Derogatory remark scuttles joint meeting of representatives

WILLEMSTAD – A parliamentary conference between representatives of all parties in the Second Chamber of the Netherlands and the States of the Netherlands Antilles was called off after a stalemate developed over an unparliamentarily comment by one of the Dutch visitors. The hosts refused to admit Liberty party (PVV) member Brinkman after he called Aruba a ‘nest of scoundrels.’ Brinkman’s party, which profiles itself as an anti-immigration group, prefers to cut all ties with the Antilles, the ‘old country’ of a significant number of marginalized newcomers in the Netherlands. In the past, debt-laden Aruba was bailed out by the Dutch government but now there are differences over repayment. When Brinkman refused to apologize, the group’s leader, a conservative liberal (VVD), tried different options but did not want to meet the local politicians without Brinkman. The conference was to explore a range of political and financial issues between the Antilles and the Netherlands.