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Independent Foundation calls for boycott of Dominican Republic

PHILIPSBURG--Independence for St. Martin Foundation (ISMF) has called for a boycott of travel to and importation of goods from the Dominican Republic, as it condemned the plight of loss of rights to citizenship and the stripping of citizenship going back some five generations from Haitians, and people of Haitian descent living in that country.

   Governments on the Dutch and French sides of the island are urged by the foundation, headed by rights activist José Lake Jr, “to condemn the atrocities that are being perpetrated in the Dominican Republic.”

In its press statement issued on Thursday, the foundation said it has aligned itself with the growing international call for a boycott of the Dominican Republic for travel and the importation of products made in that country.

The foundation urged the Caribbean Community CARICOM, the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations (UN) and other national and international bodies “to impose sanctions against the Dominican Republic until it reverses its ill-conceived policy of mass deportations of undocumented Haitian immigrants and of Dominicans of Haitian origin.”

The decision to approve the condemnation of the denationalization and forced deportation of tens of thousands of Dominicanos of Haitian descent was made in the foundation’s meeting of June 30.  

The foundation has been following “with great regret and outrage” the “unfolding human tragedy” in the Dominican Republic” brought about by “a misguided decision” of that country’s highest judicial entity, its Constitutional Court, in 2013.

“Contrary to what the government of the Dominican Republic is claiming, this whole issue has been one of human rights from the very start, and not of the sovereign rights of the country to regulate immigration,” said the foundation.

Unfortunately, the key legal points of the court decision “have disappeared in the current debate.” One of those points of the decision being retroactive to 1930 that gives “a perverse interpretation of the term ‘in-transit’ to mean anyone, who has been residing in the country without the necessary documents since 1929, and its defiant ignoring of the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on a similar case,” said the foundation Read more

Mp Jacobs To Tackle New Laws When Parliament Resumes From Summer Break

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Deputy Leader of the National Alliance, member of Parliament the Honorable Silveria Jacobs is bent on tackling a number of important issues when the Parliament of St. Maarten return to chambers at the end Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Now that the contract signed by the former Chief Operations Officer (COO) of GEBE Romelio Maduro and St. Maarten Service Provider is in public domain, the big question that are on the minds of several persons is if the Supervisory Board will hold the former COO liable who found it fit to bind the government owned company to pay a consultant $10,500.00 per month whether or not they provide work for GEBE, further to that will the Supervisory Board of Directors exonerate themselves from this contract since they claim not to know anything about the contract with St Read more

Emotional re-enactment Diamond Estate escape

By John van Kerkhof

COLE BAY--“Early Wednesday, around midnight, a group of people identified as runaway slaves, could be seen crossing the road, hurrying up the slopes of Diamond Hill, rapidly vanishing between the trees and bushes. Only the meagre lights of lanterns assisted them on their way. Shortly after, a man on horseback approached, accompanied by two men with hounds. Several gunshots were fired as the men tried to prevent the group from crossing the border between the Dutch and French sides of the island,” thus could have read the first paragraph of a newspaper report on July 1, 1848, on the escape of 26 slaves from Diamond Estate in Cole Bay running to freedom on the French side.

This historic event, known as the Run for Freedom, was re-enacted on this scenario early Wednesday with much passion and enthusiasm by a group of approximately 100 persons, who took on the roles of fleeing Dutch slaves and their freed peers of the French side.

Like the short but perilous journey of the slaves in 1848, when slavery had just been abolished on the French side, but still existed on the Dutch side, the journey of the “runaway slaves” began at midnight at the Caribbean Auto parking lot to usher in Emancipation Day 2015.

The group, costumed in nineteenth-century clothing trekked barefooted or on sandals through the bushes from Diamond Estate to Bellevue.

Coordinator Clara Reyes said this may very well have been the last possibility to organise a re-enactment on this location, as ongoing development in the area may block off access to hillside paths in the future Read more

Collectivité to seek legal counsel regarding Semsamar indictments

MARIGOT--The Territorial Council on Thursday authorised President Aline Hanson to obtain legal representation over the recent indictments handed down by the court on the present and former Director Generals of Semsamar in case the Collectivité is implicated in any way by virtue of being a 51 per cent shareholder of the company.

The motion was passed by the majority, however, Wendel Cocks who is President of the Semsamar board and other board members had to leave the room before the vote was taken.

Hanson said the Collectivité does not have access to the file and needs to have a specialist lawyer to represent the Collectivité as a precaution.

“The objective is for the Collectivité to be directly informed on elements of the case, not to come into conflict with Semsamar,” she said Read more

SZV allowed to fire fraudulent employee

PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance ruled in favour of Social and Health Insurance SZV on Wednesday. SZV had sought the intervention of the Court in a procedure to dismiss one of its registration supervisors, who is suspected of having committed fraud with the distribution of health-insurance cards.

