State Secretary Van Huffelen to St. Maarten on Emancipation Day

PHILIPSBURG – State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) will attend the ceremonies during Emancipation Day on July 1 in St. Maarten. This appears from a letter she wrote to the parliament’s president Siddharth Bijlani, on June 27.

The letter addresses the history of slavery and the follow-up the Dutch government will give to the apologies Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed on December 19 of last year. It speaks of “good discussions” between Van Huffelen, the government of St. Maarten, and social organizations. “We see these discussions as the foundation for the creation of a culture of commemoration that offers space for awareness about our shared past and for talks about a shared future.”

In December, Van Huffelen wrote in a letter to the parliament in Philipsburg that the Dutch government makes €200 million ($218 million) available for measures to promote awareness about the history of slavery, annually €8 million ($8.7 million) to support a Committee Slavery History and another €2 million ($2.18 million) for the organization of events during the commemorative year.

In her more recent letter to MP Bijlani, Van Huffelen mentions that €100 million ($109 million) is available for measures to promote awareness, recognition, commemorating, and processing. From this budget, the following will also be financed: free name changes, multi-annual research into the effect of the history of slavery, and more intense efforts in the fields of anti-discrimination and anti-racism policies.

Van Huffelen wrote that the islands have a prominent role to play in the follow-up to Rutte’s apologies. “The cabinet researches how organizations can be supported, with special attention for grassroots and community engagement.”

After the summer there will be a meeting with stakeholders from all six islands in the Caribbean.
St. Maarten’s Advisory Committee on Slavery, Atonement, and Reparations is tasked with advising the government about the follow-up to Rutte’s apologies. Van Huffelen looks forward to the recommendations this committee will come up with. “The cabinet finds it important that St. Maarten can go through this process at its own pace. After that, we will design the follow-up to the apologies together.”