The State Secretary in The Hague is visiting Aruba to sell us an “equality” that legally DOES NOT exist. Recently, the State Secretary made statements that smell of pure disinformation surrounding our Statute and the Kingdom Law HOFA.
Here are the 4 points from the first audio expressed by State Secretary Eric van der Burg, where the official completely misses the legal truth:
❌ The Myth of the “Four Equal Siblings”: The State Secretary claims that the relationship is structurally equal. FALSE! On paper it exists (Art. 1 of the Statute), but in practice, the Netherlands dominates the Kingdom Council of Ministers. The Hague holds the majority and dictates all major decisions (defense, foreign affairs, supervision).
❌ The Lie of Parliament’s “Last Word”: He declared that if the Parliament of Aruba rejects the local law, the Kingdom Law (Rijkswet) will not enter into force. UNREAL! A Kingdom Law (Rijkswet) has legal supremacy over Aruban law. If Parliament structurally refuses to cooperate, The Hague can intervene via Article 43 of the Statute (good governance) to force or impose control. Parliament DOES NOT have an absolute veto!
❌ “Cheap” Loans Come at a High Price: It is very nice that we can borrow at the lowest interest rates in the world, but what is he omitting? That to get this deal, Aruba must surrender a large part of its budgetary autonomy into the hands of the CAft, where the Netherlands holds the majority of votes. Nothing is free: we are exchanging money for our sovereignty!
❌ Twisting Political History: The official claimed that this is the exact same path that ex-Premier Wever-Croes started. FALSE! The previous supervision was temporary and structured via a local law (LAft). Changing this into a Kingdom Law (HOFA) is a radical escalation that rips structural control out of Aruba’s hands to hand it over to The Hague forever.
Conclusion: The beautiful speech about “equality” is meant to calm the people down, but legally, the Kingdom Law HOFA pushes the Parliament of Aruba into a corner where we lose control over our own house.
Critical analysis: The lies behind the Kingdom Law HOFA!
