Two Members of Parliament asked this week for my opinion about reparation – financial compensation for the sufferings Caribbean ancestors had to endure during the slavery era. I do not consider myself a Dutchman, even though I have a Dutch passp
The story about the girl-fight on our front page today reveals a weakness in the judicial system – one that could have dire consequences one way or the other. Given the sequence of events described in the story it is clear that the two girls wil
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on No growth in number of visitors to the Caribbean
FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique — The number of travelers visiting the Caribbean from January through July was flat from a year earlier at 15.6 million, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Figures were released at CTO's State of the Indu
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on Plasterk: “Gay rights are respected in Curacao”
THE HAGUE – According to Kingdom Relations Minister /Ronald Plasterk there are no indications “that the rights of homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders are not respected in Curacao.” The minister writes this in answer to questions f
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on Ugly girl-fight gets out of control
Victim’s attorney demands suspect’s immediate arrest St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – The mother finally decided to go to the media with the story about the feud between her now 22-year old daughter and a former housemate. It is a story abou
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on 45 Candidates for Crystal Pineapple Awards
St. Maarten – There are 45 candidates in twelve different categories vying this year for a Crystal Pineapple Award. The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association SHTA organizes the event for the eighth time. Like last year, the ceremony will ta
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on Guyana threatens to sue Bibi Shaw over allegations
“Accusations are totally unfounded” GEORGETOWN, Guyana – According to the Demerara Waves Online News site, the Guyanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday denied irregularities during the provision of consular services to Guyanese nation
The country is bracing for the austerity measures that will come with the draft 2014 budget. The message from both Finance Minister Martin Hassink and financial supervisor Cft is clear: budget with caution, do not spend more than you get in, and cap
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on St. Maarten Government goes after road tax defaulters
Intensive controls begin November 15 St. Maarten – So far, one out of seven motorists – approximately 3,600 – have not paid their road tax for 2013, leaving the government 1.5 million guilders short of expected revenue from this source. Fina
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on St. Maarten Finance Minister announces “drastic cost saving measures”
Budget 2014 limited to 420 million guilders St. Maarten – Finance Minister Hassink and the Board for financial supervision (Cft) both commented on the draft 2014 budget yesterday. Hassink will take the Cft’s message to heart and budget with caut
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
St. Maarten – Parliament yesterday resolved in a motion “to strongly condemn the actions taken by the management of RBC Bank.” In special session of parliament, the recent actions of the bank were roundly condemned by all factions present. Pres
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on Three Dutch persons added to committee investigating St. Maarten Govt.’s integrity and corruption
St. Maarten – Rieke Samson-Geerlings, Ronald Bandell and Erik van den Eemster have been appointed to the committee that will investigate integrity and corruption in St. Maarten. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams revealed the names at yesterday�
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 31, 2013
Comments Off on St. Maarten Police make agreement with bus drivers
St. Maarten - On Tuesday, the St. Maarten Police department headed by Inspector Benjamin Gout (head of the traffic department) and bus drivers met at the Philipsburg police station to continue talks that started on October 22 about the end of the yea
St. Maarten’s member of the settlement committee had some sobering news for members of the Central Committee yesterday. While parliamentarians wonder why the whole process of dividing the assets and liabilities of the former Netherlands Antilles
The draft legislation designed to up the room tax for stay-over visitors seems to be long overdue. It will still take some time before any change to this legislation will go into effect and we are looking forward to a healthy discussion about this is
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 29, 2013
St. Maarten – Prof. mr. Hans de Doelder presented yesterday morning the first copy of the draft code of criminal procedures to Justice Minister Dennis Richardson at the Justice Ministry on Illidge Road. The draft law is a modernized version of the
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 29, 2013
St. Maarten – United People’s party MPs Johan Leonard, Jules James and Sylvia Olivacce-Meyers have submitted their amended draft law to amend the ordinance on tax for stay-over visitors to the Secretary General of Parliament, Jozef Semeleer. The
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 29, 2013
Comments Off on University and library sign agreement
St. Maarten - The President of the University of St. Martin (USM), Annelies Oliver-Van den Assem and Director of Philipsburg Jubilee Library (PJ) Monique Alberts signed a Service Labor Agreement (SLA). This SLA is an important step forward in the i
