In an interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Dutch Freedom Party MP Hero Brinkman claims that the Governor of the Netherlands Antilles, Frits Goedgedrag, was acting under pressure from the Netherlands when he cancelled the referendum scheduled to take place on the island of Bonaire.

Mr Brinkman added that the people of Bonaire have a right to a referendum about their future constitutional status. The referendum would apparently have offered the choice between becoming a special municipality of the Netherlands or an unspecified “association” with the Netherlands.

On Tuesday the Freedom party submitted a request to the Deputy Minister for Kingdom Relations, Anke Bijleveld, for an emergency debate about the cancellation of the referendum. Apparently, the decision to cancel was connected with disagreement about the exact content and wording of the referendum.

The call for an emergency debate in parliament has the support of the Socialist Party and Rita Verdonk’s Proud of the Netherlands party.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide