Sparks fly as Antillean PM arrives in the Netherlands

Saturday, October 25, 2003

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands: Antillean Prime Minister Mirna Louisa-Godett arrived in the Netherlands on Friday morning, and immediately sparked further conflict between the former colony and the Dutch government by threatening to scrap landing rights for Dutch flag carrier KLM and Air Holland on the Caribbean island nation. 

According to Expatica News, Louisa-Godett was reacting to threats from Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner, who said earlier this week that "risk flights" between the Netherlands and the Antilles might be scrapped if drug smuggling did not decrease. The threat comes after the Dutch government launched a crackdown last year against cocaine smuggling via the Netherlands Antilles. 

"If Minister Donner stops the flights of DCA (Dutch Caribbean Airlines), we will do that also with flights to the Antilles of KLM and Air Holland," the Antillean leader said on arrival at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. 

But a Radio 1 report said scrapping KLM and Air Holland flights would be a severe economic blow to the five impoverished Caribbean islands that make up the Netherlands Antilles. Tourism to the region has helped lift Antillean economic growth to a healthy 2 percent in recent times. 

Her remarks added fuel to simmering conflict between the Netherlands and the Antilles, initiated recently by Louisa-Godett's brother, Anthony Godett, who has called for the largest of the islands, Curacao, to be granted a separate status within the Dutch Kingdom, similar to what Caribbean neighbour Aruba already enjoys. The move would be a first step towards eventual independence for Curacao. 

Godett is the leader of the FOL party, but the prime minister-elect was not able to take office because of corruption allegations and his sister was appointed to lead the country in August. Scheduled to appear in court in November charged with bribery, fraud, forgery and money laundering, he remains the power behind the throne in the Antilles. 

Tough-talking Anthony Godett has also proposed making English the official language of the Antilles and has accused the Netherlands of being to blame for the drug smuggling problems between Curacao and Amsterdam. 

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