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Usp Introduces Four New Candidates

St. Maarten News —The United St. Maarten Party (USP) has added four more candidates to the party to contest the upcoming elections that are slated for September 26, 2016 and was introduced to the public at the party headquarters on Friday. The new candidates, some of whom have worked for government for a number of years, felt that the time is now for them to play their part and serve the people of the island.

Party leader Frans Richardson said that the USP “is not only about putting people on the list but also guiding them in the way that the Parliament of St Read more

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Up Mp Franklin Meyers Blasts Gov’T On Gebe

St. Maarten News—United People’s Party (UP) member of Parliament Franklin Meyers blasted the government for what he terms a mismanagement of power company GEBE in light of the latest string of power outages on the island. “This is unbelievable! The mismanagement of GEBE goes beyond party politics Read more

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Franklin Meyers (Up): “Coalition Left Mp Lake Totally Out In The Cold”

St. Maarten News – Member of Parliament Maurice Lake and his appointed Vromi-Minister Angel Meyers were left totally out in the cold yesterday afternoon when the majority of Lake’s coalition members failed to show up for a parliament meeting to pass a law brought by the MP’s minister, United People’s party deputy leader MP Franklin Meyers said in a press statement.

“This is a very clear case of actions speak louder than words and the action in this case is a resounding vote of no confidence in MP Lake’s minister and a total lack of support for the MP himself Read more

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One Year After Appeal No New Date For Vote Buying Trial

St. Maarten News – While the parliament engaged this week in a rather senseless second round of debate about – mostly – the term vote buying, the election fraud case that rocked St. Maarten in 2014 and led to accusations of class justice has seemingly come to a complete standstill.

In August 2014, the Court in First Instance ruled that the prosecutor’s office had called upon itself “the semblance of class justice” by prosecuting four police officers and a representative of the United People’s party for selling and buying votes ahead of the 2010 parliamentary elections, while UP-leader Theo Heyliger was not dragged into court Read more

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Gracita Arrindell Leads Ppa In Elections: Has Orange Become The New Green?

St. Maarten News – “Lack of leadership, not sticking to commitments and turning their back on the people of St. Maarten,” said Gracita Arrindell yesterday about her reasons for leaving the United People’s Party and returning to the revived People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA) as its leader for the September 26 parliamentary elections Read more

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Theo Heyliger Criticizes Government For Repeated Power Outages

Some Gebe generators are in a bad condition. Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten News – The seemingly extensive mechanical and other problems faced by the Gebe power plant are taking a toll on the economy and putting additional stress on residents, United People’s party leader MP Theo Heyliger said in a press statement.

“Residents and businesses have had to deal with frequent power outages for going on two weeks and there has been no clear indication from government about what is going on Read more

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Mp Frans Richardson Sounds The Alarm: Social Media Messages: Kill The Prime Minister

St. Maarten News – Messages on social media suggest killing the prime minister, members of parliament and their corrupted friends, MP Frans Richardson said during a meeting of parliament about vote buying. While Richardson considered there threats far more important than the issue of vote buying, no other MP even reacted to his statement.

“I am going to protect myself and my family,” Richardson said Read more

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Opinion: The Spirit Of Giving

Sometimes, initiatives that may have started with the best of intentions are raising eyebrows. Such is the case with the “giving back to the community” initiative of parliamentarian Leona Marlin-Romeo – and we’d like to place this in the context of 2016 – an election year.

We are all familiar with the vote buying scandal dating back to 2010 when a couple of police officers sold their vote for $300 a pop to the United People’s party Read more

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Former Mp Laville Stands Trial For Threatening James And York

St. Maarten – Former Member of Parliament Romain Jules Laville stands trial tomorrow morning for firearm possession and for threatening his former fellow-faction member Jules James and, on a later date, steel pan icon Isidore York.

Officers of the National Detective Agency arrested Laville on March 26 of last year in the context of an investigation into alleged threats he made against former UP-parliamentarian Jules James on June 11, 2012 and against Isidore York on November 28 of the same year Read more

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Up-Leader Commends Police For Arrest Robbery-Suspects

St. Maarten News – Leader of the United People’s Party (UP) and Member of Parliament (MP) Theo Heyliger and the party-board “commend the men and women of the Sint Maarten police force for their successes within the past two weeks that led to several dangerous armed robbers being taken off the streets,” the party said in a press statement.

“We have taken note of the recent joint operation between the Gendarmes and our local police force that resulted in the apprehension of four suspects who are thought to be responsible for armed robberies committed on both sides of the island,” the UP said in a press statement.

“These robbers are suspected of aggressive and violent robberies.  Thanks to the cooperation between both law enforcement agencies of the French and Dutch sides, an end has been brought to this group.  This is a result of the Police Cooperation Treaty that exists to fight cross-border crime.”

“Everybody has a role to play in fighting crime.  It cannot be left up to the men and women in blue.  They need the help of the community to fight crime effectively, and therefore every law-abiding member of the community has to be the eyes and ears of our police force if we really want to take a big bite out of crime,” the release states.

“At the same time, our men and women in blue also need to have the necessary tools and protections for them and their families.  They put their lives on the line every day for our community and for our visitors.  We must ensure that they are taken care of for the sacrifice that they make every day in serving our community – to protect and serve,” the UP stated.  

An urgent Central Committee meeting requested by UP MPs Franklin Meyers and Tamara Leonard and independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo about the status of insurance coverage for police officers and their families; has been scheduled for this Friday at 10 a.m Read more

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Timeshare, The Sick Cousin Of The Tourism Industry

After many years, legislation remains in limbo

St. Maarten – Trouble in the timeshare industry probably dates back further than December 2010, when the controversial sale of the Pelican Resort caused uproar among employees and timeshare owners alike, but it is a good starting point for getting an impression of the state of this industry and the lack of action on the part of successive governments.

