefits thereof, but to also carry responsibility for human rights, education for all, combating poverty and cooperation with other islands on a couple of small joint tasks;
- To be sure of the rule of law through a Joint Court of Justice on Curaçao and the Supreme Court in the Netherlands.
One should vote NO:
- To stay where we are for the next 10 years or even go back in prosperity and leave those who are needy, to take care of themselves;
- Not to get an autonomous Curaçao, to keep two layers of government, and to continue to pay taxes in Curaçao that go to other islands in the Netherlands Antilles;
- To keep the present state of government, with no properbookkeeping and no account-ability to the people on how the tax money is spent, inducing corruption, favoritism, populism and discrimination;
- To keep the current financial position, keep the heavy debt burden of today of more than USD 2,5 billion for Curaçao alone;
- To let the politicians of the opposition go negotiate with Mr. Geert Wilders in the Netherlands in Europe to try to receive some other form of relief, without any conditions whatsoever;
- To remain without education, health care and welfare for all people in Curaçao, only a selected few politicians and their families should benefit;
- For roads with potholes and people without houses, living in huts in the mondi, without water, without electricity, without food on the table;
- For many more taxes, because we do not already pay enough;
- To reject agreements made by our elected officials of Curaçao with our partners in the Kingdom, just because we can, that is just because we have the power to reject them and to prevent that the St. Maarten and Bonaire people can take the journey that they have elected to take, just because we can, that is just because it is within our power to frustrate their aims; and
- For NO human rights, NO education for all, NO combating poverty and NO cooperation with our brothers and sisters on the other islands of St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire. Just because we can say NO.
The choice is YOURS. Your vote counts. Go and vote. If you love Curaçao and its people, the choice is obvious.
About the author
The author of this document is an attorney at law with the Joint Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. He was born on Curaçao in 1969. He has no direct personal interest in the outcome of the referendum. He is not a politician. He is however an advocate for human rights and frequently publishes blogs on this topic. He also organized the 2004 “March against corruption, discrimination and intimidation” in Curaçao, the biggest march in the history of Curaçao, in which more than 5000 people marched peacefully and harmoniously. He is a fervent advocate for a YES vote in the upcoming referendum, for the reasons explained in this document.
Curaçao, 22 March 2009.
Eric R. de Vries