Matthijs Voortman’s interview with convicted killer Joran van der Sloot sheds at last some light on the personality of the man who singlehandedly dealt a heavy blow to Aruba’s image in the world, and who caused immeasurable sorrow to the families
Dear Members of Parliament, Soualiga Social Movement took notice of the Unicef report on Children in the Dutch Caribbean and more specifically The Situation of Children and Adolescents in Sint Maarten: key findings and recommendations that was pub
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 28, 2013
Comments Off on Creativity sparkles at fashion week
Young models show the work of different designers and their own talents. Photos Today / Milton PietersSt. Maarten - When it comes to fashion, age is just another number. The designers behind the array of fashionable lines of clothing are of vital
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 28, 2013
Comments Off on Curacao wants to keep SXM in monetary union
WILLEMSTAD – “I have to establish that St. Maarten substantially contributes to the foreign exchange and that we therefore have to handle two monetary unions with great care,” Curacao’s Minister of Economic Development Stanley Palm said on Fr
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 28, 2013
Comments Off on Joran van der Sloot interview “I am sick of myself”
LIMA – Joran van der Sloot manages – again – to capture the attention of the media, this time through an interview with TV-station RTL’s senior editor Matthijs Voortman. The Antilliaans Dagblad published the story on Saturday. Van der Sloot s
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 28, 2013
Comments Off on St. Lucians keep traditions alive
St. Maarten - When it comes to maintaining their cultural heritage, St. Lucians are among the many that make it their duty to observe those traditions. For the fifth straight year the parking lot at the Inspections Office was the center of attention
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 28, 2013
Comments Off on Fundraising Halloween party at the zoo
GREAT BAY – The St. Maarten zoo on Arch Road is celebrating Halloween this upcoming Friday with its second Boo at the Zoo party. The zoo asks children to put on their favorite costumes “and join us for a creepy, crawly celebration.” There wi
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 28, 2013
Comments Off on Inspectorate wants study into fish mortality causes
Vromi-Ministry employees cleared away hundreds of dead fish last Wednesday. Photo Today / Milton PietersSt. Maarten -Last week’s massive fish die off in sections of the Great Salt Pond especially in the area close to Firgos Paper on the Illidge
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 28, 2013
Comments Off on Minister Lake visits Cay Hill shantytown
Minister Maurice Lake (third from left) with Cay Hill Community Council reps, the community police officer, residents and Vromi-Ministry employees come down the hill after visiting the hillside shantytown. DCOMM PhotoSt. Maarten – Vromi-Ministe
Now it turns out that Verene Shepherd, a Jamaican Professor in Social History, has spoken on behalf of the United Nations while she has no right to do so. She is a volunteer who does not get paid by the UN and she speaks for her own account, United N
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 25, 2013
Comments Off on PM about campaign reform: “97 Percent Richardson-motion is already regulated by law”
St. Maarten – The issues independent parliamentarian Frans Richardson raised in a motion about electoral reform in April “are for 97 percent already regulated by law,” Prime Minister Wescot-Williams said on Wednesday. The PM said that she wo
If the statement by Prime Minister Wescot-Williams that 97 percent of the issues independent MP Frans Richardson mentions in his motion for campaign reform is already regulated by law is true, it is indeed time for an awareness campaign. Such a ca
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 25, 2013
Comments Off on Dutch blockade on cooperation lifted
St. Maarten – The Dutch government ordered a blockade on cooperation with Sint Maarten for all ministries earlier this year, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said on Wednesday, adding that the blockade had to do with the fact that St. Maarten h
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 25, 2013
Comments Off on Information request about integrity-royal decree – Council of State reaction could take three months
THE HAGUE / St. Maarten – The request by Minister Plenipotentiary Mathias Voges to the Advice Department of the Council of State for information about the royal decree that instructs Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday to commission an integrity investig
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 25, 2013
Comments Off on Appeals Court confirms rape-conviction
St. Maarten – Nothing changed in the sentence Emanuel Velasquez, 33, received in the Court in First Instance on September 5 of last year for raping an illegal woman in the night from December 30 to 31, 2009, at the Travel Inn in Simpson Bay. The Co
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 25, 2013
Comments Off on St. Maarten’s Prime Minister wants to merge two integrity investigations
St. Maarten –The integrity investigation Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday has been instructed to conduct and the investigation by a committee led by Justice Bob Wit should be merged into a single effort. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams hinted at
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on October 25, 2013
Comments Off on “Conflict of Interest” – SMMTA: SLAC should be separated from Harbor Group
St. Maarten – President of the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association (SMMTA) Brian Deher said in a presentation to the Central Committee of Parliament yesterday that the Harbor Group of Companies, which owns the Simpson bay Lagoon Authority Corpora
