Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) will discuss in an urgent plenary session of Parliament on Monday the Kingdom Council of Ministers' instruction to Governor Eugene Holiday to execute a thorough screening of candidate-ministers from the United People's (UP) party-led coalition.
The plenary session is set to start at 2:00pm. On the agenda is the instruction from Minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to Holiday "to postpone ratification of the country decree in the appointment of the Ministers and Prime Minister."
The meeting was requested by UP MPs Franklin Meyers, Silvio Matser and Tamara Leonard on Friday.
Meyers said the instruction was "yet another example of interference into St. Maarten's internal affairs. We keep hearing about a kingdom of equal partners, but Dutch MPs and ministers continue to have no respect for our autonomy gained four years ago."
He said the instruction proved that the Dutch government and MPs "still operate or believe that St. Maarten is a Dutch colony, rather than a partner, an equal partner that is, in the Kingdom."
According to the UP MPs, any political party or individual politician "who misguidedly feels that this interference by the Dutch government is to the benefit of the country should check their priorities and really decide if they have our country's best interest at heart," a press release said.
The public can watch the proceedings in person at the House of Parliament across from the Courthouse in Philipsburg. The session will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 120; Pearl Radio 98.1FM;
www.pearlfmradio.com and
www.sxmparliament.org .
