ion between AVP and Futuro continues regarding HOFA, and the general well-being of the country is being pushed aside.
With recess behind us, there is still no clarity from the Government regarding the Kingdom Law HOFA. While the internal discussion within the coalition continues, there is a lack of transparency regarding the concrete steps they are taking with this dangerous law. Or will they, for the fourth time, inform the people when it is already a “done deal”?
This lack of clarity is alarming, as it concerns the future of our country. Legal opinions on this matter clearly conclude that: the HOFA law binds Aruba forever, undermines our Constitution, and the agreements behind it were negotiated under pressure.
To make it easy and clear for every citizen to understand the real danger behind this law, let’s look once again at the three key points:
*The promise of “temporariness” is not real and is not stated in the law
Portraying HOFA as a temporary control is an illusion. The law stipulates that Aruba can ask for the supervision to end, but it is The Hague (Council of Ministers of the Kingdom) that decides this. Without veto power or co-decision power on our part, the Netherlands can keep controlling us forever, even if we meet all financial rules year after year.
*This law overrides our constitutional order
This structure has a major legal flaw: it gives Kingdom ministers the power to make internal decisions about our country, something that goes against our legal system. This certainly opens a very dangerous door for the Netherlands to continue entering without permission into territory and decisions that belong solely to Aruba’s autonomy. Why did we fight for our Status Aparte, only to partially give it back now?
*The “consensus” was not free, but under pressure
For a Kingdom law to count as a product of mutual agreement, it must mean that both parties sit at the table as equals and decide freely. But to be honest, since the beginning of the pandemic, this has not been the case.
+Financial pressure: The lower interest rate is used as blackmail; if you don’t sign HOFA, you don’t get the low interest (you don’t get the loan). That is negotiated under pressure, not with free will.
+Past agreements cannot bind the future: A signature on a paper (bestuursakkoord) by a previous administration to negotiate cannot strip a current and future Parliament or Government of the authority to say they no longer agree with the final product of the negotiation.
Conclusion
These alerts are not political games, but a serious warning from law professors and experts.
We cannot remain silent. The Government’s silence and internal conflict put our autonomy and democracy in danger. The people deserve the truth. It is time for the Government to appear before Parliament and give explanations so we can make the final decision.