~ Says support is only given to Miss Saint Martin Committee.~
PHILIPSBURG:--- First Vice President Valerie Damaseau said in an invited comment that the Saint-Martin Tourist Office was not contacted by anyone representing Lara Mateo as the Miss World contestant representing Sint Maarten or Saint Martin.
The First Vice President made clear that the only committee the French Tourist Office supports and rallies behind is the Miss Saint Martin Committee. Damaseau said she does not know who is financing Lara Mateo and she also does not know how she was chosen to be a Sint Maarten contestant.
The Miss Saint Martin Committee made a statement on their Facebook Page which reads as follows:_
“Dear subscribers. and. yes, Dear public,
Because the question comes up quite often, we tend to answer it in a general way:
The "Miss Saint-Martin" committee is in no case involved in the participation of Saint-Martin or Saint-Maarten candidates in the Miss Universe or Miss World international competitions, nor in any Mister 2021-2022.
When it comes to the question of our participation in Miss France next December, for those who didn't know, our region is still in rotation with the region of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon for a year every two.
Our turnout last year was outstanding, so it’s not our turn this year.
We can assure you that any commitment on our part in a contest someone will always be the subject of communication that honors our region, our potential ambassador, and allows us to continue to bond established with you (the public) overtime at better than our abilities, as always has been.
In the current context that is quite complicated and heavy for our overseas regions but also for the French as a whole, you will surely understand that this is a little messy period for each of our members but we thank you for your enthusiasm and attention you bring to our committee.
This is also what makes sense to our commitment to promoting our territories through the spectrum of elegance that we think is also (all in our heart for the slogan! Lol) "A path to excellence."
We wish you all the best of courage during this time.
See you soon for new adventures as soon as this one is possible again.
The "Miss Saint Martin Committee" .”
In the meantime, Members of Parliament have questioned the selection of Lara Mateo who is representing St. Maarten and using its flag. Several videos circulating on social media show the St. Maarten contestant has no knowledge of the island she claimed to be her home. In one video she said the island is 87 kilometers in size, while in another she said in 2097 part of St. Maarten was destroyed by Hurricane Irma. Clearly, the contestant was not prepared for such an international pageant and an ambassador of the island.
Posh Productions the license holder on St. Maarten only released a statement on Tuesday evening distancing itself from the selection of the candidate after several questions were posed to Ministers in parliament on Monday and Tuesday by Independent Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel.
Since then the Prime Minister representing the Government of St. Maarten issued a press release denouncing the selection of Lara Mateo and her representing St. Maarten.
Questions are now being raised as to why the Government of St. Maarten and Posh Productions waited this long before addressing the issue while it has been trending on Social media for the past two weeks.
Mateo is currently in Puerto Rico where the pageant is held on December 16th, 2021.
