St. Maarten government crisis: Some parties want elections, four ministers will not resign

SATURDAY, 11 MAY 2013

~ Duncan resigns as justice minister ~

PHILIPSBURG–National Alliance (NA) and independent Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson want new elections to be called and in the interim their four ministers will not resign. This was the clear message from NA leader/Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin on the current political shake-up that has left the NA-led coalition without majority support in Parliament.

“We will not resign. We believe that Parliament needs to be dissolved. … We are in for a Mexican standoff. … Order has to be brought back to the political arena.”

Speaking at a press conference at Government Administration Building on Friday afternoon, Marlin said, “Our position has been and will continue to be: Let us go back to the polls. Let the people decide … We are not budging on the resignation.” He was accompanied at the press conference by Roland Tuitt, NA parliamentarians George Pantophlet and Louie Laveist; and Richardson.

The people will be able to say what they think about the parties and their candidates in an election, he said. “The people need to be given an opportunity to decide” on the fate of all politicians.

Originally, all five ministers appointed by NA and independent MPs Richardson and Patrick Illidge had refused to resign on the request of Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) on Tuesday. Instead they signed and submitted a letter to her outlining the need to dissolve Parliament and for her to prepare the necessary national decree and prepare for elections.

Now, Justice Minister Roland Duncan, nominated by Illidge, has tendered his resignation leaving Marlin, Finance Minister Tuitt, Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Romeo Pantophlet and Education Minister Silveria Jacobs in their call for elections based on Article 59 of the Constitution.

Duncan announced his resignation at a justice event on Wednesday afternoon. He told the gathering: “This is my last public appearance as minister of justice” because at 4:00pm he faxed his resignation letter to Governor Eugene Holiday. “But, it is not all bad news, now I get to go on pension.”

Marlin said Wescot-Williams has refused to accept the position of the four ministers and has ignored a request for an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers for Friday. He sees this as the prime minister “buying time” until Monday when a plenary session of Parliament will be held on the request of NA and Richardson. He anticipates that the new majority will use that opportunity to table motions of no confidence. He said there will be “no majority” come Monday and that statement should be taken in whatever way people want to take it.

He confirmed that he has met with Governor Eugene Holiday several times since Tuesday on the political situation. That situation was created by DP parliamentarians Leroy de Weever and Roy Marlin together with independent MP Romain Laville pulling their support from the present coalition.

He said he had learnt about them pulling their support at Fish Day in French Cul-de-Sac, when the prime minister asked him in Dutch if he knows about “the letter of three,” in reference to the three MPs who have pulled their support. He said he then asked if he should “pack up his office come Monday” and she said “Yeah.”

On Tuesday, the prime minister attended the Council of Ministers meeting and wanted to discuss the resignation of her cabinet based on the coalition no longer having support in Parliament, Marlin said. He pointed out that “Parliament did not take a decision,” because a letter signed by eight MPs doesn’t constitute a decision of Parliament.

The circumstances in which the country finds itself are “not normal” and this is why the prime minister’s request for the ministers to resign had been “anticipated” and the five ministers had come with the proposal to dissolve Parliament, he said.

When she refused to put the proposal for elections to a vote in the meeting “an argument” erupted between her and Duncan, who has subsequently resigned.

Marlin said Wescot-Williams is creating the impression that she is the only one who can sign to dissolve Parliament. “That is ludicrous,” because it is the Council of Ministers that takes the decision and the Prime Minister is ordered by the Council to call out the decision.

The deputy prime minister said the impression has been created that the ministers don’t want to leave, but this far from the true, because they are safeguarding the interest of the country by seeking new elections and preventing a third Wescot-Williams Cabinet with a minority in Parliament with only two of the 15 seats. The first Wescot-Williams cabinet “should not have been in the first place,” because NA had the majority of seats after the September 2010 elections.

Marlin said his refusal to resign is not based on wanting to stay in government, because no one has left government as many times as he. “This is something I am used to.”

A “frantic attempt” is being made in the community by the new majority to get people to create “the impression” of a business cabinet, because UP leader Theo Heyliger will not be able to pass the screening to become a minister due to “investigations” against him.

He said this new political move by UP, DP and Laville will take St. Maarten back to 2010, when they were in government, as “political power will be in the same hands as before.”

Marlin questioned how much Laville had been paid to switch sides, especially after he had filed a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office against Heyliger several weeks ago claiming that he had tried to exhort undue pressure on him. Laville had said on Wednesday that he had not been paid.

Laville “suddenly changed” his mind “without any sign of problems or a crack in the wall,” after supporting the 2013 budget and getting a number of motions passed in April, among them one in support of the planned justice park.

Marlin also raised the issue of the Bada Bing tape that the brothel owner has claimed was created at the request of Heyliger as an attempt to get back in government.

He said the people are fed up of the constant changes and there is even a signature drive ongoing in support of new elections. “They don’t want this nonsense.”

Addressing why he did not take the prime minister’s post in May 2012, Marlin said DP wanted it and he had no problem with it, because he was for working for the people.

Governor confirms receipt of letters

SATURDAY, 11 MAY 2013

HARBOUR VIEW–Governor Eugene Holiday has confirmed receipt of several letters submitted by Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams related to the ongoing political developments in the country. In a press statement, issued Friday evening, he stopped short of saying whether he would meet with the various players to map out a way forward.

Further, Governor Holiday, following various discussions, received a letter dated May 10, from Wescot-Williams with an overview and her observations of the current political situation for his consideration. No further details on that overview were given in the press statement.

The governor received on Monday, from Wescot-Williams a letter signed by Democratic Party Parliamentarians Roy Marlin and Leroy de Weever as well as independent Member of Parliament (MP) Romain Laville, in which they informed the governor of their withdrawal of support from the present National Alliance/DP/independent three coalition. The letter was submitted by the trio to Wescot-Williams who forwarded it to the governor.

The government also received on the same day, also from Wescot-Williams, another letter signed by the five United People’s (UP) party MPs, two DP MPs and Laville, in which they informed him of their willingness to form the next government. The letter included an attached governing declaration signed by UP leader Theo Heyliger, Wescot-Williams as DP leader and eight MPs.

The governor received on Friday, the resignation of Justice Minister Roland Duncan as a result of the declaration of withdrawal of support from the government by the eight MPs.

ZATERDAG, 11 MEI 2013

PHILIPSBURG — Justitieminister Roland Duncan heeft op gisteren zijn ontslag aangeboden aan gouverneur Eugène Holiday. Vier andere ministers weigeren vooralsnog af te treden. Vicepremier William Marlin zei op een door hem belegde persconferentie dat hij vasthoudt aan de ontbinding van het parlement, gevolgd door nieuwe verkiezingen.

Dat meldt correspondent Hilbert Haar op Caribisch Netwerk. Afgelopen maandag ontving de gouverneur een brief van de tweemansfractie van de Democratische Partij en het onafhankelijk parlementslid Romain Laville, waarin staat dat zij hun steun aan de coalitie hadden ingetrokken. Op dezelfde dag overhandigde minister-president Sarah Wescot-Williams de gouverneur een brief, getekend door de vijf leden van de Verenigde Volkspartij UP, de Democratische Partij fractie en Laville waarin zij hun bereidheid een nieuwe regering te vormen aangaven.

De groep van acht diende ook een regeringsverklaring in bij de gouverneur, die mede is ondertekend door UP-leider Theo Heyliger, DP-leider Wescot-Williams en de acht parlementsleden die de nieuwe meerderheid vormen

Op dinsdag ontstond een knallende ruzie in de ministerraad tussen met name Wescot-Williams en Duncan, omdat Wescot-Williams weigerde stappen te ondernemen om het parlement te ontbinden en nieuwe verkiezingen uit te schrijven zoals de meerderheid van de ministerraad wilde.

Vicepremier William Marlin zei gisteren dat hij vasthoudt aan de wens het parlement te ontbinden. Op maandag vergadert het parlement, maar volgens Marlin zal daar ‘geen meerderheid zijn voor moties van wantrouwen’ tegen de ministers die hem steunen.

Duncan heeft over de beraadslagingen in de ministerraad uit de school geklapt met gedetailleerde verklaringen die op een roddel-website verschenen. Hem hangt mogelijk vervolging wegens schending van het ambtsgeheim boven het hoofd. Het Openbaar Ministerie is op de hoogte van de uitlatingen die Duncan heeft gedaan maar heeft nog geen beslissing genomen over vervolging. Op schending van het ambtsgeheim staat boete of een gevangenisstraf van maximaal een jaar.

St. Maarten’s planned Justice Park ‘killed’ in its present form

FRIDAY, 10 MAY 2013

PHILIPSBURG–The planned multi-million dollar justice park for Cay Hill has been “killed” in its present form, says the incoming coalition of the United People’s (UP) party, Democratic Party (DP) and independent Member of Parliament Romain Laville.

New coalition MPs said Wednesday that the project of current Justice Minister Roland Duncan is dead in its present form. They agreed that the facilities the park would create are needed, but they see the need for more preventative programmes and projects.

MP Roy Marlin (DP) said the size of the planned park, the financing scheme and other aspects will have to be reviewed. The committee for financial supervision CFT has also signalled its disapproval of the planned park with a consequence that the Kingdom Council of Ministers has considered issuing government an instruction related to the park.

As for the motion tabled by Laville during the budget debate, Marlin said it has no financial consequences on the budget as is, but the project as formulated by Duncan would have serious repercussions for the country in the future if it was allowed to go through.

Meanwhile, the 2013 budget, though passed by parliament in April, has not yet been signed into law. The holdup is not clear, according to Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams.

The incoming finance minister is expected to table amendments and corrections to the budget to bring it more in line with what the new coalition wants. MP Marlin said maybe some of his revenue generating suggestions will be included in place of increased taxes.

“A lot of cohesion between parliament and the Council of Ministers” is expected in order to get the budget corrected, said Marlin.

CFT keurt financiering Justicepark op St. Maarten af

St. Maarten minister Duncan working on a ‘Plan B’ to house juveniles

THURSDAY, 25 APRIL 2013

PHILIPSBURG–Justice Minister Roland Duncan is working on a “Plan B” to house juvenile delinquents while matters are still being finalised with the planned multi-million-guilder Justice Park.

Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said on Wednesday that Duncan had indicated he was working on a “Plan B” and a “Plan C” to tackle the shortage of cells to hold juveniles ad interim. However, she could not give further details, as Duncan still has to present these to the Council of Ministers.

Two youngsters accused of killing one of their peers were set free by the Judge of Instruction recently because of the lack of proper cells. Housing juveniles separately from the general prison population is one of the requirements of the country’s Justice laws. This is one of Duncan’s reasons for the need for the planned Justice Park.

The Committee for Financial Supervision CFT has labelled the Justice Park loan structure as five times more expensive than it should be and a burden to the country’s budget.

“With this loan the interest burden norm would be exceeded and the budget would no longer meet the standards of the Kingdom law on financial supervision,” the letter to Duncan and Finance Minister Roland Tuitt stated.

The government plans to lease the building and land in Cay Hill where the park is to be located for 32 years and at the end of the lease government will take over ownership for a symbolic dollar.

The letter also points out that government can obtain a more favourable interest rate from The Netherlands.

Considering all the consequences of the loan structure as is, CFT has advised government against signing any letter of intent to move forward on the building.

Juxtaposed to this position of CFT is a motion passed by Parliament last week giving support to the Justice Park and approval “in principle” to the letter of intent of April 1, as submitted by Duncan.

DONDERDAG, 25 APRIL 2013

PHILPSBURG — Financieel toezichthouder Cft heeft de manier waarop minister Roland Duncan van Justitie het 100 miljoen dollar kostende Justitiepark op St. Maarten wil financieren, afgekeurd. Een berekening van het Cft toont aan dat het contract dat Duncan wil sluiten met projectontwikkelaar Corporate Property Associates 17 (CPA:17) vijf keer zo duur is als alternatieve financiering via Nederlandse geldschieters.

Dat meldt correspondent Hilbert Haar op de website Caribisch Nederland.

Duncan wilde CPA:17’s ontwerp-intentieverklaring voor 30 april ondertekenen en legde het voorstel voor aan het Cft voor goedkeuring. Het Cft heeft nu gevraagd de ondertekening uit te stellen. Het Cft beschouwt de constructie, waarbij CPA:17 het Justitiepark voorfinanciert, als een te dure lening waarmee St. Maarten boven de rentelastnorm voor 2013 van 27,9 miljoen Antilliaanse gulden zou uitkomen. Hiermee zou ook de begroting niet langer voldoen aan de eisen die hieraan worden gesteld in de rijkswet financieel toezicht.

Het Cft heeft berekend dat CPA:17 de voorfinanciering tegen een rente van ongeveer 10 procent voor haar rekening zou nemen, terwijl het gangbare rentepercentage voor overheidsobligaties in Nederland tussen de 2 en 3 procent ligt. Als St. Maarten het plan doorzet, bedraagt de jaarlijkse rentelast ongeveer 18 miljoen gulden. Hierdoor wordt de rentelastnorm gepasseerd en blijft geen ruimte over voor de financiering van andere overheidsprojecten. Het parlement nam vorige week een motie aan waarin steun voor het Justitiepark wordt uitgesproken, echter onder de voorwaarde dat dit geschiedt tegen zo laag mogelijke lasten.

Het Cft stelde Duncan en minister van Financiën Tuitt dinsdag op de hoogte van haar oordeel. Het is nog niet bekend hoe de regering hierop gaat reageren. Het Justitiepark is een project waarin onder andere een jeugddetentiecentrum, een nieuw gerechtsgebouw en een centrale keuken is opgenomen. Duncan wil het project realiseren in Cay Hill, op land dat eigendom is van de familie van het onafhankelijke parlementslid Patrick Illidge. Na de val van de vorige regering kreeg Illidge, die betrokken is in het Bada Bing-omkoopschandaal, het recht de minister van Justitie te benoemen. De voorgestelde aankoopprijs van de grond is 34,4 miljoen dollar.

St. Maarten unions frustrated over government’s inaction to address issues affecting police

WEDNESDAY, 24 APRIL 2013

~ No response to request to meet Sarah ~

PHILIPSBURG–The three unions representing the St. Maarten Police Force held a general membership meeting with officers on Tuesday to discuss the reorganisation of the Police Force and to update members on a meeting held with Justice Minister Roland Duncan on March 6.

NAPB Vice President Ephelwoldus Josepha told The Daily Herald last night that officers and the unions are frustrated of matters that were supposed to have been in place for officers since 10/10/’10 are still not yet sorted out.

In a letter signed by representatives of the NAPB, ABVO and the Windward Islands Civil Servants Union/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU), the unions said that two and a half years after the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles, the Police Force is still not structurally reorganised, meaning the Police Force does not have a legal established status in country St. Maarten.

The unions said documents received from the Ministry of Justice during the week of March 12, 2013 for perusal pertaining to the reorganisation of personnel were incomplete. “It’s not acceptable that there is no matrix plan (structural plan), job description, the very important placement plan, salary scales and the legal position document for the police civil servants,’ the three unions said in their letter.

“As unions we are of the opinion that the chief commissioner of police Mr. Peter de Witte and the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan are not handling the business of the police department. Their attitude and action with regards to the reorganisation are unorthodox, and are left for interpretation,” it was stated in the letter.

The unions said too that their request for an audience with Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams and President of Parliament Rodolphe Samuel regarding the issues of the Police Force for today, April 24 has not been responded to.

Josepha said the union is hoping to receive a response to its request for a meeting. If none is received, the union will meet again with its membership to determine the way forward. Josepha told this newspaper that there were no plans on the table to strike at the moment. “Up to now there is no decision as yet, we are just waiting to see what reaction we get,” he said.

An estimated 30 officers from all divisions attended the meeting.

Nederland negeert opmerkingen St. Maartense minister Duncan over kustwacht

DINSDAG, 23 APRIL 2013

DEN HAAG — De Nederlandse regering legt de opmerkingen van Justitie-minister Roland Duncan van St. Maarten over de kustwacht naast zich neer. “De kustwacht zal blijven varen, wat er zich ook tussen de oren van de minister van Justitie afspeelt. Het is een cruciale functie die daar wordt vervuld. Daar kan men in de retoriek wellicht onverstandige dingen over zeggen, maar dat negeren wij. We varen door”, zei minister Ronald Plasterk vandaag.

De minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties beantwoordde vragen van VVD-Tweede Kamerlid André Bosman die opheldering wilde over uitspraken van Duncan tijdens het begrotingsdebat op St. Maarten. Volgens verschillende media acht de Justitie-minister de kustwacht medeverantwoordelijk voor de dood van negen mensen in december 2010. De slachtoffers zaten aan boord van een vissersbootje waarmee 33 personen naar de Britse Maagdeneilanden werden gesmokkeld. De kustwacht had volgens Duncan de hulp in moeten roepen van de autoriteiten op St. Maarten, maar waarschuwde in plaats daarvan de Amerikaanse autoriteiten die het bootje opjoegen, zodat het tegen de rotsen aankwam en zonk. De minister zou ook gezegd hebben dat hij van de kustwacht af wil.

Bosman vroeg naar de mening van Plasterk over de uitlatingen van Duncan. “Deze minister van St. Maarten stelt alles in het werk om de kustwacht in een kwaad daglicht te stellen en hen het werken onmogelijk te maken. Hoe geloofwaardig vindt minister Plasterk deze minister van Justitie?”, zei Bosman. Hij benadrukte dat hij zich niet zozeer zorgen maakt over de financiële bijdrage van St. Maarten aan de kustwacht, maar vooral over het gebrek aan overtuiging op het eiland dat de kustwacht een belangrijke bijdrage levert. “Het gaat niet om bedragen, maar om de rol en functie van de kustwacht ook tussen de oren hebben. In hoeverre zit het in de mensen zelf om de kustwacht te ondersteunen en de taken van de kustwacht te ondersteunen?”

