THE HAGUE--The Dutch liberal democratic VVD party blasted Curaçao's Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte on Tuesday for his negative response to a letter from Foreign Affairs Minister Uri Rosenthal to the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten about the stricter boycott measures against Iran.
According to Member of the Second Chamber Han ten Broeke, VVD's spokesperson on Foreign Affairs in Parliament, Schotte may object to the Iran boycott, but he is not in charge of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom. That person is the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, as foreign relations is a Kingdom matter.
If Schotte wants to be in charge of his own Foreign Affairs, he should choose independence for his country and get out of the Dutch Kingdom, Ten Broeke said. The VVD would gladly cooperate with the latter option, "He will get our immediate blessing if he would request such," said Ten Broeke.
Ten Broeke said that as an independent country, Curaçao would be able to join Venezuela, China and Russia, which do not support the European Union (EU) decision to enforce stricter measures against Iran.
"Then Curaçao would no longer be part of the free Western world, which is greatly concerned about the Iran regime, a regime that has as its only objective to destabilise the world. Its goal is not the interest of its own people. The world and Curaçao should be hopeful of the success of this sanction policy. You would expect Schotte's support in this matter," said Ten Broeke.
He called Schotte's argument that a boycott of Iran would lead to higher oil and gas prices selfish.
"The oil prices are high anyway. That has to do with the situation in the Arabic countries, which need money to tone down social unrest in their countries. It is hopeful that the people of these (Arabic) countries have displayed such an enormous desire for freedom. Taking this into consideration, it is very selfish of a Prime Minister to only worry about the gas prices in your own country," added Ten Broeke.
He explained that the sanctions against Iran were not a national policy of the Dutch Government, but a decision of the EU: "That is how it works when you are in a union."
Rosenthal's letter is not intended to seek approval from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, but to request that they support the boycott by the EU. The Aruban Council of Ministers has already taken a decision to this effect.
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