BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 16. The Baku Initiative Group has condemned a new program submitted by the Dutch government to the country's parliament, TurkicWorld reports via the group's statement.
"The Dutch government has submitted a new program to parliament, which has been approved by the Cabinet and is now awaiting discussion and approval by the parliament.
"Our modest expectations that the Netherlands, a former colonial power, would finally respect the freedom of the peoples it once colonized and remove the obstacles it imposed on territories thousands of kilometers away from their independent existence weren't met.
The Freedom Party, which is forming the new Dutch government, along with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, the New Social Contract, and the Farmers and Citizens Movement, claim in their platforms to fight for "freedom," but not for the freedom of the six states in the Caribbean basin - Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba.
The new program presented by the government states that Bonaire will implement legislative and strategic initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of the islands, based on principles of good governance and cooperation with Saint Eustatius and Saba. A general management law will be developed, incorporating the principle of 'comply or explain'.
Thus, the new Dutch government, with its nationalist tendencies, is preparing to continue the colonial policies of its predecessor. Although the government asserts that some of these islands have autonomous status, in reality, these territories are fully dependent on the Kingdom of the Netherlands. These islands have even been removed from the UN list of territories awaiting decolonization.
To bring the true situation in Dutch colonies to the international community's attention, an international conference titled "Bonaire’s Pathway From Baku Through UN General Assembly To Self-Determination" was held in Baku on August 22, focusing on Bonaire.
These peoples fighting for their freedom, particularly Bonaire, plan to present a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly in October this year to include Bonaire in the UN list of territories to be decolonized.
The Baku Initiative Group demands that the Dutch government respect the freedom of these peoples and not create obstacles to the islands' struggle for independence within international organizations," added the statement.