Plasterk benadrukte dat de kustwacht op geen enkele wijze verantwoordelijk is voor het incident. Nadat het vissersbootje gesignaleerd was, droeg de kustwacht de vervolging over aan de Amerikaanse en Britse kustwacht, waarna het bootje omsloeg toen het probeerde te ontkomen. “In verband met die zaak zijn vervolgens op St. Maarten in de periode daarna enkele verdachten vervolgd en veroordeeld voor mensensmokkel en deelname aan een criminele organisatie. Dus suggesties dat de kustwacht hier iets misdaan zou hebben, is absoluut onjuist”, zei hij.

Plasterk zei ook dat de Rijksministerraad uiteindelijk beslissingen neemt over de kustwacht en niet minister Duncan. “Ik ga ervan uit dat St. Maarten zijn bijdrage zal blijven leveren. Het is nog nooit gebeurd dat men dat niet heeft gedaan in de afgelopen jaren. Dus in die zin neem ik de berichten van de collega van Justitie daar met een grote schep zout. Verder wordt gevraagd naar mijn opvatting over een individuele minister op St. Maarten. Ik heb er allerlei meningen over, maar die houd ik voor me. De Rijksministerraad heeft wel zijn zorgen geuit in de richting van St. Maarten over de integriteit van bestuur en heeft aangedrongen op een onderzoek en op een strengere screening bij de vorming van het volgende kabinet”, zei hij.

St. Maarten minister Duncan receives draft-lawyers’ ordinance

MONDAY, 22 APRIL 2013

PHILIPSBURG–Dean of the St. Maarten Bar Association Remco Stomp presented the draft for a new national ordinance on the legal profession to Minister of Justice Roland Duncan on Friday.

The existing Lawyers’ Ordinance (Advocatenlandsverordering) dates back from 1959, and is in need of revision. Therefore, the Bar Associations of St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao cooperated in putting together a new draft-ordinance, with the assistance of member of the Joint Court of Justice and Constitutional Court of  St. Maarten Judge Jan de Boer. Lawyers and Joint Court judges were also consulted, said Stomp in a statement.

The main changes to the ordinance include the obligation for all lawyers to join the Bar Association. This is currently not the case. Not all lawyers in St. Maarten are currently members of the Bar Association.

In the new ordinance, it is also stipulated that the Bar Association will become an independent body of governance, as stipulated in Article 98 of the St. Maarten Constitution.

This would enable the Bar Association to issue ordinances concerning the legal practice, which are binding to all lawyers in St. Maarten, as well as to visiting lawyers from Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. The ordinances are to be submitted for review to the Minister of Justice.

The Bar Association is also to establish a mandatory professional training for new lawyers (on the job training), which is to be closed off with an exam. Professional training is already provided at this moment, but is not yet mandatory.

The regulations concerning disciplinary proceedings against lawyers remain largely unchanged, except for the fact that all complaints against lawyers will have to be submitted to the dean. The dean, or his deputy, will investigate the complaint and start mediation.

In case mediation proves to be unsuccessful, the complaint can be submitted, as is currently also the case, with the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board’s decision can be appealed at the Council of Appeal. Both the Supervisory Board and the Council of Appeal have a judge in their midst.

After the Minister of Justice and the Council of Ministers have agreed with these proposals, these will be submitted to the Council of Advice. Subsequently, the draft-ordinance will be submitted to Parliament.

“It is the intention for the new ordinance to enter into force on January 1, 2014,” Stomp stated.

Procedures to be worked out to annul two clauses in St. Maarten Penal Code

SATURDAY, 20 APRIL 2013

PHILIPSBURG–A teleconference will be held in May with President of the Constitutional Court Judge Bob Wit, Ombudsman Nilda Arduin and Justice Minister Roland Duncan about the court’s approach to the petition filed by the Ombudsman for annulment of two clauses in the new Penal Code.

This teleconference call will help to define a procedure for handling the case as the law on the Constitutional Court does not outline procedures to be followed for cases filed with the court.

The Ombudsman had petitioned the Constitutional Court in January for annulment of two articles in the published Penal Code related to allowing organised animal fights (e.g. cockfighting) and had asked for a review of the article imposing higher penalties for crimes committed against tourists.

Implementing the revised Penal Code is not really hampered by the procedure involving the Constitutional Court, because the required executing ordinance for the law to take effect has not reached Parliament yet, according to the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman has also requested a constitutional review of “some legal technical issues” pertaining to procedures followed/not followed by government. These are not used as grounds for annulment. The review is related to procedures for ratification date and notification to the Ombudsman, and amendments to a text approved by Parliament, e.g. a change to the numbering of the articles of law.

The numbering of the articles of the Penal Code as approved by Parliament differs from the version published by government.

The Ombudsman’s role is to review a law for adherence to the Constitution, not ordinary moral issues, which are not protected by the Constitution, Arduin stated January. “Animal cruelty is morally wrong, but also contravenes the charge to Government by the Constitution to take care of the wellbeing of animals.”

St. Maarten minister Duncan repeats: “I want to get rid of the Coast Guard”

POSTED: 04/16/13

St. Maarten – The Coast Guard had a hand in the deaths of nine people who drowned during a human smuggling transport back in December 2010. At least, this is the opinion of Justice Minister Roland Duncan who repeated yesterday during the budget debate in parliament that St. Maarten is able to manage without the Coast Guard.

The Minister referred to the situation whereby a boat was under observation by the Coast Guard but allowed to leave the island on December 5, 2010. A DASH-8 patrol plane of the Coast Guard that was keeping an eye on the situation had to return to Curacao to refuel. The boat left and then the American authorities were alerted. “They did not arrest them, they chased them,” Duncan said. “The boat ran into a rock and 9 people drowned. The captain was later sentenced to life in prison in the USVI.”

Minister Duncan called the case “a comedy of errors” and he accused the Coast Guard of “failing to involve local authorities like the police and the customs department. “Somewhere along the line they had a hand in the loss of life,” he said. The minister said the failure to work together appears from a report from the National Detective Agency.

The Minister refuted an accusation in the Dutch Telegraaf, about which this newspaper reported, that St. Maarten had not aid its share in the costs for the Coast Guard in 2012. “It was paid on April 2,” Duncan said.
The minister repeated that he wants to get rid of the Coast Guard. “why should we make all these expenses to catch other people’s drugs? They are not destined for St. Maarten; they are destined for the European and American markets. All we are good for is sending our annual contribution.

Duncan said that he refuses to pay more than what he considers St. Maarten’s fair share. “When was the last time you saw a Coast Guard helicopter fly over St. Maarten?” he asked rhetorically.

“I question the coast Guard’s efficiency. Recently a drugs boat was caught 400 kilometers from St. Maarten, but the 3-men crew is sitting in our cells and we have to handle their extradition to the United States.”
The minister said that he wants to install cameras that face the sea and that this will be sufficient protection for the island. “We don’t have radar, because that would cost at least 25 million. But with those cameras we will be able to manage without the Coast Guard.”

St. Maarten parliamentarians want clarity on effect of cuts in justice budget

POSTED: 04/10/13

St. Maarten – Cuts to the Ministry of Justice’s budget for 2013 continue to be a cause of growing concern and several Members of Parliament are questioning the government’s approach to spending for on the justice department. While all ministries received cuts to satisfy the Cft’s provision for the balanced 2013 draft budget, the 0.8 percent decrease in the Justice Ministry’s coffers have apparently caused quite some alarm. In 2012, that Ministry was allocated 67,440.40 guilders while this year 66, 919.10 guilders is on the books.

The Ministry has lost a little over 521 thousand guilders and there is a great deal of uncertainty about the ambitions plans that that Ministry crafted for itself as well as its compliance with the Plans of Approach agreement. Throughout the two day first round of deliberations on the draft budget, searching questions have been asked on which particular areas will be most affected by the slimming of justice money. Justice Minister Roland Duncan is set to respond today as the Central Committee meeting continues from 1:00 pm.

Yesterday United People’s Party Member of Parliament Gracita Arrindell asked the Justice Minister to identify which cuts would seriously comprise the safety and security of the nation. She indicated that just over 500 thousand guilders was allocated to the Voluntary Korps of St. Maarten (VKS) in the previous fiscal year while that institution only utilized 325 thousand guilders. Arrindell questioned the rationale behind giving the VKS such a large sum when St. Maarten Police Force had to undergo budget cuts and still desperately needs finances.

“The difference of almost 200 thousand guilders (is seen) while the regular police organizations needs funds,” Arrindell said.

She questioned whether the government had taken into account the increase of relational and domestic violence that the police have had to deal with and wondered whether the possibility existed for a social worker, psychologist or psychiatrist to be employed by the police force. Arrindell’s reasoning was that the remaining money left over by the VKS could be rechanneled to the police force.

She further requested explanation on how much money is still in the crime fund, how much of it has been used so far and what will future priority areas for the fund’s usage, since it was not mentioned in the budget.

Border Management System

St. Maarten is still awaiting an update on its fair share of the Border Management System, Arrindell stated and since no mention was made in the budget of the purchase of an immigration and border control system that Duncan had previously said could cost as much as $150 thousand, Arrindell asked how the system would then be secured.

“How are we going to secure the safety of our citizens if this item is not a priority on the list? It is not reflected in the elucidation of this budget.”

Arrindell asked whether the minister was open to securing funds from his counterparts in the Netherlands to purchase the BMS. She suggested that because of pride the minister may further delay the implementation of the system by not reaching out to the Dutch.

“It is good to have pride but it is better to have common sense in terms of safe guarding our people.”

St. Maarten’s disconnection from the border management system whose data was stored in Curacao on  November 24, means that the borders are porous until the government installs a system that can track and store all arrivals and departures through the various ports of entry.

Minister Duncan feels that all of the blame should be laid squarely at the door of the Kingdom government for allowing Kingdom partner Curacao to proceed with the disconnection.

Arrindell suggested that Duncan continue to engage the Kingdom government.

“If there are funds because of agreements within the Kingdom that are rightfully due to the people of St. Maarten; then we cannot shut the door,” Arrindell said.

Screening law Curacao stricter than local St. Maarten integrity rules

POSTED: 04/5/13

St. Maarten – “I leave it up to the minister if he feels it necessary to divulge any other information,” Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said during Wednesday’s press briefing. The minister she referred to is Justice Minister Roland Duncan; the “other information” concerns Duncan’s ties to the prostitution sector.

The prime minister’s statement reveals a weakness in the integrity rules for cabinet members. The weak national ordinance designed to promote integrity differs on crucial points from the screening law the government in Curacao approved last year. St. Maarten’s legislation apparently leaves it up to individual ministers to put their cards on the table.

In Sint Maarten, ministers are obliged to submit certain information about their personal circumstances to the prime minister within thirty days after they accept their appointment. The screening law Curacao put in place requires a multifaceted investigation before a candidate is even nominated

Candidates have to undergo a judicial investigation, a state security investigation, a fiscal investigation and an investigation into unusual financial transactions. A medical examination focused on the use of drugs is also part of the screening exercise.

Curacao also keeps the screening away from politicians like the prime minister. The judicial investigation is delegated to the Attorney-General, and the state security investigation to the head of the National Intelligence service. The Inspector of taxes conducts the fiscal probe and the head of the MOT scrutinizes candidates on unusual financial transactions.

If there is anything amiss in a candidate’s background she or he will not even be nominated. A nomination also falls through for candidates who have been sentenced for a crime, who are a suspect in a current criminal investigation, or own a company that went bankrupt or applied for suspension of payment. Distancing themselves from business interests, not reporting side jobs and failing to make an agreement with the tax inspectorate about arrears are also reasons to ditch candidates.

The Curacaolenean screening law is becoming opportune for Sint Maarten due to the uproar about the Bada Bing bribery-scandal and the ties Justice Minister Duncan maintains with the prostitution sector.

Prime Minister Wescot-Williams considered reports about what she called “other activities” on Wednesday initially “allegations” before toning it down to “rumors” even though the stories Today published in March about Duncan’s involvement with Hypnotic Hotel and Entertainment – the company that manages the Seaman’s Club brothel in Sucker Garden – are meticulously documented.

Prime minister Wescot-Williams to The Hague: St. Maarten’s ‘systems are working’;

THURSDAY, 04 APRIL 2013

PHILIPSBURG–The judicial system on St. Maarten is “working” and the investigation of Orca bribery case is “progressing” based on information from the Prosecutor’s Office, says Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams.

Members of the Kingdom Council of Ministers “who feel things on St. Maarten are going haywire should allow the system to do its work,” she said, adding that “the judicial authorities have indicated that the allegations are being investigated. Let it take its course.”

This was her response to the Kingdom Council of Ministers concerns about Justice Minister Roland Duncan still being in office while the Prosecutor’s Office and the National Detectives (Landsrecherche) are busy with the Orca investigation.

The information about the investigation from the Prosecutor’s Office was also shared with the Kingdom Council of Ministers by Minister Plenipotentiary Mathias Voges, she told the press on Wednesday.

The Kingdom Council of Ministers and the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament expect concrete action on the part of Wescot-Williams, the main authority for the functioning of St. Maarten’s Government and the local Council of Ministers. One of the actions could be placing Duncan on non-active status for the duration of the criminal investigation, and taking a firm stand against corruption and the Bada Bing affair.

The prime minister gave no indication that she would be asking Duncan to step aside as the investigation continues.

Wescot-Williams said the minute any of the Dutch politicians, who take every opportunity to point out their feeling that St. Maarten should have never become a country within the kingdom, “can prove that we are not handling the situation as is required in the any democratic society” she will revisit her position. “Until that time they can scream until Doom’s Day.”

She noted that in a democracy there exists a government, parliament and the judicial authority which stand and operate separate from each other. “I cannot wear the cap of prosecutor and the prosecutor can sit on the seat of government or parliament. Until those matters for whatever reason start to crisscross one another, the system is going to continue to do its work.”

As for suggestions in some sections of the Dutch press that government was pressured into contacting Transparency International to conduct a National Integrity System (NIS) assessment of the country, Wescot-Williams said, “No one will apply any undue pressure on any member of government to do things that are not the responsibility of government.”

Wescot-Williams also addressed concerns coming from The Hague that cut to the Justice Ministry’s budget for 2013 would hamper the ongoing and future corruption investigations. She said cuts were made across all ministries to ensure the budget, which still has to be approved by Parliament, is balanced.

The justice budget has “always been high” due to the Plans of Approach that had to be executed to build up the ministries in the first two years of country status. “You need a lot of money to do a lot of things in a short period of time.”

POSTED: 04/4/13

St. Maarten -“I want to let those members of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, who feel that things on St. Maarten are going haywire, it is not the case. Allow the system to do its work. I cannot wear the cap of the prosecutor and the prosecutor cannot sit on the seat of government, neither parliament. Until those matter starts to crisscross one another, the system is going to continue its work,” Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said during yesterday’s Council of Ministers press conference. This in a response to a report that the Kingdom Council of Ministers recently used a meeting to call for her to take action on Minister of Justice Roland Duncan while authorities conduct the Orca (Bada Bing corruption scandal) Investigation in which Duncan is mentioned.

These meetings are usually confidential, the prime minister said, but she has been prompted to address information that was leaked out a Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting held on March 28.

Minister Plenipoteniary Mathias Voges had briefed her that the matter of law and order on St. Maarten was discussed in that meeting.

Irate, Wescot-Williams said that since her colleagues across the sea had chosen to make their sentiments public, she would in turn frankly state her position.

“There have been and still are Dutch politicians who were set against St. Maarten becoming a country. Every opportunity that they get to say, we told you so, is being used at this time, clearly. St. Maarten will prove its critics wrong and continue to build.

Something has happened on St. Maarten …. Things happen, not good things happen all over the world within all governments, including the different levels of government in the European part of the Kingdom. Who screams then? St. Maarten doesn’t stand screaming at that time. Not one of them can prove to me until today that we are not handling the situation as is required in any democratic society. The minute a Dutch Member of Parliament or whosoever can show me that; then I will revisit my position. Until that time, they can scream from now until doomsday,” the prime minister said.

In last Thursday’s Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting, the leader of government said that she was informed by Voges many of the concerns raised about the state of affairs in St. Maarten had to do with the Bada Bing corruption scandal. However before the meeting started, she had already indicated to Voges, that according to the prosecutor, the investigation was progressing.

Based on that assurance and no information to the contrary, the prime minister said that she has seen no need for the justice minister to recuse himself until the investigations are completed.

She said that she has had discussions with Duncan regarding to rumors that he is engaged in “other activities than just the position that he holds.”

“Until the minister indicates to me that there is some truth to these other activities, at which time, I will have to discuss with the minister what we will do about these other activities. I do not have that information from the minister and of course I leave it up to the minister if he feels it necessary to divulge any other information. From the position of prime minister I do not have any information from the minister that would make it necessary.”

The government, parliament and judicial authorities are separated but form part of a functioning democracy on St. Maarten and no one will be allowed to apply any undue pressure on any member of government to do things that are not the responsibility of government, the prime minister said.

Several ministers who might have been engaged in other business activities had already made arrangements to separate those activities from themselves during the initial screening questionnaire for the Council of Ministers, she added.

The prime minister noted that she has also observed that with Tuesday’s announcement that St. Maarten had contacted Transparency International for an integrity assessment, foreign media houses have placed the government’s move in connection with pressure coming from the Kingdom government.

The prime minister concluded by saying that she had not been made aware of any suggestion by the Dutch government that St. Maarten should be placed on higher supervision.

PM: Up to Duncan to divulge any info about ‘other activities’

THURSDAY, 04 APRIL 2013

PHILIPSBURG–Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams has left it up to Justice Minister Roland Duncan “if he feels it necessary to divulge” whether or not he is involved in any other activities other than his ministerial duties.

“Until the minister indicates to me that there is some truth to these other activities, then a way forward will be mapped out,” she said during Wednesday’s Council of Ministers Press Conference. She has “no indication” that it would be “necessary to have a discussion about so-called other activities,” with Duncan.

Wescot-Williams disclosed that she has met with Duncan on the “rumours” of his other activities. Those activities, suggested by press reports and court documents, include a business involvement with a brothel in Sucker Garden.

Nederlandse parlement uit forse kritiek op bezuinigingen justitie St. Maarten

DINSDAG, 02 APRIL 2013

DEN HAAG — De coalitiepartijen VVD en PvdA hebben grote twijfels over de aangekondigde bezuinigingen bij justitie op St. Maarten en vrezen dat het onderzoek naar corruptie hiermee in gevaar komt. De Tweede Kamerleden André Bosman (VVD) en Pierre Heijnen (PvdA) hebben minister Ronald Plasterk van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties om opheldering gevraagd.

