Close to 120,000 voters are expected to go to the polls today in Curaçao, where the former Dutch colony is to decide whether to approve a deal brokered between the local government and the Netherlands. The agreement calls for the Dutch state to take responsibility for 1.7 billion Euros of Dutch Caribbean debt (most of it built by Curaçao) in return for greater Dutch supervision over state spending and local policing. Curaçao is now part of the Dutch Antilles, a separate country within the kingdom of the Netherlands. That “country” is set to dissolve next year, when Curaçao and St. Marteen become separate countries (as Aruba already is) while the remaining smaller islands (Bonaire, St. Eustacius, and Saba) become municipalities of the Netherlands.
There has been mounting opposition to ratification of the agreement, which some groups see as a rehashed version of neo-colonialism, and the latest polls have declared the race too close to call. If the agreement is approved, the debt restructuring will go forward as planned, but there is growing uncertainty as to the consequences of a negative vote. The Dutch is playing hardball, arguing that the agreement represents their final offer and they will not release any of the funds needed to restructure Curaçao’s finances unless the deal is approved. The Dutch government in facing financial problems of their own and there is growing momentum at home for the notion of disassociating the Netherlands completely from its former Caribbean colonies.
In Curaçao itself, the referendum has underscored the deep historical divisions that still plague its society. Antillean prime minister Emily de Jongh-Elhage has vowed to resign if the agreement is rejected, while voters appear to be divided along class and race lines. The agreement’s supporters are for the most part white, richer, and more educated, while the less well-off black population has been much more critical of the terms proposed and represent the bulk of the expected votes against the deal.
The campaigning has been marred by sporadic violence and there are expectations of further violent incidents when the results of the referendum are announced.
For more go to http://www.nrc.nl/international/Features/article2242287.ece/Referendum_on_Curaccedil_aos_future_opens_old_wounds
