KRALENDIJK - During the opening of the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) on Bonaire, the new President of the Curaçao Parliament Charetti America stated that the current Kingdom of the Netherlands with the autonomous countries of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten must get rid of political quarrels and mutual mistrust. “Friendship must become the new foundation of our Kingdom.”
This is the first Ipko for America and according to her the meetings are special because 'we come together as people, looking for joint solutions'. “Not behind e-mails, whatsapp, telephone conversations or motions, but personal contact with perhaps personal relations and maybe friendships in the future.”
“In the reports of the previous Ipkos, I kept coming across the question: how can we work together better, or what needs to change to improve mutual relationships? Sometimes the answer is simple. Easy to find at the beginning. What is the origin of our Kingdom? Why are we sitting together? What is the basis of this union? Can we change something there?” according to America.
Her own answer is to give the Kingdom a new foundation.
“We no longer live in the time where we could marry a Curaçao son to a Dutch daughter, so marriage cannot be the new basis. But friendship is an option. Friendship must become the new foundation of our Kingdom. You don't try to change your friend, you don't always have to agree with each other, but you respect each other, you listen to each other, and you know how good a friend is. And friendship doesn't look at the differences."
The Curaçao Parliament President listed some differences between the various countries within the Kingdom: the patriotism of Arubans, the resilience of Sint Maarten, the hospitality of Curaçaoans and the orderliness of the Dutch.
“No country within our Kingdom is the same. There are big differences, but that makes us bigger. Friendship is the translator of these differences.”
America indicated that the countries will soon face greater challenges. “Now it is COVID, COHO, the dispute settlement, but soon the awareness of our shared history and how we deal with it will be so great that we can no longer ignore it. A new stumbling block? Or an opportunity for healing and better deep relationships?”
“It may sound prophetic, but let's build a strong bond right now that will see us through it all. After all, friendship goes beyond a week on Bonaire. Friends will soon be able to talk to each other, ask questions to gain insight before proceeding to making legal regulations that speak about a people, but do not appeal to the people themselves," concludes the Curaçao Parliament President.