Aanleiding voor de vragen zijn de bezuinigingen, die volgens een artikel in De Telegraaf de nekslag zou zijn voor justitie en daarmee ook voor het onderzoek naar de mogelijke omkoping van onafhankelijk Statenlid Patrick Illidge, die geld zou hebben aangenomen van bordeeleigenaar Jaap van den Heuvel. “De omvangrijke bezuinigingen zijn de nekslag voor het lokale justitiële apparaat, aldus waarnemers. De hoop van ministers Plasterk (Koninkrijksrelaties) en Opstelten (Justitie) dat St. Maarten zelf zijn corruptie aanpakt, wordt daarmee definitief de grond in geboord. Het is onmogelijk om binnen zo’n budget een uitbreiding van capaciteit te realiseren”, citeert De Telegraaf een betrokkene.

De PvdA en VVD vragen of Plasterk op de hoogte is van de bezuinigingen en of het gevolgen heeft voor lopende onderzoeken, waaronder de omkoopzaak. “Deelt u de mening dat het onacceptabel zou zijn als de bezuinigingen gevolgen hebben voor het lopende onderzoek? Bent u met ons van mening dat juist op St. Maarten een goed functionerende recherche, OM en politie van groot belang zijn”, aldus Bosman en Heijnen.

Ze vragen de minister ook of hij de regering van St. Maarten kan aanspreken op de hoge salarissen van Statenleden, een kwestie die ook tijdens het Interparlementair Koninkrijksoverleg in februari werd genoemd door SP-Tweede Kamerlid Ronald van Raak. De partijen willen een antwoord voor het algemeen overleg met Plasterk op 16 april.

Zoals de Amigoe zaterdag meldde, wil de Sintmaartense regering flink bezuinigen op Justitie om daarmee te voldoen aan het advies van het College financieel toezicht.

Significant cuts in St. Maarten 2013 budget across Justice Ministry

TUESDAY, 02 APRIL 2013

PHILIPSBURG–The justice chain has been pointing out for some time now that the lack of manpower and funding have handicapped investigations into a variety of cases, leaving only room for major crimes such as murders. Based on the draft 2013 budget, the shortage of funding will continue.

The Police Force, the National Detectives, the Financial Intelligence Unit MOT, Prosecutor’s Office and Coast Guard all saw a large part of their budget cut, compared to the allocations of last year.

The Justice Ministry, headed by Justice Minister Roland Duncan, has been allocated NAf. 66,919,500 of the total country budget of NAf. 457,874,400. The allocation is NAf. 520,900 less than last year.

The Minister of Justice received NAf. 651,800 for this year, NAf. 11,500 less than in 2012. The cabinet saw a 40 per cent increase in its funds, receiving NAf. 1,061,200. The staff bureau saw an 8.7 per cent reduction in its allocation. The staff bureau got a total of NAf. 1,052,400.

Judicial Affairs received NAf. 1,403,900, a decrease of 19.9 per cent from last year.

The Police Department received NAf. 24,291,000 for this year, a 10.5 per cent decrease from 2012.

The prison saw an increase in its budget allocation from NAf. 9,507,300 last year to NAf 10,369,100 this year.

The Immigration and Naturalization Department also saw an increase in its funding for the year. The department has been allocated NAf. 8,884,200, up from NAf 3,718,000 from last year.

The National Detectives (Landsrecherche) will have to work with 23.4 per cent less in its coffers than last year. The detectives received NAf. 1,088,500 this year, a decrease from the allocation of NAf. 1,421,000 last year.

The Custom Department has seen an increase to its budget for 2013. Customs was allocated NAf. 2,287,800, an increase of NAf. 305,000 over last year.

MOT’s budget has been cut by 17.5 per cent, putting its allocation for the year at NAf. 692,900, down from NAf. 839,600 in 2012.

The Registrar of the Common Court of Justice was allocated NAf. 4.5 million, down from NAf. 4,622,500 from last year.

The allocation to the Prosecutor remained the same as last year: NAf. 1,691,800, while the amount for the Prosecutor’s Office was decreased by 42.8 per cent. The office received NAf. 2,002,900 this year, compared to NAf. 3,502,900 last year.

A 36 per cent decrease was made to the budget of the Coast Guard. This puts the Coast Guard’s allocation for 2013 at NAf. 1.6 million, down from NAf. 2.5 million last year.

The Court of Guardianship received an increase in its budget. That increase was from NAf. 1,261,300 in 2012 to NAf. 1,425,000 this year.

The Constitutional Court, which has not met since its formation over two years ago, has a 50 per cent decrease it is budget from NAf. 500,000 last year to NAf. 250,000 this year.

The Council for Law Enforcement (Raad van Rechtshandhaving) has a 48.8 per cent decrease in its budgetary allocation. The council was allocated NAf. 525,000, down from NAf. 1,025,000 last year.

Funding for care of juvenile delinquents GOG was reduced by 68.2 per cent from NAf. 365,000 last year to NAf. 116,000 this year.

Monies for Turning Point Foundation, which handles people with drugs, alcohol and substance abuse, remain steady. The foundation will receive the same amount from the Justice Ministry’s budget as last year: NAf. 1,240,400.

The Probation Department will also receive the same allocation as it has last year: NAf. 1,785,200.

St. Maarten Parliament must act in Bada Bing case, says Dutch parlementarian

THURSDAY, 28 MARCH 2013

~ ‘If they don’t they are co-responsible’ ~

THE HAGUE–The Parliament of St. Maarten has to act by calling Justice Minister Roland Duncan to order and demand that independent Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge step aside during the investigation of the alleged Bada Bing bribery case, said Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman of the governing liberal democratic VVD party on Wednesday.

“St. Maarten’s Parliament is not doing anything. And where is the Prime Minister to take a clear stand on this matter and explain what the redress will be?” asked Bosman in an interview with The Daily Herald. “I see no action taken and as such it becomes a matter of the Dutch Kingdom, in other words the guarantee function of the Charter.”

Bosman requested a debate in the Second Chamber with Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on the situation in St. Maarten. That debate will be held next month, at a yet-to-be-determined date. “I want to know from the Minister why he concludes that he has confidence in the St. Maarten Government and why he thinks that there is redress,” he said.

According to Bosman, St. Maarten’s image has been hurt, because the politicians mentioned in the Bada Bing alleged bribery case are still in office. He is especially troubled by the fact that Duncan hasn’t stepped aside while the local Prosecutor’s Office investigates the video tape where Illidge is seen accepting US $15,000 from manager Jaap van den Heuvel of the Bada Bing strip club.

As Justice Minister, Duncan is responsible for the Prosecutor’s Office and that impairs the Prosecutor’s independent position, said Bosman. “Duncan has a say over the finances and personnel of the Prosecutor’s Office and as such he can influence the investigation,” he said.

The Member of Parliament (MP), who earlier this week suggested sending a Kingdom Officer to St. Maarten, emphasised that he has “total confidence” in the local Prosecutor’s Office. “This is not about the functioning of the Prosecutor’s Office. It is their investigation, but it has to be an independent investigation. It has to be an investigation outside Duncan. A person who is a subject of an investigation can never be part of this investigation.”

St. Maarten’s Parliament plays an important role in this matter and Bosman doesn’t comprehend why no action is being taken and why Minister Duncan is not being summoned to Parliament to answer questions.

“If you do nothing as Parliament, you are co-responsible for bad governance. It is pure neglect if you don’t act. As Parliamentarian it is your duty to act when you have information about a situation. The Parliamentarians are being paid a very good salary and they should do their job,” said the MP.

Bosman said that St. Maarten’s residents had every right to be outraged. “Let them show their anger. Their Parliament is the responsible authority they should address. Let people put pressure and send e-mails to their representatives.”

Bosman received support for his request for a debate with Minister Plasterk from his colleagues Pierre Heijnen of the Labour Party PvdA and Wassila Hachchi of the Democratic Party D66. “The King is visiting the islands in November and things have to be in order over there,” said Heijnen.

Other items that the Kingdom Relations Committee wants to discuss in that debate include the agreement of the recent Inter-Parliamentary Consultation of the Kingdom IPOK, the recent report of the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT of Curaçao and St. Maarten and the Isla refinery in Curaçao.

Dutch parlementarians want Kingdom Prosecutor to deal with crime in St. Maarten

TUESDAY, 26 MARCH 2013

THE HAGUE–Dutch coalition party conservative VVD is seeking the appointment of a Kingdom Prosecutor or Commissioner to deal with widespread corruption, money laundering, and drugs and human trafficking in St. Maarten.

“Democracy in St. Maarten is actually no longer existent and the increasing corruption and criminality are damaging the international image of our Kingdom. It is a far-reaching measure, but it is now or never. It can no longer continue like this. We have been pampering the former Antilles already much too long,” VVD Member of Parliament (MP) André Bosman said in explaining the need for such an official in Dutch daily De Telegraaf. It was added that Bosman would have the support of his party’s leadership.

Bosman appealed to Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to apply the so-called guarantee function of the Kingdom Statute, in which it is stated that the Kingdom Council of Ministers can interfere in the countries St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao when the proper administration of justice and good governance are in danger.

The Kingdom Prosecutor should be able to initiate the prosecution of politicians who are suspected of crimes without the prior permission of the Attorney-General and the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, and of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, as is currently the case, according to Bosman.

The VVD politician also said that Minister of Justice Ronald Duncan should be suspended, because of his and MP Patrick Illidge’s alleged involvement in corruption and bribery in the so-called Bada Bing case.

“The integrity rules for good governance are being violated from all sides,” said Bosman. “We are obligated to extend a helping hand to (St. Maarten’s, Ed.) young democracy,” Bosman told De Telegraaf.

St. Maarten: Wij doen onderzoek zelf 

26 MAART 2013

AD 26.03.13SXM

St. Maartense Toerisme-minister verhoord in Orca-onderzoek naar Illidge-tape

ZATERDAG, 23 MAART 2013

WILLEMSTAD — Minister van Toerisme Romeo Pantophlet is gisteren als getuige gehoord in het Orca-onderzoek naar aanleiding van de vermeende corruptie van Patrick Illidge. Dat meldt de hoofdofficier van Justitie op St. Maarten, Hans Mos, in een persbericht.

Pantophlet werd gevraagd naar de vergunningen van het bordeel Bada Bing en de mogelijke betrokkenheid van parlementariër Illidge bij het verstrekken van deze vergunningen. Het verhoor duurde vier uur. Gisteren werd ook de oud-chauffeur van Justitie-minister Roland Duncan verhoord. De komende dagen zullen meer getuigen worden opgeroepen, aldus Mos.

St. Maarten minister Duncan has to postpone Justice Park, Cft advises

POSTED: 03/16/13

St. Maarten – The financial supervisor Cft gave the government of St. Maarten already in august 2011 a positive advise for a 48 million guilders loan to buy developer RGM out of the new government administration building on Pond Island. It also told Justice Minister Duncan that he has to suspend his Justice Park plans.

“The intended savings on rental costs and the efficiency of one government building were important considerations,” the Cft writes it its (positive) advice about the country’s 2013 budget. “The new government administration building will have to be completed as soon as possible.”

The draft 2013 budget mentions that St. Maarten intends to borrow 30 million guilders this year for capital investments and another 20 million from 2014 on. In the elucidation with the budget two other loans are mentioned: the 48 million guilders loan for the government administration building and one of 37.4 million for capital investments made in 2012.

The Cft will assess these last two loans at the moment the government presents them to the financial supervisor. The Cft notes that these two loans are reported at a very late stage. The loan for the government building still has not been effectuated, while the second loan is for capital investments that were done in 2012.”In effect this is a loan to restore the liquidity position,” the Cft writes in its budget advice. “Based on the articles in the Kingdom law (on financial supervision – ed.) it is only possible to borrow for capital investments.”

The Cft furthermore notes that the budget does not take into account the lease construction for the so-called Justice Park. “This construction will most likely create a burden for the space under the interest burden standard if it is executed. This way it will put pressure on other investment possibilities. These plans will have to be suspended as we have also indicated in our letter to the minister on February 5.”

The Cft underlines that lease-constructions are loans according to the Kingdom law and the accountability rules.”They have to be entered into the capital account of the budget within proper financial management. This will have to be done conform the minister’s plans in the first budget amendment.

St. Maarten public prosecutor: minister of Justice and head of immigration interviews in Bada Bing/Illidge investigation

Press release St. Maarten public prosecutor

MARCH 15, 2013

Today the head of the National Detectives office, a senior detective and the Chief Public Prosecutor interviewed Minister Roland E. Duncan as a witness in the alleged Bada Bing bribery investigation. Simultaneously the head of the IND, Udo Aron, was also interviewed as a witness by detectives of the National Detectives office.

Focus in the interview was on the video-footage in which both Minister Duncan and Udo Aron were mentioned.

Both witnesses were fully cooperative during the interviews. The Minister’s interview took over 4 ½ hours.

During the days to come the investigation will proceed with interviewing witnesses and the research of documents that were seized.

ORCA persbericht 3 150313-1

Dutch support staff stays until end 2014 at St. Maarten police

POSTED: 02/26/13

St. Maarten – One of Dick Schoof’s last actions as Director-General Police at the Dutch Justice Ministry was a visit to Justice Minister Roland Duncan in St. Maarten. Come Friday, Schoof will begin in his new job as the national coordinator for security and combating terrorism.

Schoof met with Minister Duncan on Friday to discuss police training and other issues related to the maintenance of law and order.

“The discussion about cooperation within the Kingdom with St. Maarten in the field of education has been going on for a couple of years and I deemed it important to speak with the minister about this,” Schoof said in a radio-interview with Andrew Dick. “There was a specific request from the justice minister for continued support for the police force with process supervisors and quality managers that have been made available by the Netherlands during the past couple of years.

Schoof described the relationship with Minister “Duncan as ‘excellent.” On Friday he spent the day talking with staff members in the morning and on talks with Duncan in the afternoon. “The way it looks now we have been able to bridge all existing differences and find solutions for them in such a way that the police force in St,. Maarten will be able to develop further in the coming years.”

Schoof said that the process supervisors and the quality managers, who were originally scheduled to return to the Netherlands early this year, will stay on their post until the end of 2014.

“The agreements about supervising the police have been re-confirmed, so that this is able to continue. We also made agreements about the exchange of police information and about information and communication technology. These agreements are satisfactory for both parties.”

The director-general was positive about the local police force: “There is an upward trend at the police force. The progress committee also sees it that way, but of course, there is always room for improvement. That also appears from the request by Chief Commissioner Peter de Witte and Justice Minister Duncan to prolong the support a bit longer than was originally agreed. The agreement was that the process supervisors and the quality managers would leave at the beginning of this year, but especially the quality managers will stay for another one year and a half. That enables the force to keep working on building up its organization.”

Schoof said that the prolonged support also has an additional objective. “This way we’re able to make sure that when these support staffers leave the police will be in a position to take over and to prevent a drop in quality.”

The 55-year-old Schoof was director-general police at the Justice Ministry since the end of 2010. He was especially charged with the formation of the national police in the Netherlands. Before his move to the justice ministry, Schoof was director-general security at the Ministry of Home affairs and Kingdom relations, main director of the Immigration and Naturalization service IND and acting secretary-general at the Justice Ministry.

Flight controls to start as French, Dutch execute Franco-Dutch Treaty on St. Maarten/St. Martin

SATURDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2013

~ Committee meets to iron out details ~

PHILIPSBURG–French and Dutch immigration officials will start joint controls on risk and other flights entering SXM Airport (Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA)) in St. Maarten and L’Espérance Airport in French St. Martin as part of the execution of the Franco-Dutch Treaty, Justice Minister Roland Duncan announced at a press conference on Friday.

A committee comprising Dutch and French immigration officials met for the first time on Friday to iron out in detail how the joint controls would be executed, among other issues.

Duncan told reporters that the meeting as well as the enforcement of the Franco-Dutch Treaty was “historical” given that the treaty had been ratified so long ago.

He said the intention was for joint controls to be executed. While this was originally intended for risk flights, the committee will determine which flights will be subjected to controls. The idea is for members of Police aux Frontières (PAF) to be stationed at SXM while members of the St. Maarten Immigration will be at L’Espérance Airport in French St. Martin.

Duncan said provisions had already been made to accommodate the PAF at SXM. Further steps will be made to provide them with an office, he noted. Flights will be checked “under the rules of the treaty,” he said, explaining that matters such as travel document authenticity and whether persons were authorised to enter the country based on the immigration laws would also be checked during controls.

The committee will determine how often it will meet. However, when meetings are held in Dutch St. Maarten, they will be chaired by Solicitor General Taco Stein.

Stein said the committee was to determine in its meeting yesterday what flights should be categorised as risk flights and decide how many PAF or local immigration officers would control flights based on factors such as the number of persons on board the flight.

Duncan said there would be controls at the harbours eventually. Members of the committee are Director of Immigration in St. Maarten Udo Aron; St. Maarten’s Solicitor General Taco Stein; Ajamu Baly of Duncan’s office; Commandant of Police aux Frontières (PAF) Raphaël Harle, French St. Martin Senior Public Prosecutor Flavien Noailles and Judy Honore of the French St. Martin Immigration.

The Franco-Dutch treaty is an accord between the Kingdom of The Netherlands and France intended to improve border controls at the two airports in Dutch St. Maarten and French St. Martin.

The treaty was signed on May 17, 1994, in Paris, and originals are drawn up in French as well as Dutch. Ratification proved difficult in The Netherlands. Advice from the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles, which said the treaty would have negative effects on Dutch St. Maarten’s tourism industry, initially blocked ratification. There also had been objections to the committee’s authority.

The Parliament of the Kingdom of The Netherlands decided in 1999 to postpone ratification until Dutch St. Maarten made its position clear. The treaty was eventually ratified in 2006.

