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Urgent Plenary Session of Parliament to continue on Wednesday.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Monday urgent plenary session of the House of Parliament was that was adjourned will continue on October 22nd.
The plenary session is set for Wednesday at 10:00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.
The agenda is the instruction of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations given to the Governor of Sint Maarten to postpone ratification of the country decree in the appointment of the Ministers and Prime Minister.

This meeting was requested by Members of Parliament (MPs) Hon Read more

St. Maarten creates its own problem --- MP Emmanuel said he was offered $2m to jump ship and join the UPP.

style="text-align: center;">St. Maarten needs to fix its own house before trying to cross the ocean

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel unleashed an unexpected bomb on the floor of Parliament on Monday afternoon during the urgent meeting of Parliament that was called to discuss the instruction given to Governor Eugene Holiday Read more

Urgent Plenary Session Of Parliament To Continue On Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Monday urgent plenary session of the House of Parliament was that was adjourned will continue on October 22nd.

The plenary session is set for Wednesday at 10.00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda is the instruction of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations given to the Governor of Sint Maarten to postpone ratification of the country decree in the appointment of the Ministers and Prime Minister.

This meeting was requested by Members of Parliament (MPs) Hon Read more

Icon Mike Ferrier Resigns From Democratic Party

St. Maarten – Mike Ferrier has terminated his membership of the Democratic Party out of disappointment over the way party-leader Sarah Wescot-Williams handled the defection of her number 2 candidate Cornelius de Weever to a coalition with the United People’s party and the subsequent decision by Wescot-Williams to follow suit.

“I cannot subscribe to abandoning all that we campaigned on and claimed to stand for prior to August 29, 2014, by joining a government that has been given life by a person, or a couple of people from within our DP-ranks who seem to be driven only by power, greed and self-interest,” Ferrier – who was the party’s public relations officer – writes in a letter to Wescot-Williams dated last Friday, October 17 Read more

Dutch Instruction Is A Direct Attack On The Country’S Autonomy (Screening Process Of Candidate Ministers)

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – The anger, indignation and apparent frustration about the instruction the Kingdom Council of Ministers gave to Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday has left many seething – not only in St. Maarten, but also in Curacao and Aruba. According to a report in Antilliaans Dagblad, the country has two weeks to agree with the package of measures Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk has in store – otherwise another instruction could follow.

United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger stated in a rather emotional reaction on Friday that the instruction is unconstitutional Read more

Roland Plasterk Wanted Secret Service Undercover In St. Maarten

St. Maarten – Kingdom Relations Minister Roland Plasterk asked Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams to let the Dutch secret service AIVD operate in St. Maarten under the flag of the country’s own security service VDSM “to carry out the screening according to the criteria set by the minister,” Wescot-Williams wrote in an email to this newspaper.

According to the prime minister this is in essence what the governor now has been instructed to do, “but then on my instruction via the St Read more

De Weever Demands That Dutch Mp Andre Bosman Retracts Slander

St. Maarten – Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs and Labor Cornelius de Weever has summoned Dutch VVD-parliamentarian André Bosman in an open letter – written by his attorney Jairo Bloem – to retract his statement that UP-leader Theo Heyliger paid him for signing a coalition agreement with the UP.

Four different newspapers – Today, the Telegraaf, the Amigoe in Curacao and the Daily Herald – quoted Bosman on September 30 as saying, “Heyliger simply paid De Weever.”

The statement “lacks factual basis,” Bloem states in the letter, “and they are slanderous and defamatory towards client.” The attorney labels the statement as untruthful, grievous and deliberately slanderous, based on an article in the civil code and writes that it amounts to slander based on the penal code.

“I furthermore note that your contentions do not serve any general interest Read more

Up-Leader Theo Heyliger About Instruction: “Witch Hunt With Me As Primary Target”

St. Maarten – United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger released another statement to the media yesterday, announcing that the Dutch government will be held liable for the damages its “unconstitutional intrusion” is causing St Read more

Tamara Leonard Condemns Instruction From Dutch

St. Maarten —“ The recent instruction from the Dutch Government to Governor Eugene Holiday to carry out an invasive screening of candidate ministers in addition to the mandated security screening has put the governor yet again in a very awkward position where he has to choose between truly representing the people of St. Maarten and the one-sided interest of the Dutch Government,” says United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament Tamara Leonard.

“This instruction goes against a number of fundamental rights and freedom guaranteed to the people of St Read more

Parliament Meets On Dutch Govt. Instruction To Governor Monday Afternoon (Full Audio Now Included!)

