KRALENDIJK- The leader of the extra-parliamentary opposition party Forsa Sosial Progresivo (FSP) of the former island councilman and former commissioner Robby Beukenboom is critical of the result of almost 12 years of direct ties with the Netherlands.

Beukenboom says this, among other things, in response to reports that citizens will have to pay more tax from January this year. According to Beukenboom, the islands have surrendered their autonomy, under the promise that an acceptable level of facilities would be achieved on the islands. “Almost 12 years later, we have to conclude that this is still not the case. In fact, at times we go backwards instead of forwards,” says Beukenboom.

One of the problems that Beukenboom sees is that decisions regarding the level of facilities are taken in the Netherlands and not locally.

Empty words

The leader of the orange party says he has had enough of empty slogans from the local government such as ‘new politics’, ‘young people with vision’ and ‘equal rights’. “Let’s be honest, successive governments in the Netherlands are deaf to all kinds of cries for help from, among others, the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Children, members of the Senate, Members of the Second Chamber and human rights organizations keep saying that things must be done differently, but it just doesn’t happen.” said Beukenboom.

Unwanted stepchildren

The political leader believes that even after 12 years, the motherland still treats the islands like a bunch of unwanted stepchildren. Beukenboom believes that local government is doing too little to bring about positive change. At the same time, he sees a constant mistrust of The Hague towards the islands and the local government.

“In my opinion, there is still a need to invest in more mutual trust. Agreements need to be made together about goals on a number of points and we need to work together to achieve them,” says Beukenboom.