Dutch parlementarian calls St. Maarten Justice Park “prestige project”, Dutch minister Plasterk also cites “other policy priorities”

WEDNESDAY, 13 FEBRUARY 2013

THE HAGUE–Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman of the governing liberal democratic VVD party challenged St. Maarten Minister of Justice Roland Duncan to let Dutch detectives investigate Duncan’s alleged involvement in prostitution on the island.

“If Duncan has nothing to hide as he says, he should allow detectives to investigate my claim,” Bosman said during a general debate of the Second Chamber’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations with Dutch Minister for Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Tuesday.

Bosman made clear that under no circumstances will he keep his mouth shut, as Duncan told him to do so via the media after the Member of Parliament (MP) accused the Minister of having ties with prostitution in a meeting in Parliament last week. Duncan told the media last week that Bosman should file a formal complaint against him if he truly believes that he has ties in prostitution on the island.

Bosman repeated his statement of last week in Tuesday’s meeting with Plasterk and asked the latter Minister to render his opinion on the St. Maarten Minister and his plans to construct a US $100 million Justice Park on the island. He said Duncan wants to spend a lot of money for his “prestige project” the Justice Park, while not enough is invested in the upgrading and understaffing of the police force.

Plasterk diplomatically responded that it was St. Maarten’s own responsibility as autonomous country within the Kingdom how to spend the government funds and that it was up to the island government to take a decision on the Justice Park.

But Plasterk did indirectly indicate that he was not in favour of the Justice Park because, as he said but, “of other policy priorities.” He added, “But that is just a bit of collegial advice.”

Minister Duncan says St. Maarten Justice Ministry handling legal position of law enforcement agencies

WEDNESDAY, 13 FEBRUARY 2013

~ Unions refuse to attend meetings ~

PHILIPSBURG–Justice Minister Roland Duncan said on Tuesday that his Ministry is busy dealing with “all issues” pertaining to the legal position of all law enforcement agencies, including the police.

His comments were in response to questions by The Daily Herald regarding recent statements made by the police union NAPB and the Windward Islands Civil Servants/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU), which also represents police.
Duncan said he had not succeeded in meeting with the unions to date with regard to police matters, “as they have so far not agreed to attend meetings that we have called with them.”

He said he would offer no further comments on this matter, as the details of the ministry’s business would not be dealt with in the press. However, he said this did not make “erroneous statements” published correct. “We do confirm that we run the Ministry of Justice and its agencies, and not the unions,” Duncan said.

In a lengthy statement on Sunday, NAPB accused Duncan of holding the St. Maarten Police Force “hostage” and of refusing to handle important matters relating to the force. The union said it appeared as though anyone who disagreed with the minister and his “hostile” manner of doing things would be “sidelined immediately and forever.” It also accused the minister of “might above right.”

“It is no public secret that this Minister of Justice is doing what he feels [like – Ed.] doing and is looking at the benefits and the big picture here,” the union said. “It is unfortunate how one person can hold such a prestigious institution such as the Police Force hostage all by himself and no matter which door you knock on, nothing is being done whatsoever. Then the sole question arises, what this honourable Minister of Justice has against the KPSM.”

The union said Duncan was still to sign a number of documents related to the police. It also had complaints about its members’ legal position.

The WICSU/PSU in a joint statement with the NAPB on Monday expressed concern about vehicles being used by the Police Force that they said were not roadworthy. It also raised issues such as the quality and quantity of police uniforms, which it said should be revisited as soon as possible, as well as the 16.3 per cent Windward Islands allowance (bovenwindse toelage) and the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

Police union NAPB accuses minister Duncan of holding St. Maarten Police Force hostage

MONDAY, 11 FEBRUARY 2013

~ Says minister refuses to deal with important police issues ~

PHILIPSBURG–The NAPB police union has accused Justice Minister Roland Duncan of holding the St. Maarten Police Force “hostage” and of refusing to handle important matters relating to the Force.

In a lengthy press release on Sunday, the police union said it appears as if anyone who disagrees with the minister and his “hostile” manner of doing things will be “sidelined immediately and forever.” They also accused the minister of “might above right.”

“It is no public secret that this Minister of Justice is doing what he feels [like-Ed.] doing and is looking at the benefits and the big picture here,” the union said. “It is unfortunate how one person can hold such a prestigious institution as the Police Force hostage all by himself, and no matter which door you knock on, nothing is being done whatsoever. Then the sole question arises: What does this honourable Minister of Justice have against the [St. Maarten Police Force-Ed.] KPSM?” the union asked.

The union said that before St. Maarten became a country within the Kingdom, three police work groups were installed, including one for St. Maarten. The latter consisted of liaison officer for Justice Richard Gibson Sr., then Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards, representatives of the local prosecutor’s office, top brass police officers of The Netherlands, the local Police Force’s management team, the NAPB and ABVO unions and Windward Islands Civil Servants Union/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU).

Although negotiations were not easy, the work group managed to come up with “the best workable organization plan” and job matrix for the Police Force, which included the ideas of all parties in the work group, NAPB said in its release.
Based on this organization plan, which had been approved and signed at the political level, St. Maarten had obtained its new status as Country within the Dutch Kingdom, NAPB explained.

The union said the police organization structure details outlined how the Police Force should be structured, while the job matrix outlined the number of police officers needed for the Force to function optimally. Once the job matrix was made up, job descriptions, job evaluations and a placement plan were also devised. Police salary scales were also devised by the Personnel and Organisation Department of the Police Force, which the union said are very essential, and along with all the other documents, are still to be approved by Duncan.

The union said the minister believes that as he was not included in the St. Maarten police work group, he will not agree with decisions made by the group. The union said the police work group consisted of many prominent persons in the community and the minister should make haste in approving these documents. The union said the minister had been told that he should implement the documents as is, and if he sees it necessary, he can “change certain things with the approval of the unions.” However, NAPB said the minster still did not react. “Up until this date he is [still-Ed.] re-writing the organization plan. Who knows if his vision will work once it is implemented, but by his doing, he is just keeping back the entire process,” the union contends.

The union said that on June 1, 2011, the legal status (“rechtspositie”) of the local Police Force was “hurriedly sent” to the unions representing police, to be ratified. The union said before a law can be ratified, it has to be published and this was never done. The union said ever since August 4, 2011, when it had disagreed with Duncan and had stated that it would not accept the minister’s version of the legal status KPSM, the minister had never met with the union on this issue or any other issue.
The union is questioning whether the rechtspositie of June 1, 2011, was ever ratified. The union said the rechtspositie, which Duncan wanted to implement as of June 1, 2011, is the same as the one ratified in 2000 in the former Netherlands Antilles, and contains so many flaws that in 2005 it was re-negotiated with the unions, and adjusted to suit the Force.
The union was also told before the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles that the Force would go over as is into the new constitutional status. The union contends that the minister’s move to change the rechtspositie without negotiating with the unions is “bluntly disregarding good faith, transparency and good governance.”

The union said Duncan had also requested it to submit changes it would like to see in the rechtspositie for the Police Force, which it did in October 2011.The minister did not inform about the persons who would be conducting the negotiations on his behalf. NAPB said on October 31, 2012, it received a letter from a lawyer who said she would be negotiating the rechtspositie on Duncan’s behalf, and that NAPB should submit its remarks no later than November 8, 2012. NAPB said the time span was too short and it needed at least two weeks before the date of negotiations, as this was a serious matter. “If we could have waited an entire year, why rush it now? At no time did the NAPB refuse to sit around the table to negotiate as was portrayed in the domestic committee meeting,” the union said.

All the unions representing the police (NAPB, ABVO and WICSU/PSU) met on February 6, and came to the conclusion that as long as the organization plan, the job matrix, the placement plan, the job description, the job evaluation and the salary scales for the Police Force are not approved by the minister, “it makes no sense to sit at the table with him for any negotiations.”

“Just like the honourable Minister of Justice has legal minds working in his cabinet, giving him advice, the unions in St. Maarten representing the KPMS, in particular the NAPB, would like to have their legal advisors present during these negotiations also. I don’t think that we are asking for too much here and on top of all this, by perusing the rechtspositie at hand, you can notice clearly that [in the-Ed.] the changes NAPB would like to see made, certain words were left out or added, making it so that the Minister of Justice wants to micro manage the KPMS.

“If we approve this rechtspositie as is, many of our local police officers will not be placed in functions that we can occupy, because this minister is busy trying to portray the entire KPMS as incompetent, which is totally not the case, because we have some competent police officers ready to occupy positions and function up to par, to make St. Maarten a better place for each and everyone, including the Minister of Justice, to live,” the union said. “Someone should call him to proper order!”

Dutch parliamentarian Bosman accuses St. Maarten minister Duncan of links with prostitution

~ Duncan says Bosman should go to prosecutor ~

FRIDAY, 08 FEBRUARY 2013

THE HAGUE/PHILIPSBURG–Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party openly accused St. Maarten’s Justice Minister Roland Duncan on Wednesday of having ties with prostitution on his island. Duncan has since responded that Bosman should either file a complaint or shut up.

“There are direct ties between the Minister of Justice of St. Maarten with prostitution,” said Bosman during a debate with Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Frans Timmermans on the proposal for a revised agreement on the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) status of the Dutch Caribbean islands with the European Union (EU).

Bosman questioned how trustworthy Minister Duncan would be in solving the problems St. Maarten faces in the area of illegal immigration, high youth unemployment, increasing crime and internationally organised crime like drug-trafficking, human-smuggling and money-laundering.

The Member of Parliament (MP) cited a letter from St. Maarten’s Parliament in relation to the future challenges the country faces. The letter mentioned illegal immigration, high youth unemployment, increasing crime and internationally organised crime as areas of concern in light of the problematic social cohesion on the island.
Bosman pointed out that all these areas had been mentioned in the 2007 report of the scientific judicial centre WODC and St. Maarten’s crime vision analysis of December 2011. According to the MP, the most worrisome aspect in these reports is the connection between crime and the local government.

Bosman asked Timmermans whether he and the EU would urge St. Maarten to solve these issues. “We will seal an agreement with Country St. Maarten knowing that the solutions they find desirable will never come because of, for example, the interest of Minister of Justice Duncan. Can you set conditions within the agreement that this crime will be solved?”

Timmermans said Brussels was very strict and surely would file a formal complaint if fraudulent actions were committed with EU funds. However, he said he could not respond to cases of individual ministers and that Bosman would have to take this up with Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk.

Duncan spoke about the matter on PJD-2 radio and in Antilliaans Dagblad. He told the Curaçao-based newspaper that he had totally had it with Dutch politicians claiming all sorts of things. “Let the Prosecutor’s Office prove I have such ties. If not, stop it.”

He further suggested this was all because St. Maarten was doing too well. “Dutch politicians are trying to drum up all kinds of things to keep us down.”

Duncan added that he did not understand why the WODC report had been mentioned to back the allegation. “My name is not in that report,” he said.

Minister Duncan: Most major crimes down on St. Maarten

MONDAY, 04 FEBRUARY 2013

PHILIPSBURG–Justice Minister Roland Duncan on Sunday debunked assertions that crime is on the increase saying “there is no spike in crime.”

Declining to give figures at this stage, the minister said an analysis of the crime figures up to the end of 2012 showed that there has been a decrease in most major crimes. However, he told Lloyd Richardson on his radio programme People’s Voice on 1300AM that there had been a sharp increase in crimes in the area of personal relationships, such as threats, incest and rape.

The minister said he had wanted to present the figures to Parliament first before releasing them publicly.
Duncan said the area of personal relationships was a challenge when viewed from the perspective of prevention.
“We love to say ‘don’t spend money on lockups and on walls, but use it on prevention.’ How do we work on preventing rape? How do we work on preventing threats?” he said, adding that threat was one of the first things that could come out of an argument between two persons.

“I’m not saying it can’t be changed, but I can’t put a police officer in every situation you can think of to prevent rape,” he said.

Parliament upset that St. Maarten shut out from border system

SATURDAY, 26 JANUARY 2013

PHILIPSBURG–A Dutch civil servant used his position to shut St. Maarten out of the Dutch Caribbean Border Management System as a consequence of Justice Minister Roland Duncan’s stance against St. Maarten’s immigration data being managed in Curaçao, Parliament was told by the minister.

The picture of the Dutch Government’s disregard for St. Maarten’s position as an autonomous country within the kingdom painted by Duncan during Friday’s meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament left Members of Parliament (MPs) quite annoyed and adamant on getting answers from the Dutch Government.

A fervent call also was made for the civil servant Klaas de Jong to be dealt with severely for his actions, even if they were sanctioned by the Dutch Government.

Duncan said the Dutch Government had “scrapped” some NAf. 1.3 million in funding via its funding agency USONA for integrity training of Justice officers, as “a little punishment” for his refusal to sign the agreement for the joint system.
The meeting was requested by the United People’s (UP) party based on concerns that St. Maarten’s borders had been left unattended and open by the recent severing of the information-sharing and -processing service developed under the former Netherlands Antilles, with upgrades pending to cater to countries Curaçao and St. Maarten, and Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

The minister made it clear that St. Maarten’s security at this point was “better, stronger and more effective and better manned than it has even been in the Netherlands Antilles.” This is especially true now, as the border control system “never functioned properly.”

There is no vacuum in the system, he said, answering questions from MP Gracita Arrindell (UP). The shutting down of the link with the other islands has not stopped St. Maarten’s immigration, border control, police and other sectors of the Justice system from functioning. “Yes, it has been a blow. It has affected the Police Force in its job.”

However, the cut-off has not crippled operations, because the Justice Ministry purchased a passport-scanning system from the Government of Germany for some NAf. 84,000 to enable continued processing of people entering and leaving the country. Work on a complete system for the country to link all Justice departments is ongoing.

“We fought long to be a country … not to have someone run our system by remote control. … The [unsigned, ed.] agreement will compromise our security,” Duncan said, adding that the cut-off was tantamount to “blackmail” and could be deemed “colonialist” behaviour.

Dutch St. Maarten has functional cooperation in border control with St. Barths, French St. Martin and Anguilla. The French government in particular is not prepared to have its data shared with any third party.

National Alliance (NA) MP Louie Laveist said he was offended by the way St. Maarten was being treated in this situation. The country needs to stop being looked down on as “a bastard child” and being treated differently “because I don’t have coolie hair like my brother.” He added that the United States and England would not have left their citizens in an unsafe situation.

MP George Pantophlet (NA) said that after hearing about how the country was being treated, he was happy Duncan had sought other avenues to protect and take care of it.

MP Silvia Meyers-Olivacce (UP) said, “It’s time we demand respect in our own country. … Let’s start putting our heads together as Parliament to deal with the situation. The situation is deeper than we think.”

MP Dr. Lloyd Richardson (NA) also was “appalled” by the circumstances under which the country had been cut off from a system of which it is a co-owner. “This is beyond appalling.” He said it appeared as though St. Maarten had been put in a state of “do what I want and say what I want” by the Dutch Government. “There is no form of safety guaranteed within the kingdom and this for a country considered a bastion of justice.”

MPs were in agreement that the matter of the border management system and the treatment of the country needed to be addressed in a collective and direct manner.

The session with Duncan will resume in the near future, at which time he will deal with crime statistics and regulation of security companies.

Regeerprogramma St. Maarten: Vernieuwing voor Justitie

ZATERDAG, 19 JANUARI 2013

PHILIPSBURG — Minister Roland Duncan van Justitie heeft tijdens de presentatie van het regeerprogramma een uiteenzetting gegeven van de plannen voor Justitie. Zijn planning is gebaseerd op herstructurering en upgrading.

De gevangenis te Pointe Blanche en de ontwikkeling van het Justice Park zijn als voorbeelden aangehaald. Een Justitie Academie (opleidingsschool) en een nieuwe naam voor Immigratiedienst (Immigration and Border Control Department). staan ook op de lijst van vernieuwingen. De Financial Intelligence Unit zal bijdragen aan de bestrijding van witwaspraktijken en financiële misdrijven.

Mens en kapitaal kern regeerprogramma St. Maarten

ZATERDAG, 19 JANUARI 2013

PHILIPSBURG — ‘Working for the people’ is de titel van het regeerprogramma van de NA/DP/I-3 coalitie. De planning van de huidige regeringspartners voor de ambtstermijn is deze week gepresenteerd.

Gouverneur Eugene Holiday was een van de aanwezigen tijdens de lancering van het regeerprogramma. Werkgelegenheid, onderwijs, veiligheid, gezondheidszorg en het algemeen welzijn van de bevolking werden als prioriteit aangehaald in de toespraak van minister-president Sarah Wescot-Williams.

Zij vatte de uitdagingen samen onder de noemer ‘mens en kapitaal’. De begroting is weliswaar na 10-10-‘10 flink omhoog gegaan. Maar voor die tijd deed St. Maarten het niet slecht en ook zonder de zware last van belastingverhoging. Wescot-Williams wees ook op het feit dat St. Maarten als land van start was gegaan met een erfenis van de Antilliaanse staatsschuld.

De toekomst van St. Maarten en haar bewoners hangt af van de mentale instelling, die niet door leeftijd of generatie wordt bepaald maar afhankelijk is van van duurzame groei en de vorming van een natie.

Nu moet het gevoel van maatschappelijke betrokkenheid en eergevoel worden aangewakkerd. Het Integraal Ontwikkelingsproject, dat op alle ministeries betrekking heeft en gericht is op verbeteringen in de wijken, werd ook aangehaald, evenals de stopzetting van Ontwikkelingshulp. De regering moet hierop inspelen door onder meer met sociale partners te overleggen.

Justice minister wants St. Maarten to get its own border management system

THURSDAY, 10 JANUARY 2013

PHILIPSBURG–Minister of Justice Roland Duncan is working extremely hard on putting St. Maarten’s own border management system (BMS) in place, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said at the Council of Ministers press briefing Wednesday morning.

St. Maarten has been cut from accessing the BMS stationed in Curaçao since November 24, 2012. “The disconnection was not unexpected,” Wescot-Williams said. “The view of the [Justice, ed.] Minister is very clear. By St. Maarten not agreeing to be a part of a new system Curaçao wants to implement we were told we would be disconnected.”

The disagreement stems from the fact that the system, which has all information and knowledge on who passes through St. Maarten borders, is stored in Curaçao and not locally.

