Minister of Justice and Attorney General has difference of opinion on how RST detectives should work on St. Maarten.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson who reported to Parliament on Wednesday to continue answering questions posed to him by Members of Parliament on the protocol he signed with the Dutch government to establish an integrity chamber on St. Maarten.
Minister Richardson said he was not so concerned about the bold if not judgmental statements made by the Chief of Police of the Netherlands Mr. Bouman when he visited St. Maarten earlier this year. The Minister further told Parliament that he did not even question who sent Mr. Bouman to St. Maarten and on whose behalf he made the statements, rather he was much more concerned about the protocol he signed with the Dutch Government on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten.
Minister Richardson said that right now the Dutch Government did not fully remove the instruction they want to impose on St. Maarten from the table, however, they are not pushing the Council of State for permission to impose the instruction.
The Minister of Justice said discussions are still taking place and that no final decision has been reached at this moment.
On the issue regarding the 55 RST detectives that the Dutch Government wants to send to St. Maarten Minister Richardson said while the Dutch have their focus on “under-world- corruption” for him these law enforcement officers will be coming to St. Maarten to further strengthen the justice chain especially the Police Force. He said that he is currently in discussion with the Attorney General because he has a difference of opinion on how these detectives are allowed to work on St. Maarten. He said it stated in the Kingdom Consensus Law that RST detectives have to be sworn in by the Minister of Justice of the country they intend to work, namely St. Maarten, Curacao or Aruba. He said that the Attorney General does not share his opinion and he firmly believes that St. Maarten should have its own Attorney General because the current Attorney General who is currently based in Curacao does not work in St. Maarten’s best interest.
Already the Minister of Justice of St. Maarten already sent a strong message to the Attorney General of St. Maarten Guus Schram who described St. Maarten as a corrupt country last week Friday. Minister Richardson said on Monday and again on Wednesday morning that the Attorney General should not make statements based on assumptions but they should have facts and substantiate what they accuse people for. Minister Richardson said that the Attorney General is in charge of the Prosecutor’s Office that is charged with investigating and finding facts and not based on assumptions and or hearsay.
Minister Richardson also addressed the statements made by Member of Parliament Johan Janchi Leonard who was very critical and even attacked the current Chief of Police Peter de Witte. Leonard said he wants to see locals in top positions on St. Maarten, he went on to name persons he wants to see in critical positions, one being the acting Secretary General Richard Pannflec who was removed from his position. Another person MP Leonard said he wants to see in his position is the incoming Chief of Police Carl John. In responding to the statements made by MP Leonard Minister Richardson told MP Leonard that he needed to know who he attacking because the current Chief of Police Peter de Witte maintained his word when he agreed to train a local to take over from him, he said De Witte jeopardized his future with the Netherlands because he fought for St. Maarten’s best interest and has decided to stay on St. Maarten to assist in crime fighting. The Minister of Justice further explained that Assistant Chief of Police Carl John will be appointed Chief of Police of St. Maarten in the near future because the Council of Ministers already took a decision on that especially since such appointments have to be done by Landsbesluit.