Philipsburg:--- Leader of the National Alliance and Deputy Prime Minister of St. Maarten William Marlin announced on Wednesday that four Ministers namely Roland Tuitt, Silveria Jacobs, Romeo Pantophlet, and William Marlin have submitted their resignation to the Governor of St. Maarten on Tuesday evening. Marlin said the Ministers took the decision prior to him speaking to the nation on Tuesday but they only submitted their resignation on Tuesday evening. The NA leader said that they have not given up the fight but have chosen not to continue with the polarizing of the island and not to incite violence.
On Wednesday morning the Governor drs. Eugene Holiday sent out a press release stating that the four Ministers representing the National Alliance submitted their resignation. The Minister of Justice Roland Duncan already submitted his resignation and has since been discharged from office. It is not yet known if the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams and Minister Cornelius de Weever submitted their resignations or if the Governor asked the Prime Minister to submit their resignations since it's the Wescot Williams II Cabinet that had to resign. The Prime Minister was called to the Governor's office on Wednesday morning but up to press time she did not make any statements.
Marlin told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that while the four Ministers submitted their resignations they remain steadfast on the decision the five Ministers of the Council of Ministers took on May 7th, 2013 which is to dissolve the Parliament of St. Maarten and call for early elections. Marlin said the constitution of St. Maarten has several articles and right now the Prime Minister who is the chairman of the Council of Ministers is misusing her position by refusing to execute a decision taken by several Ministers. Marlin made clear that no Minister is above another which includes the Prime Minister. He said that while they have submitted their resignation that does not mean that they have given up the fight. However, the fight now remains with the people of St. Maarten who are the ones that elected politicians to office. "You the people have a right to sign the petitions and to make your voices be heard in order to get your wishes. As the leader of the National Alliance I can say we have done our part to get the Prime Minister to respect the constitution of St. Maarten and to carry out the decisions taken by the majority Ministers in the Council of Ministers. We have all taken an oath or made a promise to uphold the constitution of St. Maarten and no Minister is above any other Minister."
Marlin said in 2009 when St. Maarten fell in a political crisis he formed a coalition government with the leader of the United People's Party Theodore Heyliger and he worked very hard to ensure that the people of St. Maarten got what they voted for in the year 2000 to become a country within the Kingdom. Marlin said Heyliger left the coalition he formed with him and went on the campaign trail while he and his team remained in office and worked for the people of St. Maarten. He said in 2010 the people of St. Maarten place their confidence in the National Alliance when they gave them three seats in the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles and seven seats in the elections in September 2010, but those that received less votes and seats decided to form a government and excluded the National Alliance. Marlin said in 2010 he did not say anything because he believes in democracy but one year later the UP/DP/Illidge coalition failed. He stepped in and formed a coalition in order to work for the people of St. Maarten. During the formation of that government (NA/DP/I-3) the Democratic Party demanded that they get the seat of the Prime Minister. He said for him it was not about the seat he holds but it was about working for the people of St. Maarten and clearly the Prime Minister who got a vote of no confidence twice from the people of St. Maarten in 2010 decided that she will misuse her power and the trust the coalition partners vested in her.
The National Alliance leader said that at that time St. Maarten was a young country and what has happened now is far different from what took place in 2012. "Today we have the Bada Bing tape, the allegations made by Independent Member Romaine Laville that the leader of the UP tried to bribe him twice, the complaints filed by MP Jules James against MP Laville, and the statements made by the strip club owner Jaap van den Huevel who said that Heyliger asked him to make the tapes in order to blackmail Illidge. Because of these developments the majority Ministers believe that it would be in the best interest of the people of St. Maarten to dissolve the Parliament of St. Maarten and call for early elections.
Marlin even referred to the statements made by Dutch MP Ronald van Raak who did not want St. Maarten to attain its country status because the Dutch are of the opinion that St. Maarten politicians were corrupt, there was too much nepotism and the abuse of power by politicians on St. Maarten. He said he stood up to the Dutch (van Raak) and defended St. Maarten and its people in order to obtain what the people voted for in 2000 during the referendum.
Marlin said that during the past two weeks St. Maarten was turned upside down with the political crisis. He further explained that someone from the community even suggested that the three political leaders should go before the constitutional court for them to arbitrate on the constitutional issues at hand in order to end the political crisis on the island. Marlin said when the person made the suggestion to him he immediately agreed to do that, but the leaders of the United People's Party and the Democratic Party turned the option down.
While there are talks and many believe that now that five of the seven Ministers have resigned that would pave the way for the eight members of parliament to take over and to install a new cabinet. The governor of St. Maarten still has to make the final call on whether or not he will accept what the Prime Minister did in the Council of Ministers regarding the decision taken by the five Ministers. So far the Governor of St. Maarten has not given any directives except to ask the politicians to follow the rules and constitution of St. Maarten.
Four Ministers Resign.
Harbour View:--- On May 21, 2013, the Ministers Mr. W. Marlin, Mr. R. Tuitt, Mrs. S. Jacobs, and Mr. R. Pantophlet submitted their letters of resignation to His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, as a result of the current political situation. The Governor has presented these letters to Prime Minister Mrs. S. Wescot Williams for further handling.
From the Governor's Cabinet