Although St. Maarten has been blocked, passports still can be scanned by Immigration officers at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) and the information has been stored locally since the block in November 2012. “It is not a complete system,” Prime Minister Wescot-Williams said, but Duncan is working hard to put one in place as soon as possible.

“We are purchasing a new system, which is costing NAf. 84,000, but in the meantime we are doing it by hand,” Duncan told The Daily Herald. Immigration remains well informed on the comings and goings of those visiting the island. He explained, for example, that a flight plan was forwarded to Immigration officers and was double-checked once persons entered St. Maarten.

He explained that there was no chaos when it came to managing St. Maarten’s borders, “we were just slowed down.” He also explained that his ministry was looking into further developing communication between all Immigration offices located on the island.

Meer overleg nodig over reorganisatie Point Blanche-gevangenis op St. Maarten

DINSDAG, 08 JANUARI 2013

DEN HAAG — De voortgangscommissie voor de Plannen van Aanpak voor St. Maarten pleit voor meer overleg tussen alle betrokkenen bij de reorganisatie van de Point Blanche-gevangenis. De commissie, onder voorzitterschap van Ronald Bandel, wil hiermee voorkomen dat de renovatie nog meer vertraging oploopt.

In de achtste voortgangsrapportage over de periode juli tot oktober gaat de commissie uitgebreid in op het plan van Justitie-minister Roland Duncan om gedetineerden tijdelijk onder te brengen op de eerste verdieping van het grenshospitium in Simpson Bay, zodat de gevangenis gerenoveerd kan worden. De commissie wijst op het gevaar dat deze nieuwe ruimte niet gebruikt zal worden voor het onderbrengen van de huidige gedetineerden maar vol zal stromen met nieuwe gevangenen, zoals ook eerder het geval was.

“Het mag niet weer gebeuren dat de renovatie straks niet kan starten, omdat de noodzakelijke ruimte in de Point Blanche-gevangenis niet kan worden vrijgemaakt. De commissie heeft krachtig aangedrongen op meer onderling overleg over het vermijden van dit onheil en daarover ook met de advocaat-generaal zeer nadrukkelijk van gedachten gewisseld. De advocaat-generaal heeft de commissie toegezegd aan het vrijhouden van de nieuwe celruimte mee te zullen werken”, aldus de commissie. De commissie adviseert Duncan om ook maandelijks over andere onderdelen van het plan van aanpak te overleggen met het Openbaar Ministerie en de korpschef.

Justice Park

In de voortgangsrapportage wordt ook ingegaan op de plannen voor een Justice Park, een complex met alle justitiële diensten en gevangeniscellen. “De commissie kan de strekking van dit initiatief niet overzien, doch gelet op de aanzienlijke kosten die hiermee gemoeid zijn en de staat van (de) begroting is het van vitaal belang verplichtingen voor een dergelijk project eerst aan te gaan als een deugdelijke meerjarige financiële onderbouwing aan ten grondslag ligt”, schrijft de commissie. Aan minister Ronald Plasterk van Binnenlandse Zaken wordt het verzoek gedaan om Duncan erop te wijzen dat zijn plannen niet ten koste mogen gaan van de afspraken in het kader van de ontmanteling.

Andere adviezen van de commissie hebben betrekking op de aanstelling van nieuw politiepersoneel en juristen voor de afdeling Juridische Zaken en Wetgeving en de aanleg van de infrastructuur voor de infodesk van de politie.

Minister Plasterk schrijft in een toelichting dat hij de voortgangsrapportage afgelopen december met premier Sarah Wescot-Williams en minister Duncan heeft besproken. Volgens Plasterk was Duncan nog op zoek naar alternatieve locaties om gevangenen tijdelijk onder te brengen en heeft hij toegezegd om de voortgangscommissie op de hoogte te houden van de plannen voor het Justice Park.

Mandatory apprenticeship for lawyers on St. Maarten

THURSDAY, 03 JANUARY 2013

PHILIPSBURG–Established lawyers who are considering a move to St. Maarten may soon be faced with a second apprenticeship based on a draft law prepared by the Justice Ministry.

The new law will make it “compulsory” for all new lawyers who come to the country to follow a two to three-year course specifically focused on the “practice of procedure, gathering of evidence and how to act in court,” according to Justice Minister Roland Duncan.

This apprenticeship will be in addition to the one graduates from a law programme have to follow before being able to set up a practice of their own.

Duncan said on a recent radio programme on Voice of St. Maarten that Professor Jan de Boer has drafted the law, which the St. Maarten Bar Association has already reviewed and submitted their initial questions to the ministry. De Boer was also involved in the drafting of the country’s new Civil Code.

The Bar Association had “some questions” on the draft, according to the minister, because of the “influx” of lawyers who come to the country from elsewhere in the Dutch Kingdom and “then leave after three years.”
Duncan said, “If you come to live here even for a day and you are going to practice law, you are going to practice law based on our rules.”

Although, there is a general law in the Dutch Kingdom on procedures, St. Maarten has “a few specifics” in its laws as well as “some marked differences” in its new Penal Code compared to the codes on the other Dutch Caribbean islands and The Netherlands.

“If a lawyer wants to practice on St. Maarten he has to be able to deal with this; we insist,” he declared.

Geen inmenging minister Duncan in zaak schoonzoon oud-minister Shigemoto op St. Maarten

WOENSDAG, 02 JANUARI 2013

PHILIPSBURG — Minister Roland Duncan zal zich niet bemoeien in de strafzaak tegen zijn schoonzoon, oud-minister van Financiën Hiro Shigemoto. In antwoord op geruchten die de ronde doen over zijn mogelijke inmenging in deze zaak, wijst Duncan erop dat volgens het rechtssysteem van Koninkrijkslanden de minister zich niet mengt in individuele zaken.

Duncan heeft van het Parket van de Procureur-Generaal en het gehele rechtsapparaat geëist dat zij goed gebruikmaken van de gelden die begroot zijn voor hun diensten. Hoewel hij zich niet zal bemoeien met de dagelijkse individuele gevallen, zal men aan het einde van de dag rekenschap moeten afleggen voor deze gelden.

Shigemoto werd medio december gearresteerd onder verdenking van fraude, het witwassen van gelden en verduistering. Hij bleef enkele dagen opgesloten en werd op kerstavond vrijgelaten onder voorwaarde dat hij zich beschikbaar hield voor verhoor door de autoriteiten. Hij zou dubbele betaling hebben verricht aan bedrijven die diensten hebben verleend aan de overheid.

Duncan verklaarde dat als hij ‘de stekker uit het stopcontact trok’ om Shigemoto te helpen de situatie voor korte tijd gered zou zijn door een langdurig juridisch proces. De integriteit en het karakter van een persoon zouden voor altijd besmeurd blijven omdat men zou zeggen dat hij schuldig was maar gered werd.

“De reputatie van het land zou ook worden aangetast indien de minister van Justitie een einde zou maken aan het onderzoek van een zaak waarin zijn schoonzoon is betrokken. Men zou dan kunnen spreken van nepotisme op St. Maarten. Het land zou een bananenrepubliek worden omdat de minister van Justitie heeft ingegrepen om iemand te redden”, aldus Duncan.

St. Maarten minister Duncan: Justice Park progressing

MONDAY, 31 DECEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–The planned US $100-million Justice Park is getting closer. Justice Minister Roland Duncan said he is “pretty close” to finalising the lease for the land and buildings to be constructed in Cay Bay.

Speaking on “People’s Voice,” a radio programme on PJD2, Duncan said he expects some finalisation on the lease and other aspects of the Park by the end of January/early February. The “headings” of the lease agreements have been worked out with the park developers. He is working on shortening the lease period from 32 years.

The Justice Minister pointed out that the multi-million dollar project would have significant impact on the economy in the three years the park will take to be constructed. He said people need to see the spin off for construction and other companies and the jobs that will be created.

Immigrants will foot the bill for the planned Justice Park in Cay Hill via a pending amendment to the Admittance and Expulsion Law LTU that seeks to establish annual fees for residence permits.

The draft amendment has set the fee for a “basic” residence permit at NAf. 1,500 per year, NAf. 2,500 for residence permit holders in managerial position and NAf. 5,000 for permit holders who are directors. The residence permit fee for youngsters under age 18 will be NAf. 750. Payment of the fees will be for the account of the permit holders, not the business they work for. Some NAf. 20 million is expected to be collected from these pending new fees.

The development of the Justice Park will allow for the Pointe Blanche House of Detention to be renovated and changed into a maximum security prison, with provision for prisoners who need psychiatric care. The park in Cay Hill will house the medium security prison, youth correctional facility and youth detention centre, as well as the central kitchen, medical and conjugal visit cells.

The Justice Park will also house the Courthouse and the Court of Guardianship. Duncan said the historical Courthouse on Front Street is too small for the needs of the justice change and has “serious security risks” being in the centre of town.
Government will pay a rent of 10 per cent of the value of each building the Justice Ministry puts into use in the Justice Park. Rent will not be levied until the ministry has moved into the buildings. “This gives us flexibility.” Rental amounts paid to house Justice Departments elsewhere in the country will also be put to the Justice Park rent, once the department has moved there. Rent levy for commercial buildings is set at 12 per cent in the rental regulation. Government will be paying 10 per cent in rent.

Processing St. Maarten police records in Curaçao ‘not necessary’

SATURDAY, 08 DECEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–The issuance of police records is not a task of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service IND, but of the Attorney-General’s office, says Justice Minister Roland Duncan. He has contended that the law governing the issuance of the record is not being properly executed.

He has been in discussions with the Attorney-General’s office based in Curaçao to sort out the bottlenecks that cause such slow issuance of records.

Under the present system, when a police record is requested it is sent by the IND to the Prosecutor’s Office, which sends it on to Curaçao, but only after a sizable pile of requests has been gathered. In Curaçao, there is only one person processing the requests.

Duncan pointed out that as in the past, St. Maarten requests “are not a priority.” His stance is that the requests should not be sent to Curaçao, as St. Maarten is a separate country and the record only has to take into consideration the person’s record as it relates to St. Maarten.

He hopes that there will be some changes as soon as the office of the solicitor-general is up and functioning in St. Maarten.

No one-stop processing of work and residence permits foreseen on St. Maarten

SATURDAY, 08 DECEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–No one-stop processing of work- and residence permits is foreseen for any time soon by Justice Minister Roland Duncan. He was responding on Thursday to questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) about the double procedure applicants have to follow to acquire or renew their work and residence permits.

The work permits are issued by the Ministry of Labour, while the residence permit is the responsibility of the Justice Ministry.

Duncan said the “easiest thing” is for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) of the Justice Ministry to issue both permits, because the Admittance and Expulsion Regulation LTU is carried out by that ministry.

However, he said, “At this rate I can’t see one-stop shopping” for the permits, it is a question of power.” The latter part of his statement refers to his belief that the Labour Ministry does not want to give up its power to process and grant work permits.

The IND is still working on issuing a credit card-sized residence permit card to replace the cumbersome legal-sized residence permit. This change will make the card more user-friendly and eliminate the need for people to walk with paper permits that can easily be torn or destroyed.

Negotiations were ongoing between the Civil Registry, a division of the General Affairs Ministry, and the Justice Ministry to issue the residence permit cards. However, those “discussions died,” according to Duncan, because the Civil Registry is reluctant to part with its card-printing machines. The minister said he could not understand the fuss, because the majority of the work the Civil Registry performs is related to the Justice authorities and procedures.

The Police Department has a similar card-printing machine. That machine is now being reviewed to see if it can be used to issue the residence permit cards.

Duncan has submitted draft amendments to the LTU to the Council of Ministers to review and approve, related to levying a fee for residence permits for the first time.

The draft amendment has set the fee for a “basic” residence permit at NAf. 1,500 per year, NAf. 2,500 for residence permit holders in managerial positions, and NAf. 5,000 for permit holders, who are directors. The residence permit fee for youngsters under age 18 will be NAf. 750. Payment of the fees will be for the account of the permit holders, not the business they work for. If the business wants to pay for the fee, it will be a private agreement between the employers and the permit holder, where such a relationship exists.

The funds will be used to finance the planned US $100 million Justice Park in Cay Hill.

Immigrant residence permit fees to help pay for Justice Park in St. Maarten

FRIDAY, 07 DECEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–Immigrants will foot the bill for the planned US $100-million Justice Park in Cay Hill. Justice Minister Roland Duncan told Parliament in a Central Committee meeting Thursday that an amendment to the Admittance and Expulsion Law LTU seeking to establish annual fees for residence permits is before the Council of Ministers for approval.

The draft amendment has set the fee for a “basic” residence permit at NAf. 1,500 per year, NAf. 2,500 for residence permit holders in managerial position and NAf. 5,000 for permit holders who are directors. The residence permit fee for youngsters under age 18 will be NAf. 750. Payment of the fees will be for the account of the permit holders, not the business they work for. If the business wants to pay for the fee, it will be a private agreement between the employers and the permit holder, where such as relationship exists. Some NAf. 20 million is expected to be collected from these pending new fees.

Duncan pointed out that the proposed fees are not expensive when compared to countries such as Bahamas and Anguilla. In Bahamas, the lowest category of cooks, bartenders etc., pay about US $ 1,000. accountants and comparable professions pay US $5,000 and those in managerial position can pay as much as US $12,000 annually.

The funds raised from the residence permit fee, when implemented, will be used to cover the cost of the Justice Park. Other funding will also come from other pending increases for justice services. That’s another package of amendments awaiting Council of Ministers’ approval.

Duncan hopes to get the amendments handled soon by the Council of Ministers and then Parliament, so that early next year the fees can be implemented. The monies from the fees will accumulate until the first payments for the Justice Park need to be made, thus providing a financial base for the project.

Duncan was in Parliament to answer questions posed by Members of Parliament (MPs) in November when he presented the Justice Park project. Thursday’s meeting is on hold until further notice to give MPs time to review the documents presented by Duncan, so they can prepare for the second round of debate.

The minister used the meeting “to put the project into proper prospective,” saying that the Justice Park is needed to provide needed services, because present justice facilities and services are “inadequate or non-existent.” He pointed out that even the present building, housing his cabinet and the Immigration and Naturalisation Department (IND) on A.Th. Illidge Road is not adequate. Fire Department personnel reminded him of such on Thursday morning. A hazard is the gas-selling company to the rear of the building.

The development of the Justice Park will allow for the Pointe Blanche House of Detention to be renovated and changed into a maximum security prison with provision for prisoners who need psychiatric care. The park in Cay Hill will house the medium security prison, youth correctional facility and youth detention centre, as well as the central kitchen, medical and conjugal visit cells.

The park project will allow the Justice Ministry to provide several of the accommodations required in the new Penal Code passed earlier this year, the minister said. Most of the departments of the justice chain will be housed in the park.

The Justice Park will also house the Courthouse and the Court of Guardianship. Duncan said the historical Courthouse on Front Street is too small for the needs of the justice change and has “serious security risks” being in the centre of town.

The Justice Park will also solve the need for the some NAf. 60 million upgrade of the Pointe Blanche prison as was put forward by construction company Ballast Nadam, a plan that did not take into account the need for a youth correctional facility. Duncan said upgrades will be made to Pointe Blanche prison nevertheless. However, the cost will be revisited by the contractor.

Explaining how he would acquire the land in Cay Hill for the Justice Park, Duncan said government first looked at expropriation, but later private company Kasmir Investment Limited made a sale and purchase agreement with the owners of the three parcels of land needed, which included that of “The Box.” The three parcels will cost US $25 million. Government will not be buying the land; it will hold a long lease for it for some 20 to 30 years and pay rent during that time. At the end of the period, government will take possession of the land and buildings.

Government will pay a rent of 10 per cent of the value of each building the Justice Ministry puts into use in the Justice Park. Rent will not be levied until the ministry has moved into the buildings. “This gives us flexibility.” Rental amounts paid to house justice departments elsewhere in the country will also be put to the Justice Park rent once the department is moved there. Rent levy for commercial buildings is set at 12 per cent in the rental regulation. Government will be paying 10 per cent in rent.

Putting the acquisition into perspective, Duncan said the Social and Health Insurance SZV was in negotiations to buy the parcel of land on the street side in Cay Hill for some US $23 million. The three parcels for the Justice Park will be acquired for US $25 million.

Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry started to use the old BBW building on Sucker Garden Road to establish its shooting range and other training areas. That building will also be used to house all the basic police departments.

A letter of intent still has to be signed between government and Elliot Holding to which the land was granted in long lease. The letter of intent will give Elliot a compensation for government taking over the long lease.

Krachtige basis Meldpunt Ongebruikelijke Transacties om aan eisen Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce te voldoen

ZATERDAG, 01 DECEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG — Wijzigingen om tot een krachtige basis voor de Meldpunt Ongebruikelijke Transacties (MOT) te geraken, zijn noodzakelijk om te voldoen aan de vijftien aanbevelingen van de Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce (CFATF), die onlangs een evaluatie heeft gemaakt van de situatie. Volgens minister van Justitie Roland Duncan loopt St. Maarten geen gevaar op de zwarte lijst te worden geplaatst door de internationale financiële en fiscale gemeenschap.

De regering heeft echter tot mei 2013 om te reageren op de CFATF en aan te geven hoe de vijftien aanbevelingen worden ingevoerd. De overheid moet ook haar actieplan indienen. De Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten en ook de regering moeten aan de slag.

De CFATF en de Veiligheidsraad van de Verenigde Naties hebben voor elk land veertig aanbevelingen en negen topaanbevelingen gedaan om de financiële misdaad, terrorisme en witwaspraktijken te bestrijden.

Als een van de meest belangrijke redenen haalt Duncan aan dat Curaçao, die over een soortgelijke wetgeving beschikt en met St. Maarten samenwerkt op het gebied van wetshandhaving, betere resultaten heeft geboekt tijdens de evaluatie. Volgens hem is dit te wijten aan het gebrek aan kennis van het staatkundig systeem en van het feit dat documenten in het Engels of Spaans ingediend moeten worden.

De overige landen van het Caribisch gebied staan er ook niet zo gunstig voor en in bepaalde gevallen kan actie van de kant van CFATF verwacht worden.

