Justice, media law on
Parliament’s agenda
PHILIPSBURG--Justice and the draft media law will be two of the “hot potatoes” the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles will be discussing this coming week. All sessions will be held in St. Maarten.
The Central Committee of Parliament will be discussing the crime situation in St. Maarten with Justice Minister David Dick on Tuesday. The WODC report and what the Minister has been doing concretely to provide sufficient means to combat crime in St. Maarten will be topics of discussion.
St. Maarten has stated on numerous occasions that the justice chain on the island has been neglected. During the November 12 political consultation in Curaçao, St. Maarten, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles agreed on joint efforts to improve the justice chain in St. Maarten.
However, confusion reigned again on Tuesday when Dutch Minister of Internal Affairs Guusje ter Horst stated that she had never received a formal request to station Marechaussees in St. Maarten in an effort to help the police curb the alarming crime rate.
Her statement prompted Social Affairs Commissioner Louie Laveist to publicly state that, based on the Dutch Minister’s statement, he could only conclude that Dick had been lying to St Maarten.
The Central Committee of Parliament will also visit the Pointe Blanche prison on Tuesday to personally take note of the situation in the institution. The situation in prison has also led to tense situations.
The inmates have been on a strike and have taken the Central Government to court demanding equal treatment compared to inmates in Bon Futuro Prison in Curaçao. They want an increase in pay and rehabilitation programmes as well.
Prison guards too have been complaining for years that matters regarding their legal position, such as promotions and a new salary structure, are not being handled. The safety situation in prison and management of the institution have been points of concern for the unions representing the prison workers.
The Justice Committee of Parliament will be discussing the problem of car theft in St. Maarten with several stakeholders on Thursday. Police, insurance brokers, vehicle inspection, car dealers and St. Maarten Road Side Services have been invited to discuss this matter.
Regarding the draft media law, representatives of the media in the Windward Islands have been invited to discuss the law in Parliament on Wednesday. The St. Maarten Media Workers Association already discussed the draft law with Parliamentarians William Marlin and Erno Labega some weeks ago.
The dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles also will be discussed. Constitutional Affairs Minister Roland Duncan will be in a Central Committee meeting on Monday to give the latest update on this process.
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