When the Pelican Resort changed ownership in December 2010, the jobs of 182 employees were suddenly on the line Read more

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Mp Johan Leonard About The Cause Of Ship Jumping: Our Party Leaders Blatantly Disrespect Their Members

MP Heyliger is still smiling after the severe criticism from his fellow-faction member Johan Leonard (left). Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – The attitude of party leaders is the main reason for ship jumping, United People’s party MP Johan Leonard said yesterday morning in an unexpected sharp attack on UP-leader Theo Heyliger Read more

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Seven New Political Parties Report For 2016 Elections

St. Maarten – An astonishing number of seven new political parties reported to the offices of the Electoral Council yesterday to submit their request to be registered for the February 9 elections. Among them is the St. Maarten Christian Party, led by Pastor Wycliffe Smith. On the other hand, the party of European Dutch residents did not show up, reportedly because they did not have enough time to prepare their documentation.

With the seven new parties – if they get all their formalities in order – the field for the elections will consist of eleven and possibly twelve parties Read more

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Winners And Losers: Who Will Survive The Polls In February?

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – February 9, 2016 is crunch day for politicians and those who aspire to become one. The parliamentary elections – for some mysterious reason perceived by some as ‘snap elections’, whatever that may be – will give voters the opportunity to speak their mind about the constitutional drama that concluded on Wednesday when the ministers of the Marcel Gumbs cabinet tendered their resignation and Governor Drs Read more

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“Principles And Values” Directed Maurice Lake’S Decision

Ex-Vromi Minister Maurice Lake.

St. Maarten – In a statement that runs almost 2,000 words, now independent MP Maurice Lake has defended himself against accusations by United People’s party leader Theo Heyliger that “power, position and ministry and others have manipulated him to break the government for self-interest.”

Lake says that he has known Heyliger for 25 years as a friend and for 15 years as his advisor.

“I have three Master’s Degrees and work hard for my family for everything I got in life and never asked Theo Heyliger for nothing in life Read more

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No Class Justice At St. Maarten’S Prosecutor’S Office

St. Maarten – The Public Prosecutor’s Office in St. Maarten does not deal with high officials differently than with other citizens. That is the main conclusion of the Law Enforcement Council following the investigation concerning possible class justice by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in St. Maarten. The reason for the investigation was the ruling of the Court of First Instance in the so-called “Masbangu” case, in which the court ruled that the prosecutor’s office, had created the semblance of class justice Read more

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Opinion: Something’S Brewing

We know since last night that Governor Holiday sent a letter to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. We do not know the content of this letter, but there is no doubt that this will come out some time today.

The past couple of days, two political parties have come out with press conferences where they made their positions clear. The National Alliance nor the Democratic Party fear elections, they say.

Do they really want elections? Not really Read more

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Mp Matser Appeals Fraud Conviction This Afternoon

Parliamentarian Silvio Matser arrives at the courthouse on January 7 for his sentence hearing. File photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – MP Silvio Matser appears in the Common Court of Justice this afternoon at 1.30 p.m Read more

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Opinion: “Self Above Country” 101

Who said politics is boring? The conspirators in parliament had their first laugh on Wednesday when they lured all MPs to the House of Representatives with an irresistible agenda point – the remarks made by Attorney-General Guus Schram about the ties between the criminal underworld and St. Maarten’s legitimate society. Then followed an agenda point about the situation at the government-owned companies, in particular the airport.

But those who thought that the opposition intended to wash the ears of airport director Regina Labega were in for a nasty surprise Read more

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St. Maarten Government Falls Again: Fifth Cabinet In Five Years In The Making

UP-leader Theo Heyliger (left) and MP Silvio Matser on 10-10-14 when they were still political allies. Now the political marriage is over: “I cannot take the internal abuse anymore,” Matser said yesterday Read more

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Lake Stays In Parliament, No Seat For Buncamper-Molanus

St. Maarten – Rumors about the makeup of the new cabinet and its possible consequences for seats in parliament spread rapidly yesterday after the fall of the Gumbs cabinet. One such rumor was that Maurice Lake, now independent, would return as the Minister of Vromi; that move would have opened a slot in parliament for Maria Buncamper-Molanus Read more

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Lake Urges Ministry To Get Rid Of Nipa-Board

St. Maarten – United people’s party MP Maurice Lake urged Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs yesterday to get rid of the board at the National Institute of Professional Advancement (Nipa).

“When the school started in 2014 it had 288 students. In 2015 there are just 65,” Lake said. The board does not live up to any deadlines Read more

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St. Maarten Government Falls – Three Coalition Members Defect

Picture: St. Maarten Parliament

NEWSFLASH!! St. Maarten– The Gumbs government fell shortly after 12.30 p.m. today (Wednesday, September 30, 2015) after the parliament passed a motion of no-confidence submitted by Democratic Party MP Sarah Wescot-Williams with an 8-7 vote Read more

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Garbage Meeting Fizzles: Many Questions, No Answers And No Solutions

St. Maarten – At the end of a long meeting, finally there were some fireworks when opposition MP asked Vromi-Minister Claret Connor to answer one question: “Is there a contract with a company to build the waste-to-energy plant and how does this jive with your visit to a project in Miami?”

Minister Connor, who had just said that he would be able to inform the parliament on Monday when he would be able to answer the more than one hundred questions MPs had asked, did not bite Read more

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