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MARIGOT--The Minville family of Sandy Ground is facing expulsion from their property. In addition, the Appeals Court of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, has condemned the family to pay large sums of money to Société des Hôtels Caraïbes for occupying the land. The family insists the land rightfully belongs to them and has written to the Minister of Justice requesting that he intervene in the matter.
The penalties imposed include 135,000 euros for past occupation between May 25, 2000, and January 25, 2014, and 700 euros per month retroactive to December 25, 2013, until the property is evacuated, as well as 6,000 euros relating to Article 700 of the Civil Procedure Code.
A press conference was convened on Friday by a support committee that included True HOPE for St. Martin President Jules Charville, on the land opposite Alberic Richards Stadium where members of the Minville family and their supporters gathered to explain the situation.
"The Minville family has had a presence on this land for at least 90 years," Charville said. "But a man named René Blum showed up to say he was the owner of the land and it was discovered that he bought the land from a company called SITO, a company set up by the French government to act as concessionaire of domain land in St. Martin. When you are concessionaire you don't have rights to sell, but SITO nevertheless sold the land to Blum, unbeknownst to the Minville family.
"Blum, despite issuing a promise of sale (promesse de vente) to the family, then sold the land again over the heads of the Minville family to Société des Hôtels Caraïbes. At that time it caused reaction from the population who came out to defend the family for the same problem we have today.
"Société des Hotels Caraïbes then sold it to a company called Buildinvest, all of this riding roughshod over the Minville family who, since the 1930s, believed they owned the land because a relative at that time paid an amount of money to a Mr. Peterson for the land. He had a title and now the Minville family has legal title for the land.
"The problem is the domain is not recognising any title. It is acting as if [the land – ED.] did not belong to anyone. The court has made a decision on the documents Société des Hôtels Caraïbes had. We know the documents are fraudulent. But, why demolish or order expulsion knowing that this family has been here for over 90 years? Why not come to some friendly arrangement with the family? They want to demolish the buildings, but we say that will never happen."
Charville is demanding a commission to deal with the Minville problem.