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The House of Parliament of St. Maarten met in an urgent plenary session on Monday.

It was the first meeting of the newly elected Members of Parliament since the August 29th parliamentary elections, and the swearing of the lawmakers on October 10th.

The purpose of the plenary session was to discuss the instruction of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations given to the Governor of Sint Maarten to postpone ratification of the country decree in the appointment of the Ministers and Prime Minister.

During the meeting on Monday afternoon, which was requested by Members of Parliament the Honorable Franklin Meyers, the Honorable Tamara Leonard and the Honorable Silvio Matser, Members of Parliament denounced the instruction given to the Governor.

Whilst speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Honorable Silvio Matser noted that the instruction given was an attack on democracy.

Member of Parliament, the Honorable Leona Romeo Marlin stated on Monday on the floor of parliament that the instruction as is given by the Dutch government degrades our parliamentary system, our Council of Advice and even our Governor.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament of the National Alliance, the Honorable George Pantophlet reminded his colleagues the Dutch are here, and that the question is how we get them out of here.

Meanwhile, speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Honorable Christopher Emmanuel made it clear that St Read more

Editorial - Better understanding

It appears the incoming UP/DP/Marlin-Romeo coalition plans to fight tooth and nail the instruction by the Kingdom Council of Ministers regarding the screening of nominees to become minister. Today's Parliament meeting probably will lead to some type of action in that sense.

It will be interesting to see what position the prospective opposition fractions take in this matter Read more

Editorial - For a change

The Kingdom Council of Ministers has given Governor Eugene Holiday an instruction not to install any new cabinet members until there are sufficient guarantees regarding their integrity. This is to be determined by applying a more stringent screening, for which the Dutch Government will appoint a team of experts to assist the governor.

The highly unusual and unprecedented move has to do with a 2010 vote-buying case involving the UP party and developments since this year's elections held at the end of August Read more

Friendly or Fantasy Island?

Dear Editor,

Some people may call St. Maarten the Friendly Island while others will call it the Fantasy Island but giving the recent political turmoil and political confusion I choose to reserve the right of giving it the appropriate name at the end of this article but not until I express my views on this topic.

Let us for a moment first view the phrases expressed by some of our political leaders and then the phases they allow our island to go through in order to have a better understanding on what island we are living on.

Our good "Samaritan" or leader of government Sarah Wescot-Williams struck the nail on its head when she boldly chose her political phrase Read more

Trinidad declines to pay Jamaica’s ‘bill’ for returning Muslim leader Abu Bakr

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad--The Trinidad and Tobago government says it will not pay the US $36,000 used to hire a private jet to bring the leader of the radical Jamaat al Mulsimeen group, Yasin Abu Bakr, back to the island from Jamaica where he had been denied entry.

National Security Minister Gary Griffith, speaking at the end of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday, said that Port of Spain had denied a request from Jamaica for payment of the fees.

"I was very clear that Trinidad and Tobago will not bear the costs of that private flight," Griffith, said, adding that the cost of the flight was US $36,000.

The Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) in Jamaica in a statement said Bakr "was refused leave to land under Section 4(1)h of the Immigration Restriction [Commonwealth Citizens – Ed.] Act."

The section states, "The following Commonwealth citizens (not being persons deemed to belong to the Island as defined by sub section (2) of section 2) are prohibited immigrants .. Read more

Dutch Parliament supports English in Statia education

THE HAGUE--Members of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament expressed support for the introduction of English as the language of instruction at schools in St. Eustatius during a meeting with Dutch State Secretary of Education, Culture and Science Sander Dekker on Wednesday.

Members of Parliament (MPs) André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party, Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA and Paul van Meenen of the Democratic Party D66 lauded the decision of the state secretary to make the switch from Dutch to English as the language of instruction at Statia schools.

The MPs shared the opinion of the expert committee that investigated the pros and cons of introducing English as the language of instruction in St Read more

Plasterk: Genuine guarantees of government integrity needed

THE HAGUE--The Kingdom Council of Ministers approved a proposal of Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Friday to give the governor of St. Maarten an instruction to refrain from signing the decrees to appoint the members of St. Maarten's next government until it has been proven, through an additional, more stringent screening, that the members of the Cabinet are persons of complete integrity. This is what Plasterk told the media in an interview after Friday's meeting.

