PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten will fiercely contest the Bosman Law announced Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing. The Bosman Law deals with the admittance and expulsion of people of Afro-Caribbean descent. Minister Richardson said St. Maarten will invoke article (11-6) of the Kingdom Charter. He said that article states that when any law that would impact the countries in the Kingdom is being passed those countries can contest the law and that would bring the law into discussion in the Kingdom Council. He said when that is done then the matter (law) would have to be discussed in the Kingdom Council of Ministers and the Council of State would have to render an advice. Richardson further explained that the Bosman Law can be considered a national law and since that is the case then it has to be discussed in the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
Minister Richardson did not mingle with words when he said that the law is discriminatory and it is aiming at people of color living in the countries Curacao, St. Maarten, and Aruba. He said he is currently working on a position paper where they will attack every article in the law. "St. Maarten rejects this law and we will fight it to the very end."
The Minister of Justice of St. Maarten also stated that St. Maarten will seek cooperation from Curacao and Aruba in contesting this law because it also affects them. Richardson said that the Government of St. Maarten is somewhat surprised by Bosman's actions because this comes in the same year when the late Nelson Mandela was lauded for his efforts and fight against discrimination and now the Netherlands is trying to impose a law that has outright discriminatory implications against people of color. "This is a shame to the country and the Kingdom. This law does not meet the test as I far as I am concerned because it has no basis." Minister Richardson said that while Bosman is saying the law is not discriminatory, he knows for a fact that the people that will be affected by this law are of Afro-Caribbean descent.
Another point the Minister of Justice tackled is the argument Bosman used which is, "that people from the Caribbean do not contribute to the social system". The Minister of Justice said this is another false argument and people need to know the history of the Netherlands and how they attained their wealth.
St. Maarten Requested Technical Assistance for the Prosecutor's Office Twice --- Denied Once by the Netherlands.
The Minister of Justice further explained that St. Maarten submitted a second request to the Netherlands requesting technical assistance for the Prosecutor's Office and other justice departments. Minister Richardson said the first request which was submitted by the former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan was denied but when he took office last year he submitted a second request in late 2013. When asked why St. Maarten took this long to request support because of the number of cases that are stacked up and are not being prosecuted, Minister Richardson said he is only responsible for the time that he is in office but made clear that a request was submitted before by the former Minister of Justice and it was denied. He said that prosecuting cases is not just about having sufficient prosecutors but it's also about doing proper investigation.
The Minister of Justice said that the Prosecutor's Office on St. Maarten has five prosecutors and to him that is enough but if it turns out that it is not sufficient then St. Maarten will do what is necessary to get more prosecutors. The Minister of Justice further stated that the request they submitted is specifically for the Prosecutor's Office and if granted it will assist greatly. He also requested assistance for the Landsrecherche and he is hoping that the Minister of Security and Justice of the Netherlands will respond to St. Maarten's request in a positive way since his colleagues are on his back.