SZV requested that the Court terminate the labour agreement with its employee S.T.M. (27) as per March 17. The woman started her career with SZV in August 2005. She was promoted to the function of registration supervisor in June 2013.

The health insurer sought S.T.M.'s dismissal after it emerged there had been "irregularities" concerning the registration and issuance of health-insurance cards Read more

Only the People can save the people!

Dear Editor,

Region's Corruption - the idea for this paper was born in my heart, when I read an article by Prof. Trevor Munroe about donor agencies investing corruption in the region. Dr. Munroe is a former politician and is also Director of National Integrity Action in his country Jamaica.

At present there is a lot of talk taking place on the Island of St. Maarten (now Country St. Maarten) regarding transparency and integrity. I am not too sure how the population, in particular the grass-roots, will be involved in all of this Read more

Supreme Court justices refuse to restore North Carolina abortion ultrasound law

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by the state of North Carolina to revive its law requiring women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound of the fetus performed and described to them by a doctor.

The high court let stand a December appeals court ruling that struck down the 2011 law as unconstitutional because it forced doctors to voice the state's message discouraging abortion. The action does not impact similar measures in other states.

North Carolina lawmakers had argued that requiring narrated ultrasounds would provide crucial information to women making an irrevocable decision, even if they chose to avert their eyes and not listen to the explanation of the displayed fetus images Read more

style="text-align: center;">Is it really the signing of the Integrity protocol why Minister Richardson must go!
I can imagine all of those voters of last election holding their head and bawling with shame knowing that they put this government in place. Don’t blame the politicians, blame yourself. You knew that if you put the same leaders back in office you could not have expected different results than what we are getting today.

Philipsburg:--- Many persons have not being paying much attention to the back and forth discussion regarding the establishment of an Integrity Chamber, especially not those ordinary citizens who are unemployed and those others who can’t make ends meet because of the high cost of living Read more

Protests against cutting Statia Marine Park in half

~ Free-for-all in designated reserves ~

By Suzanne Koelega

THE HAGUE--The St. Eustatius National Marine Park has been reduced by a near 50 per cent through a decision of the St. Eustatius Government. Without the necessary control it basically means the end of the park which will now only consist of the Atlantic side of the island and the reserve at Gallows Bay to make way for the harbour. And, in absence of a legal status, local fishermen have started fishing in the reserves.

The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) and affiliated nature organisations are extremely disappointed and had asked National Government Representative Gilbert Isabella earlier this week to annul the amendment to the local Maritime Environment Ordinance.

The reduction of the St Read more

Zaandam: The Hague, CFT, Island Governor at fault too

THE HAGUE--If the public entity St. Eustatius is given an instruction as the result of the island's precarious financial situation and alleged improper governance, then the Island Governor, the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT and the National Government Representative should be given one too, as these three entities failed their task to safeguard financial stability and good governance.

Statia Commissioner Reginald Zaandam of the UPC party stated this on Thursday in a reaction to the instruction the St Read more

British comedian buys time on Trinidad television to urge Warner to rat out FIFA

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad--British comedian John Oliver, the host of the HBO series "Last Week Tonight," purchased time on Trinidad television on Tuesday night to urge the indicted former FIFA vice president Jack Warner to keep a promise and tell all he knows about the organisation. This is according to a report from Caribbean News Now.

Warner bought time on the same channel TV6 last week to claim he had an "avalanche" of damning information about FIFA's corruption, following his arrest along with several other FIFA officials on bribery and fraud charges Read more

France beat England 1-0 in World Cup opener

CANADA- - Speedy forward Eugenie Le Sommer struck with a superb long-range goal in the first half to set up a 1-0 victory for France over England in their Group F Women's World Cup opener in Moncton on Tuesday.
  Le Sommer, the French League's top player, took advantage of a defensive mix-up by Katie Chapman and Laura Bassett and fired in a thunderous shot from the edge of the Read more

Editorial - Lesser of two evils

Members of the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations are scheduled to meet this morning. Topics include a debriefing on the recent Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO in The Hague. Although not on the agenda, the protocol regarding an Integrity Chamber for St. Maarten signed around the same time between Justice Minister Dennis Richardson and Dutch Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk is likely to come up. After all, several legislators have voiced their disapproval over this perceived “bypassing of Parliament” in no uncertain terms.

In one case it actually concerns governing partner USP, which was given precisely the Justice portfolio when joining the UP-led coalition in January Read more

Semsamar managing directors past and present under judicial control

MARIGOT--Director General of Semsamar Marie-Paule Bélénus-Romana and her predecessor Jean-Paul Fischer were taken into 48-hour custody in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, on Monday, where they were placed under judicial control and "mise en examen."

On Wednesday, they appeared before a Judge of Instruction. The Judge's decision was based on "suspicion of conflicts of interest, misappropriation of funds and favouritism."