St Read more

Most schools ready to reopen on Monday

PHILIPSBURG--All government-subsidised schools and "most" public schools are ready to reopen their doors on Monday after a weeklong closure due to the passing of Hurricane Gonzalo, which pummelled the island on Monday evening, October 13.

High schools ready to reopen on Monday are Milton Peters College (MPC); Sundial School; both sections of St. Maarten Academy; Charlotte Brookson Academy for the Performing Arts; Methodist Agogic Center (MAC) Comprehensive Secondary Education; and St. Dominic High School.

Primary schools set to reopen are Seventh-Day Adventist School; MAC Browlia F Read more

Sarah: Gov’t will resist instruction to Holiday

~ Says move 'absurd' ~

PHILIPSBURG--Caretaker Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams has condemned the move by the Dutch Government to issue instructions to Governor Eugene Holiday to thoroughly screen incoming ministers from the United People's (UP) party-led coalition.

In an invited comment on Friday Wescot-Williams said government "will resist" this latest move by the Dutch government Read more

Kingdom govt orders tougher screening St. Maarten ministers

By Suzanne Koelega

THE HAGUE--The Kingdom government has ordered a more stringent screening of St. Maarten's incoming Council of Ministers. The Kingdom Council of Ministers decided on Friday to give St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday an instruction to hold off on the appointment of the ministers and prime minister until it is absolutely certain that they are in the clear.

The Dutch government will appoint a team of experts to assist the governor with the screening, announced Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk after the meeting Read more

UP says candidates will not agree to ‘vague’ investigation

~ Calls instruction unconstitutional ~

PHILIPSBURG--No candidate Minister will agree to "a vague limitless investigation" on themselves, their families, third parties, friends and acquaintances without the parameters of vetting being known, United People's (UP) party said on Friday.

UP's statement was in reaction to the Dutch Government's instruction to Governor Eugene Holiday for a thorough investigation into candidate-ministers from the UP-led coalition.

UP said the subjectivity created by a vague investigation would leave room for arbitrary vetting procedures without any guarantee of an equal treatment.

"It is quite obvious that this measure is designed against MP Heyliger and confirms .. Read more

MPs to meet Monday on Dutch gov’t instruction

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) will discuss in an urgent plenary session of Parliament on Monday the Kingdom Council of Ministers' instruction to Governor Eugene Holiday to execute a thorough screening of candidate-ministers from the United People's (UP) party-led coalition.

The plenary session is set to start at 2:00pm. On the agenda is the instruction from Minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to Holiday "to postpone ratification of the country decree in the appointment of the Ministers and Prime Minister."

The meeting was requested by UP MPs Franklin Meyers, Silvio Matser and Tamara Leonard on Friday.

Meyers said the instruction was "yet another example of interference into St Read more

Man succumbs when truck drives off road in St. Peters

~ Two injured, teacher seriously ~

ST. PETERS--A man whose name was given as Claude Nourant succumbed to injuries received when a truck in which he was a passenger toppled off the road over Sentry Hill in St. Peters and landed front first on Coco Plum Road below around 4:00pm on Saturday.

The driver of the vehicle, teacher Frank Dellamore, and another passenger were injured in the accident. Reports indicate that the truck's brakes suddenly stopped working and the driver was unable to stop the truck which went through a wall, into a yard and fell onto the road below front first.

Nourant was said to have been in the open tray in the back of the truck when the accident occurred Read more

Theo: Dutch want to prevent me from being prime minister

PHILIPSBURG--United People's (UP) party leader Member of Parliament (MP) Theo Heyliger said on Sunday that the instruction by the Dutch government to Governor Eugene Holiday is intended to prevent him from becoming the next prime minister of St Read more

Second Chamber backs St. Maarten instruction

~ A very necessary move, says majority ~

THE HAGUE--The liberal democratic VVD party, the Labour Party PvdA and Socialist Party (SP) representing a majority in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament fully support the decision of the Kingdom Council of Ministers last week Friday to order a more thorough screening of St. Maarten's candidate ministers.

The instruction that the Kingdom government gave to St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday to hold off on the signing of the appointment of the members of the new Council of Ministers until an additional integrity screening has been completed with the assistance of Dutch experts, was "highly necessary," said Members of the Second Chamber André Bosman (VVD) and Ronald van Raak (PvdA).

Member of the Second Chamber Roelof van Laar said that during the handling of the draft 2015 Kingdom Relations budget on October 1, he already called for an in-depth investigation of the indications of vote-buying in St Read more