Jetten: Don’t speculate about Beatrix’s notes on Betico Croes

THE HAGUE — “I do not think anyone doubts Beatrix’s enormous commitment to the Dutch Caribbean, particularly Aruba,” Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said during the debate on the King’s 2027 budget. This according to the dutch portal dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl. His statement (Jetten) followed a question from Dutch House of Representatives member Tijs van den Brink about the reaction in Aruba to personal notes Beatrix wrote in the 1980s. In those notes, she expressed concern about Aruban politician Betico Croes’s struggle for Status Aparte.

The notes were published this month as part of research into the colonial past of the House of Orange. MEP leader Evelyn Wever-Croes said the revelation had caused deep wounds in the Aruban community.

Van den Brink said he had noticed the concern during a working visit to Aruba last week with the parliamentary committee for Kingdom Relations. He asked Jetten to provide context for the notes. “One element of the research has caused concern in Aruba. It concerns the view of our head of state at the time that a Status Aparte for Aruba could be fatal, and her question about the role of Betico Croes, a hero to many on the island in the struggle for Status Aparte,” Van den Brink said. “I think it would be good if the prime minister could provide some context for these comments today. That could help ease concern on that beautiful island.”

JETTEN: CONTEXT OF THE NOTES IS UNKNOWN

Jetten replied that, in his view, it is clear to everyone that former Queen Beatrix, now Princess Beatrix, had and continues to have great affection for all the islands of the Kingdom, before, during and after her reign. He noted that her personal notebooks had been used for the research as an exceptional measure. “I do not want us to find ourselves interpreting how these notes came about and what the intention behind them was, because we simply do not know the context. I want to avoid all speculation about that,” Jetten said.

The prime minister added that he had discussed the matter with representatives of Aruba, without naming them: “I have also said this in my contacts with representatives of Aruba.”