St. Maarten minister Duncan: Crime down but police brutality not tolerated

POSTED: 11/30/12

St. Maarten – Justice Minister Roland Duncan says that he is taking a hard line against law enforcement officials, such as customs, immigration and police, who use unwarranted excessive force or engage in police brutality.

Speaking during Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press conference, Duncan said that he has already placed three officers on suspension and plans to terminate the service of others.

“My point with the police is under no circumstances is the police to allow itself to be assaulted by anyone. The police are there to enforce the law. We have reached the point where there is a lot of violence going on and the police are under instructions to do its job. That does not mean that they will beat up on everybody. There will be an investigation of every use of force to determine if it is excessive or not. However when I see the story about police brutality I do not share the same sentiment,” the minister said.

Duncan said that although certain sections of society are complaining about a spike in crime, he does not necessarily share the same opinion.

“I don’t think there is a spike in crime. A spike means that you go from 10 to 20 and then it pops back down. Crime occurs every day and when you compare it from 10.10.10 to now I consider it to be a decrease because we have had more patrols, law enforcement in every aspect.”

He said that legislation regarding the instruction to law enforcement acting in the execution of the law prescribes that if their commands are not adhered to or if somebody resists arrests or becomes abusive, they have the right to use force.

“The article of law says reasonable force within the execution of their duty. My policy whenever there is use of force, there will be an investigation.”

He said that although the Police have an internal affairs division, he recognizes that it may not be as vigilant as it should. Investigations may also be done independent of the police.

“However we have a now functioning judicial affairs department that could take the lead in that, we have the National Detectives as well as the Attorney General and the local Solicitor General, Mr. Stein.”

Duncan said that within that scope, anytime force is applied, there will be an investigation as to the extent of the force. That doesn’t make the force wrong.

As the resistance or refusal to adhere increases, the force increases. The law enforcement officer who is authorized by the Minister of Justice can use a weapon. This includes not only a gun, but also a baton, pepper spray or tear gas, he added.

“We are considering the introduction of tasers.”

Duncan said that people romanticize many things in society when it comes to people who are apprehended by the police.

“The police dog is also a means of law enforcement. If a person the does not stand up but resists or tries to attack someone the police has the right under the law to use the dog. The attack dog is trained, if you don’t move and standup, they will not attack. If you try to move or run they will then bite you, they will hold on to you. They are trained to bring you down. So if somebody says they got 14 bites it is not unusual because if you stop resisting, the dog will stop biting.”

Duncan was at the time referring to the allegations of police brutality where a civilian was bitten by a police K-9 recently. The K-9 in question cost the government 8 thousand euros and Duncan says that he oversaw the dog’s final examination in November 2010.

“We are buying more attack dogs and others to detect weapons, explosives and narcotics. I am not encouraging the police nor am I condoning any violence. However we have had a case where a police was assaulted. He was struck by people when he tried to do his job, but no one is talking about that.”

The minister believes that under his administration the Police have been placed under more scrutiny than the last ten years.

He is also plans to deal with another report of misbehavior by a police officer.

“The Tantra case has not been dealt with as yet but I am not going to tolerate police officers behaving any way they want. I demand that the police do their jobs properly and that the public will respect them for doing their duty. If they can’t reach to that level or maintain that level, they will be dealt with,” he stated.

Strengthening Financial Intelligence Unit MOT vital to St. Maarten complying with Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce rules

FRIDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–”Further strengthening” of the Financial Intelligence Unit MOT is one of the vital areas government must address to comply with the fifteen recommendations on which the country is lagging, based on a recent mutual evaluation carried out by the Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce (CFATF).

Justice Minister Roland Duncan told the press on Wednesday that the country is “not in danger of being blacklisted” by the international community for financial and tax issues. However, the government has until May 2013 to respond to CFATF on how it intends to comply with the 15 recommendations and to present an action plan.
The Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten “needs to step up to the plate better” and government needs “to tweak laws” to help with compliance. The law amendments are “a long” process.

CFATF and the United Nations Security Council have put together 40 recommendations and nine core recommendations for every country to carry out to combat financial crime, terrorism and money-laundering.

Duncan, Finance Minister Roland Tuitt, a Central Bank delegation and other government representatives were in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, recently and “put up a fight” against the evaluation in the CFATF review group and at the plenary session.

Duncan said one of the key reasons put forward was that Curaçao, which has similar laws and shared law enforcement with St. Maarten, had received a more favourable review than St. Maarten.

He said he believed the results of the review had a lot to do with the country’s constitutional system “not being understood” and the fact that if documents and reports are not submitted in English or Spanish the country is deemed non-compliant.

He said the St. Maarten delegation had learned during the meeting that other Caribbean countries were in worse shape in terms of living up to the recommendations and some were facing serious actions from CFATF.

Caribbean Financial Action Task Force negatief over St. Maarten

29 NOVEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG – Sint Maarten is negatief beoordeeld door de Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFTAF). Volgens minister Duncan van Justitie moet Sint Maarten zo snel mogelijk ‘compliant’ worden.

AD 29.11.12.pdf I

Rollocks wants minister to help ‘tiki hut’vendors acquire permit on St. Maarten

THURSDAY, 29 NOVEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG –  While businessman Julian Rollocks called on Minister of Justice Roland Duncan on Wednesday to ” please help us get our vending permits” for the “tiki huts” along the road side…….

DH 29-11-2012 Vendor Permit

Minister Duncan vrij in plan voor Justice Park op St. Maarten

DONDERDAG, 22 NOVEMBER 2012

DEN HAAG — De regering van St. Maarten mag zelf beslissen of ze een Justice Park wil bouwen. Dat schrijft de Nederlandse minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties Ronald Plasterk aan de Tweede Kamerleden André Bosman van de VVD en Ronald van Raak van de SP.

De twee parlementariërs hadden opheldering gevraagd over het plan van de Sintmaartense Justitie-minister Roland Duncan en de gevolgen van de investering van 100 miljoen dollar op de begroting. “Ik kan niet tegemoet komen aan dit verzoek”, antwoordt Duncan. “St. Maarten is een autonoom land en de beleidsvoornemens van de minister van Justitie van St. Maarten vallen niet onder mijn verantwoordelijkheid.”

De minister voegt daaraan toe dat Nederland er alleen bij betrokken is als de bouw gevolgen heeft voor de uitvoering van de Plannen van Aanpak, die zijn vastgelegd in een Algemene Maatregel van Rijksbestuur, of in strijd is met de Rijkswet Financieel Toezicht. “Overigens wordt er in dat laatste geval gekeken of de totale begroting sluitend is en niet naar de inhoud van het beleid. Het is aan de regering van St. Maarten zelf om beleidskeuzes te maken”, aldus Plasterk.

Nederlandse Voortgangscommissie positief over financiële ondersteuning St. Maarten

ZATERDAG, 17 NOVEMBER 2012

DEN HAAG — De voortgangscommissie voor de plannen van aanpak voor St. Maarten is over het algemeen positief over de vorderingen die in de periode van april tot juni geboekt zijn. In de laatste voortgangsrapportage meldt de commissie dat de verhoging van het budget voor de plannen van aanpak waarschijnlijk voldoende zal zijn voor 2012.

“In de ogen van de commissie is hiermee de voornaamste dreiging voor stagnatie van de plannen van aanpak, (namelijk) het geld is op, nu verdwenen.” De commissie is ook positief over de verruiming van de zogeheten kleine kas, waardoor betrokken organisaties zonder toestemming vooraf over een ruimer budget kunnen beschikken.

Tegelijkertijd is de commissie bezorgd over het uitstel van de renovatie van de gevangenis. “Naar nu blijkt is gebeurd waar de commissie voor gewaarschuwd heeft, namelijk het gebruiken van het Grenshospitum als overloop voor gedetineerden waar geen plek meer voor was in de Point Blanche-gevangenis. (…) Voor de commissie staat nu voorop dat door alle betrokkenen betere afspraken binnen de keten moeten worden gemaakt en dat men er daarbij van doordrongen moet zijn dat alsnog en op korte termijn tijdelijke huisvesting voor dertig gedetineerden gevonden moet worden.”

De commissie schat dat de meeste plannen van aanpak in de loop van volgend jaar kunnen worden afgerond, namelijk voor de organisatie van de Landsrecherche, de afdeling Burgerzaken en het ministerie voor Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening, Milieu en Infrastructuur. Als de renovatie van de Point Blanche-gevangenis op korte termijn start, kan die begin 2014 worden afgerond, net als de reorganisatie van het Korps Politie. Het plan van aanpak voor de Nieuwe Toelatingsorganisatie is inmiddels afgerond en de verwachting is dat ook het opzetten van een afdeling Juridische Zaken en Wetgeving dit jaar kan worden afgerond, als er voldoende personeel kan worden gevonden. De plannen van aanpak voor St. Maarten en ook voor Curaçao hebben officieel een looptijd tot oktober 2014, na een verlenging met twee jaar waar afgelopen zomer toe besloten werd.

De voortgangsrapportage is eind oktober al besproken door de toenmalige minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties Liesbeth Spies, premier Sarah Wescot-Williams en Justitie-minister Ronald Duncan. Tijdens dat gesprek heeft Spies haar zorgen geuit over de vorderingen met betrekking tot de politie en de gevangenis.

St. Maarten minister Duncan signed Letter of Intent, right of long lease for Justice Park

SATURDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2012

~ Property plans for Justice Park ~

PHILIPSBURG–Minister of Justice Roland Duncan has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with representatives of families who own the property on which the Justice Park is planned to be constructed.

The LOI states the intent of a right of long lease of 11,000 square metres whereby the government will lease the property for a certain period at 10 per cent of the park’s value per year until the property eventually is owned by the government. “This is so that the land can be available for government use,” Duncan told The Daily Herald.

The Ministry of Justice plans to finance the cost of the Park’s construction by implementing a NAf. 1,500 annual fee for residence permits, which was calculated to be enough to cover the Park’s cost.

The Justice Park was a plan unveiled by the Ministry of Justice to construct a centralised area for Justice Ministry departments, including a Justice Administration complex, a House of Detention, a Youth Detention and Correctional Centre, a Courthouse, a housing facility and a Community Police area for Cay Hill and Belair.

Duncan plans on meeting with the Central Committee of Parliament in the coming weeks to answer questions posed by parliamentarians about the Park and to give more details on the US $100 million plan.

Dutch parliament asks about St. Maarten minister Duncan’s justice park

THURSDAY, 08 NOVEMBER 2012

THE HAGUE–The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament wants clarity on the planned construction of a US $100 million justice park in St. Maarten.

Parliament’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations supported the proposal of Member of Parliament (MP) Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) to ask Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk for a letter describing the plans of St. Maarten’s Justice Minister Roland Duncan to construct a facility in Cay Hill to house the various services of the Justice Ministry.

Van Raak, also on behalf of his colleague André Bosman of the conservative VVD party, requested such a letter in a meeting of the Kingdom Relations Committee on Wednesday. The Committee wants to know specifically how the St. Maarten Government intends to pay for this project.

“The construction of buildings in St. Maarten is not our responsibility, but we do want clarity on how this US $100 million project is covered in the budget,” said Van Raak, who also wanted to ask Minister Plasterk to address in the letter whether there was a link between Duncan and the owner(s) of the property and the construction company that will take on the work.
MP Madeleine van Toorenburg of the Christian Democratic Party CDA objected to Van Raak’s suggestion to ask Duncan about his link with the property owner(s) and the construction company. “I don’t want an undertone in the letter. We can ask about this, but it has to be done in a professional manner.”

Van Raak and Bosman didn’t agree that the Second Chamber should keep quiet about the construction of a justice park because it is an internal, autonomous matter. “We are not against this project, but it has to be done in a transparent manner. The conditions have to be clear to everyone, also to the people,” Bosman told The Daily Herald after the meeting.
“It doesn’t have to do with the construction of ministries, but with solid financial management,” said Van Raak. The MPs reiterated that St. Maarten was under financial supervision by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT of Curaçao and St. Maarten and that the country needed to have its finances in order.

The Kingdom Relations Committee also approved a proposal of Bosman to ask Minister Plasterk for a letter explaining how he intends to give content to Bosman’s recently adopted motion to make sure that the CFT receives all financial information of the government-owned companies of the two countries.

Bosman’s request for a letter from the Minister comes one day after the publication of the Royal Decree with the revised instruction of the Kingdom Council of Ministers which ordered Willemstad on July 13 this year to get its 2012 budget balanced and to compensate losses of earlier years. The Curaçao Government appealed the July 13 instruction at the Council of State.

According to the revised instruction, Curaçao still has to balance its budget and compensate losses, and it may not cover shortages in the budget with assets of government-owned companies and use dividend policy to realise cost-cutting measures in the budget.

The Second Chamber is satisfied that these requirements are still in the revised instruction, but is less happy with the fact that the article in the instruction which stated that Curaçao has to submit a plan of approach to enhance the assets of its government-owned companies has been taken out.

In Bosman’s view, there is a direct link between the financial situation of the government-owned companies and the Government of Curaçao. That is why he wants answers from the Minister on how he intends to realise more transparency of Curaçao’s government-owned companies.

MP Wassila Hachchi asked what the consequences would be of the revised instruction on the financial supervision that is in place for Curaçao, and also St. Maarten. She requested that this part be included in the letter from the Minister.
Van Toorenburg said the revised instruction was a “slap on the fingers” of the Kingdom Council of Ministers, as some parts of the original July 13 instruction lacked a legal basis in the Financial Supervision Law for Curaçao and St. Maarten. She said for next time it would be wise to properly look at these aspects to “avoid coming across these bumps again.”

The Committee was receptive to the idea of Van Toorenburg inviting the Ministers Plenipotentiary of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten for a “broader talk.” Committee Chairperson Brigitte van der Burg proposed inviting the Ministers Plenipotentiary for a meeting in January, considering the formation process in Curaçao and the Second Chamber’s Christmas recess in December.

Minister Duncan unveils plan for US $100M Justice Park for St. Maarten

SATURDAY, 03 NOVEMBER 2012

~ Will serve as centralised area for Justice Ministry departments ~

PHILIPSBURG–A centralised area costing roughly US $100 million with facilities and services the Ministry of Justice needs to provide service to the community was the topic of discussion during the meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on Friday afternoon, November 2.

Minister of Justice Roland Duncan made a presentation on the Justice Park, which promises to house the various sectors of the Justice Ministry. He explained that these were preliminary measures being taken to realise the Justice Park, scheduled to take three to four years to complete.

The Justice Park is slated to be a centralised area where facilities for the various departments of the Ministry will be built. The area in question will be situated in Cay Hill in the vicinity of “The Box.” The Justice Park will be home to a Justice Administration Complex, a House of Detention with approximately 60 new cells and rooms for conjugal visits, a Youth Detention and Correctional Centre, a Courthouse, a housing facility and a Community Police area for Cay Hill and Belair.
The Justice Ministry consists of many departments, including the Secretary-General and staff bureau, Court of Guardianship, Youth and Family Services, National Detectives, Department of Special Permits, Victims Aid Bureau and more. The Ministry is growing vastly with approximately 850 collaborators being projected for 2015. For this reason, the Ministry needs to expand.

The Ministry also plans to make use of the BBW Building at the entrance of Sucker Garden to house shooting ranges and a 911 central dispatch centre.

With regard to a Youth Detention and Correctional Centre, legislation states that youths under 24 should not be housed with older inmates. Duncan also explained that the detention centre would house those over the age of 18 but younger than 24, while the correctional centre would serve the youth up to age 18. He explained that right now, because there are no facilities for youth who commit crimes, the Court lets them go.

The Minister has already spoken to and signed agreements with developer W.P. Carey Company LLC, which will establish contracts to construct the Justice Park. Payment for the park will be done through a lease agreement whereby the government pays 10 per cent of the park’s value and ownership will be transferred to government after 30 years.
The Ministry plans on levying certain fees for services provided – for example, a fee for obtaining a police record – to cover the cost of the construction of the park. The Minister also mentioned a NAf. 1,500 a year resident permit fee, NAf. 2,500 for a manager’s permit and NAf. 5,000 for a director’s permit, as examples, though he said these were preliminary figures and might be decreased.

“Payment should be completed in 20 years,” he said.

The Central Committee posed several questions and concerns to Duncan, mainly concerning the fees that would be implemented and whether efficient and timely service would be provided with these new costs. Duncan requested time to process questions and put together additional documentation that had been requested by MPs and to return for another meeting at a later date.

MPs pose concerns about Justice Park

MONDAY, 05 NOVEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–Not all Members of Parliament are in agreement with Minister of Justice Roland Duncan’s plan to build a Justice Park.

Member of Parliament Leroy de Weever compared the Justice Park to the 1993 film Jurassic Park, citing what could happen to unfinished buildings and the consequences. De Weever posed his concerns, mainly on the developer W.P. Carey (WPC).

According to his research, WPC is a foreign-owned real estate investment trust company and he wants to know whether the plan put forward by the Minister is in fact a plan as documents already have been signed, he said.
“I don’t think developers would move forward unless they have a tenant prepared to lease the property. We need some clarity on that,” De Weever said.

He also wanted to know whether the developer was registered with the Security Trades Commission, citing that the company was not qualified, and who in fact would be responsible for carrying out the development. With regard to developing the area of the Justice Park, another concern was the Ministry’s plan on handling the execution of the judgement of floors that were built “illegally.”

Member of Parliament Johan “Janchi” Leonard opposes the plan completely saying, “I am not impressed.” Leonard’s concern is the cost of the project and its toll on taxpayers.

He stressed the fact that the “white elephant,” the unused government building on Pond Island, was a prime example as to why he was opposed to the Park. “[We want to, ed.] invest US $100 million in the project and the government building is just sitting there. The hospital needs money, pensioners need money. I will not agree with anything to put another dent [in finances] like the elephant,” Leonard said.

Other concerns were the breakdown of the budget for the Park, which was separated into property acquisition, facility completion, and build out and additional cost.

The Justice Park would be a centralised area with facilities and services the Ministry of Justice needs to provide service to the community: a Justice Administration Complex, a House of Detention with around 60 new cells and rooms for conjugal visits, a Youth Detention and Correctional Centre, a Courthouse, a housing facility and Community Police area for Cay Hill and Belair.