The development is the latest in a three-year investigation into the operations of Semsamar, and follows various revelations that emerged from the so-called Milos report and audit of the company Read more

Sapphire will not be sold, resort to rebrand, renovate

CUPECOY--After a period of quiet following the news in late January that timeshare exchange network RCI had suspended its relationship with Sapphire Beach Club and Resort, some Sapphire timeshare owners were informed via newsletter over the weekend that the resort would be going through renovations and had signed a preliminary agreement at the end of 2014 "initiating the process of affiliation to a prestigious hotel chain" that remained unnamed.

The newsletter item also disclosed that the property would not be sold, which had been a subject for speculation by many.

RCI had not disclosed any reasoning for the suspension in its notice, but it was understood to be tied to the property's multiple maintenance issues Read more

Six honoured in annual Mother’s Day ceremony

MARIGOT--The Collectivité honoured six worthy women in its annual Mother's Day ceremony on Friday.

In keeping with tradition, the representatives of the six different councils had the difficult task of choosing someone from their district. Mother's Day on the French side is celebrated annually on the last Sunday of May.

The ceremony began with an opening address by Vice-President Ramona Connor recalling the important role of the mother in society before each district representative announced their candidate with a biography.

The chosen six included Alberta Leblanc from district one, Jocelyne Illidge for district two, Marguerite Bryan from district three, and Tamika Meyers from district four, Louisita Fleming Richardson from district five and Mercedes Thomas from district six.

The ladies were chosen for their strong family values, raising many children, and contributing much to the community Read more

I voted for improvement yet nothing has changed

Dear Editor,

Please allow me some space in your newspaper to address the United People’s party.

UP party, as a supporter of the united people’s party, I have a request in return for all my hard work and efforts in getting votes for the current government body.

It is only fair and understandable that while some other supporters/campaigners are benefitting from their input; Erno York has only received small but appreciated donations Read more

Shigemoto, GAS director go free in ‘Piranha’ case

PHILIPSBURG--Former Minister of Finance Hiroshi “Hiro” Shigemoto (44) and Global Advisor Services (GAS) BV Director R.A.G. (62) both were acquitted fully by the Judge on Thursday in the so-called “Piranha” case.

The Prosecutor’s Office had accused both men of having committed fraud in connection with invoices sent in for payment for GAS services for the recruitment of highly-skilled staff members for the Department of Fiscal Affairs between January 1 and June 30, 2009. This agreement was renewed in 2011 retroactively from July 1 to December 31, 2009.

GAS also was responsible for managing the one-year project financed by Dutch funding agency USONA to hire staff for the new Tax Department for an all-inclusive fee of NAf Read more

Dp Leader Questions Integrity Chamber Protocol

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - More questions are being asked about the details of the Integrity Chamber agreement which was signed in The Hague last Saturday.

The agreement was signed between St. Maarten's Minister of Justice, the Honorable Dennis Richardson and the Dutch Government.

Many members of Parliament have expressed their disapproval about the manner in which the agreement was signed and the impact it will have on the authority of the island's highest legislative body, the Parliament of St Read more

Up Board Denounces Statements On Smn-News Website

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The United People's Party (UP) board recently met to discuss a number of pressing issues inclusive of a recent statement found on the online news site SMN-News.

"We the board of the UP board would like to denounce a recent statement made on one of the local online media outlets Read more

Parliament must do its job

Dear Editor,

Never have I witnessed such a degrading meeting of the people's business in parliament as that meeting held last week regarding the Checkmate Security contract at the St. Maarten Harbour. This meeting was called by the opposition because the people of St. Maarten wanted to know how such a contract could have been approved by the management and the supervisory board of directors of the Harbour Holding Group of Companies.

Those members of parliament supporting the government want the people to believe that because it is a local that owns Checkmate Security it is alright to pay them any amount of money and no questions should be asked Read more

style="text-align: center;">Five Years After St. Maarten Acquired Its' Separate Status On October 10, 2010 And Nothing Has Changed. After The 2014 Election We Have Changed A Few Of The Players In Parliament But The Leadership Remained The Same, Therefore We Should Not Expect Anything Different. This Brings Us To The Meeting Of Parliament Where The Checkmate Contract Should Have Been Debated.

PHILIPSBURG:---– Never have I witnessed such a degrading meeting of the people business in parliament as that meeting held last week regarding the Checkmate Security contract at the St Read more

style="text-align: center;">New comers cannot move WICSU forward.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Denisio Conner a senior civil servant for the Government of St. Maarten for the past 20 years has decided to postulate himself for the Presidency of the Windward Islands Civil Servants and Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU). The election is slated for Friday May 29th 2015 at the WICSU/PSU head office on Walter Nisbeth Road from 7am to 4 pm.
Running alongside Conner is Henrietta Doran York, someone that has been in the political arena for years and has even served as deputy Minister of Plenipotentiary Read more