State Secretary Van Huffelen refutes Aruba’s harsh criticism about ‘colonial behavior’ | Politics

Aruban Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes said on Thursday that she fully supports Maduro. Van Huffelen stated in a response to the ANP on Friday evening that colonialism and slavery “do not fit in with the way in which I work with the countries in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.”

The State Secretary says he “regularly” talks with the Aruban government about financial supervision and the implementation of projects in the context of the Commemoration Year for the History of Slavery. According to her, this collaboration is based on equality and respect. “I also ask that of my partners in the Kingdom.”

Minister Maduro recently said during a lecture for the Society of the Netherlands Aruba in The Hague that Aruba has indefinitely suspended consultations with the Netherlands on the further implementation of the Commemoration Year for the History of Slavery.

According to Maduro, the reason for this is State Secretary Van Huffelen’s decision to charge Aruba a high interest rate (6.9 percent) on the corona loan. “This modern colonial attitude means that the excuses no longer have any value or meaning for us. It appears that after 160 years, the Netherlands has not learned enough from its colonial and slavery past. This is a huge disappointment,” Maduro said.

The Netherlands and Aruba have been discussing the refinancing of the so-called corona loans for several months. At the same time, the Netherlands wants to reach an agreement on the introduction of financial supervision; the government in Oranjestad calls this ‘colonial behavior’.

Van Huffelen says that “he has not yet received any message from Aruba that they actually want to suspend the collaboration and what that actually means.”