[CQ-Contest] Now Official: The Netherlands Antilles Will Be Dissolved on 10-10-10

[Ron Notarius W3WN]

Joe,

Well, I agree with you that assuming that Bonaire will be a new DXCC entity
after 10 October is jumping the gun.  

But at worst, the entity status for all of the islands in the Leeward &
Windward Islands -- that is to say, the North America & South America
entities that comprise the Netherlands Antilles -- will remain unchanged.

Considering that this political change in the islands has been in the works
for years, and that the political entity known as the Netherlands Antilles
WILL be dissolved on or about 10 October, it is not unreasonable to
anticipate and assume that Bonaire will become a new entity.  Granted,
though, that there are no guarantees.

There are a multitude of possibilities at work here.  And I'm sure that the
DXCC desk has already done its due diligence, considering the lead time
involved.

That being said, I would seriously doubt that the under the upcoming
political change, the existing two N.A. entities would be consolidated into
one.  The precedent of the separation of Aruba would imply otherwise...
again, granted, under older DXCC criteria and not the current rules.

Those who are spending a lot of money in anticipation of being "the first"
to activate their hopeful new entities are taking a gamble.  They know, or
should know, the risks.  But that's their chance to take; why throw cold
water on it?

We will know the status changes soon enough.

In short:  WFWL!

-----Original Message-----
From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Joe Subich, W4TV
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 10:53 AM
To: [Contest]
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Now Official: The Netherlands Antilles Will Be
Dissolved on 10-10-10


 > CU in CQWW DX CW as PJ4A from the new country of Bonaire. It's
 > going to be fun. J

Don't jump the gun.

None of the former Netherlands Antilles automatically gain "new
country" status.  To become a "Political Entity" the territory
must: be a member of the UN General Assembly, have a separate
ITU callsign block, or be listed on either the US Department of
State or UN list of "non self-governing territories."

Since all of the former PJ islands will continued to be represented
by The Netherlands for external/international affairs, neither of
the first two criteria are likely to come into play (even Aruba
does not have its own ITU block - P4 is assigned to The Netherlands).

As to inclusion on the UN or US DOS lists, there is no assurance
that will happen on 10/10/10 or even quickly after 10/10/10.  In
the case of St Barts (FJ) it took some nine months from the date
on which the French Ministry made FJ an Overseas Collective (a
separately administered entity) and the date on which FJ first
appeared on the US DOS listing.  (Contacts with FJ were not valid
for DXCC purposes until the addition of St. Barts to the DOS
list on December 14, 2007).

Further, there is no guarantee that Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and
Saba (the BES Islands) will appear on the DOS list - they are
to be "municipalities" within The Netherlands and not autonomous
entities.  Unless the BES Islands are listed individually on the
DOS or UN lists, they should be a single "Island Group" under
the DXCC rules since the separation between the Port of Saba and
the northeast corner of Bonaire (near Spoelunk Light) is less
than 800 km according to Google Earth and at least one of the
accepted distance calculation methods of the US FCC.

It is a shame that the multiplier status of PJ2/4 and PJ5/6/7 are
likely to be in a state of flux throughout the entire fall and
winter contest season.  It is also a shame that there are groups
spending big bucks to activate countries on "independence day"
when those contact may not count for anything other than PJ2/4
or PJ5/6/7 if ARRL follow their published rules.

73,

    ... Joe, W4TV
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