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| | Netherlands Antilles (07/03) |
 | | Flag: White, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. |
 | | In 2000 the issue again arose, and in June 2000 Sint Maarten held a nonbinding referendum in which 69% of the population voted for status apart-independence from the federation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands Antilles. |
 | | The Dutch Government does not support such a move, based on fears that Sint Maarten cannot support its own central bank, police force, or larger government and wishes to be involved in all discussions. |
| www.state.gov /outofdate/bgn/n/26830.htm (1473 words) |
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