Van Putten wants UN peacekeepers to assist Statia against Dutch ‘state sponsored terror’

Island Councilman Clyde van Putten has filed a request for assistance to the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPAL) in the matter between the island and the Kingdom Government.

The Dutch Parliament passed an emergency legislation on Tuesday that will dissolve St. Eustatius’ Island Council and send home the members of the Executive Council. The Dutch Government will appoint a representative and a deputy, who will take over the authority of the local government for the time being. (See related article)

Van Putten said on Tuesday that the Dutch had brought “an expeditionary police force” to the island to assist with “the decapitation of the democratically elected government” of Statia.
“We know very well from what happened in Indonesia what to expect: an act of genocide against our people, for that is exactly what happened in Indonesia, resulting in the massacre of some 150,000 Indonesians. This history is well known to all of us in the Dutch Kingdom,” he said.

Van Putten said Statia is considering two courses of action which, with COPPAL’s support can be successful. He wants to request the United Nations (UN) Security Council to dispatch peacekeepers to St. Eustatius “to protect the population against Dutch state-sponsored terror.” He said the island needs the support of COPPAL member governments to file this request at the UN jointly with St. Eustatius.

Van Putten is also requesting COPPAL President Manolo Pichardo’s support to file a request pursuant to Article 6 of the UN Charter seeking the Netherlands’ expulsion from the UN based on its “continued and deliberate violations of the UN Charter.” Filing a request under Article 6, he said, will send a clear message to the Dutch Government that COPPAL will not tolerate the threat of the use of force or any other violations of UN principles.

Van Putten also wants to address the issue of St. Eustatius’ standing before the UN. According to Van Putten, Resolution 945 X of December 15, 1955, contains the following amendment submitted by Uruguay: “This amendment is intended to offer the people of the Netherlands Antilles a safeguard, an opportunity of coming at a later date to knock at the door of the UN should the need arise.” St. Eustatius is a successor unit of the former Netherlands Antilles.

Based on this amendment, Van Putten said St. Eustatius has the right to request Pichardo to co-sign its petitions before the UN. He said also that formal affidavits of support can be sent directly to his e-mail.
Van Putten thanked Pichardo for his “letter of support” to Statia. He said the island is facing “dramatic events.”

The Daily Herald.