Property acquisition, including acquisition of properties for the Detention Facility and Justice Administration Complex on Welgelegen Road, the Police Academy, Training Centre and Office Facility in Sucker Garden, and for supporting facilities, infrastructure and future development on Welgelegen Road came to a total of $34,356,000 as presented by the Minister.

Facility completion and build out of the House of Detention and Sports Field, Justice Administration Complex, Courthouse, Youth Detention and Correctional Centre, infrastructure and security corridor, have a total budget of $55,060,726. Additional cost, including transfer and closing, supporting facilities and any unforeseen circumstances is $7,620,835.

The Justice Ministry consists of many departments, including the Secretary-General and staff bureau, Court of Guardianship, Youth and Family Services, National Detectives, Department of Special Permits, Victims Aid Bureau and more.

The Ministry is growing vastly with around 850 collaborators being projected for 2015 and for this reason needs to expand. The Ministry also plans to make use of the BBW Building at the entrance of Sucker Garden to house shooting ranges and a Central Dispatch Centre for 911.

Duncan requested time to process questions and put together additional documentation requested by MPs and return for another Parliament meeting at a later date.

The project is scheduled to take three to four years to complete.

Akkoord over integriteitstraining Justitie op St. Maarten

ZATERDAG, 20 OKTOBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG — Minister van Justitie Roland Duncan heeft vrijdag een overeenkomst getekend met Usona voor de financiering van het project ‘Integrity Training Programme for the Justice System’. De minister noemde het project een essentieel gedeelte van dienstverlening. Door de training kan men zich bekwamen in de goede uitvoering van taken en dienstverlening. Aan de cursus nemen 75 personeelsleden van het ministerie deel, zij krijgen onderricht in integriteit en normen. De cursus dient ook als verdere ontwikkeling van het ministerie van Justitie, zoals de minister verklaarde. Vlnr. de vertegenwoordiger van Nederland Marci Jonkers, Usona St. Maarten-manager Angela Dekker, minister van Justitie Roland Duncan, beleidsmedewerker van het Departement van Justitie Kelly Busby en het hoofd van het departement van Juridische Zaken Vidjai Jusia.

St. Maarten Mental Health Foundation loses bid for permit in court

SATURDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–Mental Health Foundation (MHF) has lost the injunction Friday, filed against the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour in its bid to obtain the necessary permit for the admittance of psychiatric patients to its facility.

The permit in question concerns the involuntary hospitalisation and/or ambulatory psychiatric treatment of individuals.
Previously, persons with psychiatric problems, who posed a danger to themselves or others, were held in police cells or referred to Capriles Clinic in Curaçao.

This situation changed after October 10, 2010, when it was agreed that each island would have its own mental health facility. Minister of Justice Ronald Duncan then designated MHF as the facility for involuntary hospitalisation in St. Maarten.

Founded in October 2001, MHF has been providing psychiatric aid since 2006, and has a special unit with cells available for involuntary hospitalisation.

The Minister of Justice has authorised the involuntary hospitalisation, but MHF cannot work without a permit from the Ministry of Public Health.

In the injunction, MHF requested such permit and also asked the court for permission to carry out its duties until the permit has been issued.

During the court hearing, Attorney Richard Gibson Jr. said the Health Ministry had not provided a permit, because the Inspectorate of Health would have established that MHF would not be in compliance with the requirements for a mental health institution.

The Ministry of Public Health would be in favour of transferring involuntary hospitalisation to Turning Point Foundation, which mainly provides drug rehabilitation programmes.

MHF had sent a letter on July 26 to the Ministry of Health in which it stated that it would cease involuntary hospitalisation as per August 1, in case it would not receive a permit.

In the injunction MHF, represented by attorney Wim van Sambeek, had requested the court to allow MHF to provide all psychiatric health care, including “fulltime, non-ambulatory, medical treatment of psychiatric patients, as well as the execution of mandatory hospitalisation under the order of the Ministry of Justice.”

Without a permit, MHF is only able to carry out a limited number of its duties, and may only provide ambulatory care to psychiatric patients the foundation, represented in the injunction by Director Eileen Healy and board member Eric van der Hoek, stated.

Judge René van Veen stated in his decision on the injunction that the request for a permit had not been complete, and that it could not be ascertained that MHF would be fully hampered in carrying out its statutory obligations, which do not explicitly mention mandatory treatment.

“It may be that it is litigant’s objective to provide psychiatric care and treatment, but this mere fact does not imply that defendant would have to hand out a permit,” the judge stated.

The judge also rejected claims that health care in St. Maarten would be in jeopardy and that St. Maarten would benefit from care to be provided by MHF, because these claims were too “general and not-founded” to be considered in the injunction.

The judge also said there was insufficient proof for the claim that the Health Ministry had ever promised a permit to MHF.
However, The Daily Herald received copies of letters sent by Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Cornelius de Weever to Mental Health Foundation concerning subsidies over the years 2011 and 2012, in which it is specifically mentioned that under reference to MHF’s multi-annual plans, these subsidies should be spent on day care, crisis intervention, ambulatory care, workshops and counselling.

Attorney Wim van Sambeek said that MHF was open to discussions with Minister de Weever concerning the matter at hand. “Further steps are being considered in consultation with stakeholders. MHF remains confident that an amicable solution may be reached,” he said.

St. Maarten Mental Health Foundation to court in quest for permit

WEDNESDAY, 10 OCTOBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–Mental Health Foundation (MHF) took the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour to court on Tuesday, in a bid to obtain the necessary permit for the admittance of psychiatric patients to its facility.
The permit concerns the involuntary hospitalisation and/or treatment of individuals who are exhibiting behaviour that is a danger to themselves or others.

Previously, these persons were held in police cells with the cases requiring hospitalisation being referred to the Capriles Clinic in Curaçao.

This situation changed after October 10, 2010, when it was agreed that each island would have its own mental health facility. Minister of Justice Ronald Duncan then designated MHF as the facility for involuntary hospitalisation in St. Maarten.

MHF has been providing psychiatric aid since 2006, and has a special unit with cells available for involuntary hospitalisation.

The Minister of Justice has authorised the involuntary hospitalisation, but MHF cannot work without a permit from the Ministry of Public Health.

In the injunction, MHF requested such permit and also asked the court for permission to carry out its duties until the permit has been issued, attorney-at-law Wim van Sambeek said.

Attorney Richard Gibson Jr. said the health ministry had not provided a permit, because the Inspectorate of Health would have established that MHF would not be in compliance with the requirements for a mental health institution.
The Ministry of Public Health would be in favour of transferring involuntary hospitalisation to Turning Point Foundation, which mainly provides drug rehabilitation programmes.

“MHF employs a psychiatrist, Turning Point doesn’t,” Van Sambeek said in response. “MHF is taking care of involuntary hospitalisation on the Minister of Justice’s orders since 10-10-10 and with subsidy of the Ministry of Health,” MHF’s lawyer added. The judge will give his decision on Wednesday, October 10.

Justice Academy officially opens in St. Maarten

SATURDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2012

DUTCH QUARTER–Proud members of the Judicial Department, dignitaries and invited distinguished guests sat on the grounds of what used to be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School on Mount William Hill, attending the inaugural ceremony of the new St. Maarten Justice Academy (SMJA) on Friday afternoon, September 14.

The Academy will provide education and training to police officers, Immigration officers and others involved in the judicial sector. The ceremony was also a celebration of the opening of the Community Police Office on the SMJA campus for the areas of Dutch Quarter, Middle Region and Belvedere.

The ceremony began with words of welcome by Kelly Busby and a prayer by Pastor Illidge. The opening address was given by Police Commissioner Carl John who stressed the importance of education, quoting, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it from you.” He also stressed the importance of community policing, saying police and the community needed to work together to make community policing work.

Eight Community Police Officers (CPOs) were introduced during the ceremony. CPOs Helen Cristina-Romeo and Juan Statie commented on how proud they were to be able to serve their community through community policing.
“It is not only about skills, but a mindset that we are building to go with those skills,” Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said of her expectations of the Academy in her address. “I expect a lot of this building and those passing through it,” she said. She then congratulated Minister of Justice Roland Duncan and his ministry.

Minister Duncan concluded the ceremony, saying it was important to continue providing education, albeit for Justice. Though some classrooms are still being furnished, SMJA is a result of the hard work and dedication of all those involved, especially the Ministry of Justice, an institution that will educate and focus on local training of uniformed officers.
Richard Straker will be heading the Academy. Academy instructors include high ranking police officers and former police officers. Current police officers will be trained to become instructors in the Academy as well. “The focus is on local instructors,” Straker told The Daily Herald.

The ceremony concluded with a toast by Ludmila York-Duncan.

SMJA will open its doors to instruction soon.

President of Parliament Rodolphe Samuel, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Romeo Pantophlet, Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Cornelius de Weever and Solicitor-General Taco Stein were among the dignitaries in attendance.

Court orders St. Maarten Justice Minister to decide on residence permits

WEDNESDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG–The Court of First Instance confirmed that the American-Dutch Friendship Treaty is directly applicable in St. Maarten, which means that citizens of the United States are subject to the same rules as European Dutchmen, where residence permits are concerned.

Judge René van Veen stated this Tuesday in a case filed by US national Ricardo Perez, among several other similar cases.

On July 25, 2011, the Court ordered the Minister of Justice to make a new decision on Perez’s request within eight weeks, but the Minister had turned down this request no sooner than November 2, 2011.

Perez, his wife and two children had appealed the decision of the Minister of Justice to turn down their requests for a so-called “Declaration of Admission by Law” (“Van Rechtswege Verklaring” in Dutch).

Perez has been living in St. Maarten and is Director of SXM Managing Services NV, the managing company since June 2010 of Oyster Bay Beach Resort.

Perez had applied for a Declaration of Admission by Law in May 2010, as mentioned in Article 3 of the Ordinance on Admission and Expulsion LTU.

Based on the American-Dutch Friendship Treaty of 1956 there are no general objections to grant US nationals admission by law, government lawyer Amador Muller confirmed on behalf of Justice Minister Roland Duncan during the August 27 court hearing.

But the equal treatment of US residents compared with European Dutch residents, especially where the admission by law is concerned, is not unlimited, according to Minister Duncan. These limitations are not incorporated in the treaty and need to be included in an official policy, which has not been implemented to date.

Minister Duncan had ordered extensive research on the matter, which had taken quite some time. This study was nearing completion, it was said.

Seeing that the general policy had not been established yet, it was by no means certain whether litigants, considering their specific circumstances, would qualify for admission by law, it was stated.

The minister’s time was up, Judge René van Veen said in dismissing the minister’s request to postpone a decision in this case. “The friendship treaty is more than 50 years old, and the defendant already had fifty years to implement regulations,” the judge said.

The 1956 Treaty of Friendship, Trade and Shipping between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States stipulates that Americans are to be submitted to the same rules as European Dutch.

In the LTU it is stated that European Dutch will be admitted if they can provide a declaration of good conduct and have housing and sufficient income. The LTU allows a Dutch national to stay in St. Maarten as a tourist for six months. If he/she is going to work on the island or if he/she wants to stay longer than six months, he/she needs to apply for a Declaration of Admission. Contrary to other nationals, Dutch citizens may await the approval of such declaration on the island. He/she is also allowed to work during that time.

Article 2 (i) of the US-Dutch Friendship Treaty states that nationals of either party are permitted to enter the territories of the other party and to remain therein for the purpose of trade between the territories and to engage in related commercial activities, as well as for the purposes of developing and leading the operations of a company in which they have invested a substantial amount, and for other purposes subject to the laws in connection with the admission and residence of foreigners.

In Article 3 of the treaty it is specifically mentioned that, in any part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, US nationals should receive the same treatment as Dutch nationals who are not born in that part of the Kingdom.

In different cases, the Court of First Instance of Aruba, as well as the Court in The Hague and the High Council had all ruled in favour of the treaty’s applicability.

In Perez’s case, Judge van Veen declared the minister’s previous decision null and void, because it was in conflict with the friendship treaty and insufficiently motivated.

The minister was ordered to make a new decision within five weeks. The minister will have to pay a penalty of NAf. 200 per day, with a maximum of NAf. 20,000, in case of non-compliance.

Controleurs Volksgezondheid ingezworen als buitengewoon agent van politie op St. Maarten

ZATERDAG, 08 SEPTEMBER 2012

PHILIPSBURG — Acht controleurs van de Inspectie Volksgezondheid, Sociale Ontwikkeling en Arbeid (VSA Inspectie) legden hun ambtseed als buitengewoon agent van politie af tegenover minister van Justitie Roland Duncan. Na de ontmanteling van de Nederlandse Antillen op 10 oktober 2010 werd het nieuwe land St. Maarten verantwoordelijk voor de eigen wetgeving en wetshandhaving. St. Maarten moest zijn eigen officiële toezicht en controlerende organen op elk gebied introduceren. De Inspectie treedt ook op als adviseur van de minister van VSA en diensten die onder dit ministerie vallen. De Inspectie VSA staat onder leiding van algemeen inspecteur dr. Earl Best.

Nieuwe LTU St. Maarten in werking

18 AUGUSTUS 2012

PHILIPSBURG – De nieuwe Landsverordening Toelating en Uitzetting (LTU) is in St. Maarten in werking getreden, hoewel de wet in de beginfase niet geheel tot uitcoering wordt gebracht.

AD 18.08.12

St. Maarten draft 2013 budget nears completion – Some ministries are already over budget

POSTED: 08/16/12

St. Maarten – Preparations for the draft 2013 budget are moving ahead but according to Finance Minister Roland Tuitt some ministries in presenting their projected expenditures have already exceeded the limit. In order to meet the September 1 deadline, Tuitt said that he plans to meet with all of the ministries before the week is out to assist them in reviewing their projections before they submit a final report to be included in the draft budget.

“We have some problems with them because they are over the budget that we have stipulated.”

The Ministry of Justice was identified as one of the Ministries with issues now. Justice Minister Roland Duncan has already indicated that he plans to find alternative sources of revenue for the effective functioning of his Ministry, such as implementing temporary and permanent residence permit fees.

However, with the absence of subsidies from the Netherlands, Country Sint Maarten now has to take care of its own business, Tuitt stated.

“They (Ministry of Justice) have gotten certain monies from Holland and that has decreased their budget but now those monies are no longer available so the government of St.Maarten will have to carry all of those costs. That is why you will see that in some ministries the expenditures are higher in 2012 but in reality they are not higher, it is just that they were subsidized by other funds.”

Cft Report

Wednesday August 15 also marked the deadline for St.Maarten to present its bi-annual report to the Cft. The draft was already available, Tuitt, said however it still had not been handled in the Council of Ministers (CoM) up to yesterday. He anticipated that he may be brought up in today’s CoM meeting.

He said that the possibility existed that the draft could have been sent to the Cft on Wednesday “but if we are late, then we will be one day over the deadline and I don’t think that is a crime,” Tuitt remarked.

Interpol lauds St. Maarten’s devotion to international law enforcement

THURSDAY, 12 JULY 2012

~ During Arrindell’s, Duncan’s visit to Interpol HQ ~

LYON– Interpol Secretary-General Ronald K. Noble has lauded St. Maarten’s commitment to international law enforcement cooperation and has pointed out that St. Maarten has much to contribute to the global policing community.
“I have seen firsthand how St. Maarten’s leadership is committed to its police receiving the necessary support, training and resources to confront existing and emerging crime threats worldwide,” Noble was quoted as saying when he met with President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell and Minister of Justice Roland Duncan at Interpol Headquarters in Lyon, France, on Monday.

Noble, who visited St. Maarten in April, noted that St. Maarten was a holiday destination for people who visited from all over the world every year and said Interpol looked forward to continuing to work closely with St. Maarten’s authorities to ensure that St. Maarten “remains safe for both citizens and visitors alike.”

Arrindell and Duncan met with Noble at the world police body’s General Secretariat headquarters as part of mutual efforts to promote global law enforcement collaboration.

According to a press release issued by Interpol, high on the agenda during the visit was Interpol’s role in supporting and connecting police in St. Maarten with the organisation’s global tools and services, including its Stolen and Lost Travel Document database containing almost 33 million items from more than 160 countries.

In this respect, Arrindell hailed the connection of St. Maarten’s airport and seaport to Interpol’s databases via mobile or fixed access provided by Interpol’s MIND/FIND technology.

Noting that St. Maarten is a key holiday destination for close to two million visitors a year, Arrindell said, “Screening cruise-ship manifests and air arrivals against Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Document database will keep citizens and visitors in St. Maarten safer than they would otherwise be and will therefore strengthen the country’s reputation for being a safe and secure tourist destination.”
She said existing and emerging threats such as human- and drug-trafficking, the illicit trade in firearms, money-laundering, corruption and cyber-crime also had topped the agenda during the visit.

Duncan underlined the need for Interpol and St. Maarten to further extend Interpol’s resources to all law enforcement components in the country.

“It is absolutely essential that all of St. Maarten’s law enforcement authorities gain access to Interpol’s global tools and services so as to establish seamless coordination and cooperation between them and with Interpol’s global network. This will enhance information exchange and the capacity of our law enforcement officers to address crime,” he said.
In a press release issued Wednesday by the Press Secretary of Parliament, Arrindell was reported as saying that the working visit certainly had emphasised the need to stay on course and follow up with the action plans as discussed at the seminar held in St. Maarten earlier this year.

She said the opportunities for mutual beneficial cooperation between Interpol, an effectively-managed global entity, and St. Maarten were clear and “it’s up to us as a country to step up to the plate and do our share to the benefit of our citizens and visitors alike.”

Arrindell thanked Noble for his vision and continued support in St. Maarten’s endeavours.

The St. Maarten delegation’s programme included presentations by several key management staff of Interpol, including what Arrindell said had been excellent overviews of present and near future action plans of Interpol provided by Executive Director of Police Services Jean-Michel Louboutin, Sub-Directorate for America Assistant Director Rosinete de Santana Barbosa, and Interpol Global Complex for Innovation Executive Director Noboru Nakatani.

The St. Maarten delegation also visited and received a presentation about the Command and Coordination Centre by its Assistant Director Emanuel Leclaire.

