بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
MUSLIM STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
American University of the Caribbean
School of Medicine
St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles
Flags
Sint Maarten (Dutch side)
Saint Martin (French side)
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles is a united government for five of the six Dutch islands in the Caribbean. The seat of the government is in Curacao. Aruba is a self-governing Dutch territory. Natives of any of the six islands are Dutch citizens and carry Dutch passports.
The five stars on the flag represent the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles.
Sint Maarten
Sint Eustatius
Saba
Curacao
Bonaire
The Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of three countries, each of which has its own constitution.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands Antilles was formed in 1954.
Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986.
In 2004 a commission of the governments of the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands reported on a future status for the Netherlands Antilles. The commission advised a revision of the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to dissolve the Netherlands Antilles.
Two new associated countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be formed, Curacao and Sint Maarten. Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius would become directly part of the Netherlands as Kingdom Islands. On November 28, 2005, an agreement was signed between the Dutch government and the governments of each island that would put into effect the commission's findings by July 2007.
France
The French do not have territories. French Saint Martin is France. Natives are French citizens and carry French passports.
If you turn a French flag on its side, it becomes a Dutch flag.
Region Guadeloupe
France is divided into 26 administrative regions. Region Guadeloupe consists of Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, and Saint Barthelemy (St. Barths).
In 2003 the population of the French part of Saint Martin voted in favor of secession from Guadeloupe; this has yet to be implemented.
European Union
Saint Martin (the French side) is a part of France and is therefore in the EU. Sint Maarten (the Dutch side) is a part of the Netherlands Antilles, which is not part of the EU.
The Netherlands Antilles will be restructured on 1 July 2007. Curacao and Saint Martin will become countries inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius will become part of the Netherlands as Kingdom Islands, and will thereby also become part of the European Union.
So does this mean that three of the Dutch islands will be in the EU and the other three will not be in the EU?
Not at all. The Dutch intend to reclassify the self-governing territories from Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) status to Outermost Region (OMR) status. This reclassification allows these islands to enter the EU.
Bottom line: French Saint Martin is currently in the EU. Dutch Sint Maarten has not yet entered the EU.
Montserrat
The American University of the Caribbean was first established in January 1978 on the island of Montserrat.
AUC left Montserrat for St. Maarten in July 1995.
Montserrat Tourist Information
United Kingdom
Montserrat is of course a British territory.
Why did AUC leave Montserrat?
It was AUC versus the volcano. The Montserrat campus was buried in volcanic ash.
In case you were wondering, St. Maarten is not volcanic.