‘Border control’ to now be separate from police on St. Maarten

MONDAY, 09 JULY 2012

PHILIPSBURG–The Border Patrol/Immigration Department will now by separate from the Police Department, Justice Minister Roland Duncan said at an information session on the far-reaching changes to the country’s admittance and expulsion regulations LTU on Friday. He noted that the only thing the immigration department has in common with the police is that the Police Chief heads both sections.

The minister told the gathering of immigration and other justice personnel at Belair Community Centre that this was the administration structure he met when taking office in October 10, 2010. It’s based on an organisational decree. “I met it so.”

Immigration and border patrol will now fall under the Immigration and Naturalisation Department (IND) headquartered on A.Th. Illidge Road, where the justice minister’s office is also located.

The immigration and border patrol stationed at Princess Juliana International Airport and Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities will also be equipped with specialised vehicles for patrols. These vehicles will all be marked with “Immigration” to make them easily identifiable.

The task of the immigration and border patrol officers will be to check people’s immigration status and to detain undocumented people for deportation pending the completion of the necessary legal steps.

Immigrants will soon be easily identified with the planned introduction of a foreigner ID card. That card will replace the need for immigrants to have their residence permit document on them. Funds are already in place to start production of the card. Also to come is the implementation of an annual fee for holders of temporary and permanent residence permits.
Listing the duties of the IND and by extension the immigration and border patrol, Duncan said the department is responsible for visa execution (vetting visa applications for the country prior to issuance by the Dutch embassies), supervision and control of undocumented people, overseeing the naturalisation policy which has to be regulated together with the Governor’s Cabinet, combat human trafficking and render legal assistance to the justice minister in court cases.

The expansion of service by the Justice Minister and additional responsibilities of IND, such as the patrols, will be covered by the introduction of several fees for services by the ministry; many services such as provision of police records are subject to stamp duty fees.

Duncan told personnel that charging fees goes hand in hand with providing good and efficient service for the public. He added that the service at IND has greatly improved, but there is still a way to go. He said he has received positive comments about the improvement of service by IND.

Sweeping changes made to admissions, expulsion policy St. Maarten

SATURDAY, 07 JULY 2012

~ May become effective August 1 ~

BELAIR–Several aspects of the country’s admissions and expulsion policy LTU have been revised. These include a halving of the length of time needed to acquire permanent residence, the acceptance once again of “concubine contracts” and the placing of greater importance on “family life.” The changes are set tentatively to become effective August 1.
Justice Minister Roland Duncan outlined the policy changes in a session for his ministry and representatives of other government departments in Belair Community Centre on Friday.

Staffers expressed their need for training sessions to better grasp the new guidelines and, according to Immigration and Naturalisation Department Head Udo Aron, such sessions will be organised. Under the new policy, a foreigner can apply for permanent residence after five years – a change from the present 10-year period. Duncan called the current situation a “misnomer,” because it takes five consecutive years of legal residence permits to become eligible to apply for Dutch nationality.

While the regulations to obtain permanent residence have been shortened, a yearly fee will be introduced for holders of temporary and permanent residence permits. The fees have not yet been established, so no figure was given at the session.

The minister hopes to have the ordinance detailing the residence permit fees and several other fees approved by Parliament by year’s end. This will bring to an end the “freeness of service” the justice ministry provides to the community.

The new regulations “shift the focus” to attracting people with skills the country needs or those who can assist with growth.

A special identification card for foreigners will be introduced. This will help with better identification and eliminate the need for foreigners residing here always to carry their residence documents. Funds are already in place for the issuance of the cards.

Some 20 per cent of all types of residence applications are first-time ones; the remainder are renewals. Aron said the first quarter of this year hadn’t seen a big influx of people compared to 2011.

The majority of applications are for “family unification” and the second largest batch are for labour, Aron added.
By law, the ministry has four months in which to process an application for residence or give an answer to the applicant. In the first quarter, most of the applications were handled in two months.

Investor permit
A new “investor’s residence permit” will be introduced. This will target people making an investment of NAf. 900,000/US $500,000 in property or other assets, but not intending to work in the country. This is different from the residence permit tied to business owners/directors.

The United States has a similar policy. Investors putting the same amount as outlined in the new policy are entitled to a “green card” in three years and citizenship in five years. Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba also have a similar system, while St. Kitts and Nevis offers investors citizenship.

A “student residence permit” also will be introduced to make the process less complicated for tertiary institutions University of St. Martin (USM) and American University of the Caribbean (AUC) to attract students.

Concerning the Dutch/US Friendship Treaty, Duncan said US citizens could not be treated the same as other foreigners. Their applications will be checked to ensure they comply with the protocol attached to the treaty that grants US citizens the same rights as European Dutch citizens. However, the application of the treaty will lead to a call for “reciprocity” from the US for St. Maarten people who want to live in the US.

Family life
Forming a family should be stronger grounds for residence than just money, Duncan said, expressing his disagreement with the current policy that requires foreigners to have a certain income to be able to unite with their family or to register an additional child.

The minimum income per month has been set at NAf. 2,000 for people applying for family unification. Other aspects of the living arrangements will be checked by the Immigration and Naturalisation Department (IND).

He gave an example of the current policy: not granting s residence permit to a child born here if a family grows, but their income determines that a permit cannot be given. He said parents would rather eat less than see their children starve.
Children born here of foreign parents will become eligible for permanent residence at age 16, while those not born here but who were raised here for at least five years will be eligible at age 18. This approach will help to stem the “brain drain” from the country.

“We are not going to train and educate people … then at the end chase them,” Duncan said.
IND will have to make all the necessary checks to ensure that a family life exists in all cases, that there is integration (ties to the country) and to see whether investments have been made here.

Concubine contract
The Justice Ministry will again accept the so-called concubine or partnership contract. This was not acknowledged for several years, because of abuse of the system. Duncan said he was aware that the partnership agreement would open a “Pandora’s Box” about acceptance of same-sex couples, but at present it applied to a contract between a man and a woman.

“We have people living together and it is not government’s duty to force people to get married to legalise their status.”
In the new policy, the contract will have to be signed and registered with government. IND will have the task of going to check whether the couple indeed are living together and if not, “to find them, lock them out and kick them out.”
The ministry currently has a case of men seeking to register as partners. A decision still has to be rendered in the case.

Deportation
The practice of keeping undocumented people locked up for a lengthy period of time will be halted. A person can be detained for only three days (three times 24 hours); an extension of that time can be based only on specific grounds.
A different process will be followed for repatriation by IND than the current one, in which detainees are passed on to the police and then repatriated. This will become the responsibility of the Border Patrol (Immigration team), which is to be separated from the police.

Tourist stays
Tourist stays for people resident in the Dutch Kingdom are six months with the possibility of an extension for another six months.

Citizens of the European Union, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan have the possibility to stay for three months with an extension of another three months.
All changes to the admission and regulation policy were discussed in the Council of Ministers. Duncan said his colleague ministers had urged him to move ahead with the changes.

POSTED: 07/9/12

St. Maarten – The majority of requests for residence permits in 2011 were linked to family unification and to the acquisition of employment permits. This is revealed by figures that Head of the Immigration and Naturalization Department Udo Aron presented recently. The third most stated reason is requests for permanent residence.
“Roughly 20 percent of all applications in 2011 were new requests and just under 80 percent is renewals. This shows that there is a stable influx. Most of the requests are for family reunification, followed by requests linked to a person’s employment,” Aron said.

According to Aron’s figures 2, 646 people applied for a permit for a family member in the year 2011. That’s 32 percent of all applications. In the first quarter of 2012 there were already 723 applications for family reunification.
Some 2, 243 people applied for residence permits in 2012 as part of the process to obtain a work permit. They constitute 27 percent of the total applicants for that entire year. In the first quarter of 2012 there have already been 401 requests linked to applications for employment permits.

Some 1, 151 people applied for permanent residence in 2011. They are 14 percent of all applications submitted. By the end of the first quarter of 2012 some 299 applications for permanent residence had been submitted.
The remaining categories of requests do not come above the figure of 800. The closest category is applications for short stays (797), requests for a director’s license (536) and extension after five years of employment (535). In the first quarter of 2012 the figures show 178 applications for short stays, 107 applications for director’s licenses and 153 requests for after five years of employment.

Some 137 foreign pensioners filed for permits to reside here, 110 people filed requests related to naturalization and 105 people used other unspecified services. The figures in these categories for the first quarter of 2012 are 41 for pensioners who wish to reside here, 208 requests for naturalization and 33 requests for other unspecified services.
The absolute total number of requests in 2011 was 8, 260 and the absolute total number of requests in the first quarter of 2012 was 2, 143.

Extensions
Aron’s figures also show that the vast majority of requests that the Department of Immigration and Naturalization got in 2011 was for renewals of existing permits (5, 911). The second largest category was first requests (1,798). The department also handled 438 requests for application of the law on guardianship and 113 requests for changes in a person’s permit.

Improved processing time
The Immigration and Naturalization Department is also getting better at how fast it processes requests. By the end of the first quarter of 2012 it had handled 69.5 percent of submitted requests within two months. It has also handled 22.8 percent of the requests within one month. The figures for applications submitted in the fourth quarter of 2011 are less rosy. Only 9.6 percent of those applications were handled within a month, 17 percent were handled within two months, 23. 5 percent was handled in three months and 31.3 percent were finalized four months after they were submitted. There was no data in Aron’s recent report on the status of the remaining 18.6 percent of applications submitted in the last quarter of 2011.

Justitieel Vierlanden Overleg Koninkrijk van start op Aruba

DINSDAG, 19 JUNI 2012

ORANJESTAD — De Justitie-ministers Arthur Dowers uit Aruba, Elmer Wilsoe uit Curaçao, Roland Duncan uit St. Maarten en Ivo Opstelten uit Nederland komen vandaag bij elkaar voor het Justitieel Vierlanden Overleg. Tijdens dit overleg spreken de ministers elkaar onder meer over justitiële aangelegenheden binnen het Koninkrijk. Zo werd begin dit jaar, tijdens eenzelfde overleg in Curaçao gesproken over samenwerking en de inzet van de Koninklijke Marechaussee. Ook uitwisseling van informatie door meer en beter gebruik te maken van ICT oplossingen kwam aan bod. Tenslotte werd Wim van Vemde benoemd tot teamchef van het Recherche Samenwerkingsteam (RST), een team met ervaren politieagenten uit alle delen van het Koninkrijk, dat lokale korpsen ondersteuning kan bieden bij bepaalde ernstige of complexe zaken. Wegens ziekte was minister Duncan vorige keer niet aanwezig bij het overleg.

20 JUNI 2012

AD 20.06.12 I

Judge rules in favor of inmates on St. Maarten, parliament requests meeting with minister Duncan on prison issues

MONDAY, 18 JUNE 2012

PHILIPSBURG–The United People’s (UP) party fraction in Parliament has requested an “urgent” Central Committee meeting with Justice Minister Roland Duncan about the “recurring prison fracas.”

The request for the meeting was submitted on June 11 and it should be called by President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell (UP) in the coming days. It was signed by UP Members of Parliament (MPs) Silvia Meyers-Olivacce, Johan “Janchi” Leonard, Dr. Ruth Douglass and Jules James.

The UP members also want Duncan to provide information about the continued protests by Pointe Blanche House of Detention inmates that have grown into a court case.

Judge C.T.M. Luijks ruled in favour of the Inmates Association on June 11, in its lawsuit filed against country St. Maarten. The association, represented by lawyer Shaira Bommel, had demanded that inmates who had been removed from the facility in Pointe Blanche to holding cells in the Philipsburg police station be returned to the Pointe Blanche prison.
It also had demanded that the court deny country St. Maarten’s request to forbid the association from organising future strikes.

Judge Luijks ruled that the inmates be returned to the Pointe Blanche prison within two hours after the service of his judgement; that they be returned their rights to receive visitors; and that three meals per day be provided to them. If his ruling is not implemented, country St. Maarten will be fined NAf. 1,000 for every day, to a maximum of NAf. 250,000. Several other monetary penalties were levied against government. Government is appealing the verdict.
Duncan had told MPs during the Parliament meeting dealing with the Penal Code in May that he wanted to have a separate meeting with them to report on the so-called riots staged by the prisoners.

Introductie elektronisch financieel rapportagesysteem op St. Maarten

DINSDAG, 05 JUNI 2012

PHILIPSBURG — St. Maarten heeft een nieuwe mijlpaal bereikt in de strijd tegen criminaliteit in de financiële sector en de integriteit van de financiële wereld veilig gesteld met de introductie van de Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), een online rapportagesysteem. De officiële lancering vond plaats bij Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort op vrijdag 1 juni.

Minister van Justitie Roland Duncan en de vertegenwoordiger van het Nederlandse financieringsinstituut Usona, Angela Dekker, waren aanwezig tijdens de presentatie. Usona financiert het FIU-project.

Dit elektronische rapportagesysteem doet dienst als een ‘nationaal centrum voor aanname, aanvraag, analyse en verspreiding van rapporten over verdachte transacties en andere informatie over mogelijke witwaspraktijken of financiering van terrorisme’, zoals de website aangeeft.

De officiële website stelt formulieren voor ongebruikelijke transacties beschikbaar, zodat vertegenwoordigers van de sector informatie kunnen verschaffen over onder andere de vorm van een transactie, het bedrag en andere bijzonderheden. De beroepsgroepen die meldplichtig zijn, zijn de Douane, investeringsdeskundigen, casino’s, loterijverkooppunten en credit card-bedrijven.

De officiële lancering was het gevolg van een Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), dat door de minister in mei 2011 in Honduras werd ondertekend en de mogelijkheid schiep voor aansluiting van St. Maarten bij de Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), de organisatie die verantwoordelijk is voor FIU. Bij de lancering stelde Duncan dat het ministerie blij was dat ‘wij tot nu toe functioneren’.

Het systeem werd eerst op St. Maarten getest door verschillende banken. Casino’s en andere beroepsgroepen zullen ook gebruik gaan maken van dit instrument.

Introduction of bail eyed as part of conditional release in new penal code St. Maarten

FRIDAY, 13 APRIL 2012

PHILIPSBURG–The introduction of bail as part of the conditional release of suspects to reduce flight risk has been suggested to parliament by Justice Minister Roland Duncan in “a note of change” submitted to Parliament as part of the review of the Penal Code.

The Central Committee of Parliament continued deliberations on the code Thursday. The modernization of the code has been pending since the days of the Netherlands Antilles. Parliament has been perusing the amendments to the code since mid 2011.

Explaining his reason for wanting to institute a bail system, Duncan told Members of Parliament (MPs) there is nothing to stop a suspect from fleeing off island or even to the French side when released. No treaty for the monitoring of suspects on conditional release is in place with the French side. For that reason also, several prisoners with French nationality or residence serving sentences in Pointe Blanche are not coming into consideration for early release, Duncan said.

With the bail system, a financial loss will be attached to the suspect/prisoner not turning up for hearing or community service. While tagging a financial loss will not solve the problem of suspects/prisoners fleeing the island, it would help the situation, the minister said.

Another note of change submitted for Parliament’s consideration is Duncan’s request to not make early release automatic by keeping the present system where early release is at the discretion of the minister on a case by case basis.

The revised Penal Code calls for automatic early release of all prisoners. Duncan pointed out that The Netherlands is seeking to implement the same system as is currently in place here. “If you do the crime, you have to do the time.”

The New Penal Code while “ambitious” has some draw backs because the Justice Ministry can’t “financially and physically” meet some requirements of several articles at this time, Duncan reiterated to MPs. These are related to Article 17, and requires that a judicial institution be established for treatment of mentally ill criminals and Article 83 for a youth supervision facility. Both institutions require special facilities and trained personnel.

Duncan recommended that the two articles be kept in the Penal Code and a note be added stating that these will be implemented at a later date. Aruba has kept in the two articles in its Penal Code with a similar note.

A plan is already in the works for the youth facility. This is connected to the acquisition of “The Box” in Cay Hill.

Duncan and his fellow Justice Ministers of Aruba and Curaçao have explored joint or shared services centred in Curaçao. This is not seen as a viable option for St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius because of the distance between here and Curaçao and difference in culture.

Abortion

The revised code prohibits anyone from assisting in an abortion and euthanasia. Duncan, as has been stated before, wants to allow these two procedures with strict conditions to regulate an already occurring practice, especially related to abortions. A note of change to the code that will allow these procedures will be submitted by the minister.

“As a modern society, we need to do it,” Duncan said, adding that abortion is legal on the French side and women who need one can simply cross the border. He added that while he “recognises the religious and moral issues,” MPs need to deal with modernizing the law.

Abortions need to be allowed in special cases such as when there is a danger to the mother’s life, a pregnancy due to incest or rape, he noted. By allowing the procedure under strict conditions, the minister said the issue of abortions being performed very late into the pregnancy will also be addressed.

Several MPs called for the two subjects to be discussed behind closed doors before going to the public for input. They raised concerns about the proper monitoring of the women going for abortions, the need for counselling and putting a limit on the number of abortions a woman can have.

Illegals and tourists

The draft Penal Code also regulates that foreign prisoners who are in the country illegally with a sentence of five or more years must complete their sentence. Duncan said this would send a strong message to any criminal who believes that they can come into the country, commit crimes and get lenient sentences. “I recognise we have a cell problem, but I don’t want St. Maarten to become a revolving door [for criminals].” The Netherlands is also considering the same approach.

Dealing with the need to assign additional punishment for crimes against a tourist/visitor, Duncan said this is “a bona fide move to protect our economy. It is not an attempt to put tourists above anyone else.” He pointed out that there are already articles in the Criminal Code that prescribes extra punishment for crimes against the queen, governor, a parent who hits a child or an abusive spouse.

Cockfighting

On the issue of animal “sports” such as cockfighting, Duncan wants to see Parliament allow it with permits and proper rules. “We have to face the circumstances and deal with it” considering that cock fighting is legal on the French side.

The stance of outlawing cockfighting and other such sports by the animal welfare groups is “highly appreciated” by the minister. However, he added that they “must not only say no, no, no, but come up with guidelines to regulate it.” He urged MPs to see if there is a need to regulate animal sports or to keep it outlawed.