In an invited comment Van Putten said he is planning a bonfire party for next weekend to gather as much signatures for his petition to dissolve the parliament of St. Maarten and to have early elections based on the constitution of St. Maarten. Below is a copy of the letter that was delivered to the office of the Dutch representatives on St. Maarten.
February the 14th, 2011
To the Second Chamber Of the Dutch Parliament
The Hague, Netherlands
Via the Good Offices of the Dutch Representative
In Philipsburg St. Maarten
Concerning: Do not rush to intervene in St. Maarten-We will do it ourselves!
Esteemed Members of Parliament:
We have taken note, via the local press, of the debate in your Chamber about the suitability of placing St. Maarten under higher supervision. We share your concerns, and we are even more alarmed by the true state of affairs on our island than you can imagine! We have launched a petition drive to demand new elections as we have come to the conclusion that this government was born a corrupt white elephant. Surely, we would feel encouraged by your standing behind our efforts and lending your moral support to our demand that the politicians heed of our legitimate and peaceful request for elections within three months, as stipulated in our constitution. Below, we shall outline the main points of the prevalent chaos and drift on St. Maarten. Never before in the history of our island has the gulf between the Government and the People been wider. Our Parliament and Ministers seem to exist in some parallel universe. On Saturday, February 6th, 2011, the largest circulating daily on the island, "The Daily Herald", published an editorial entitled "Time for decisive leadership" in which it decried the sense of drift and absence of leadership by the government. Another civic leader, Mr. Francis Carty in his daily radio program, "Good Morning Mr. Governor" has been consistently pointing out the alarming state of affairs on our island, and the lack of any concrete action by government. On radio talk shows, citizens continuously call in, voicing their support for new elections as many have come to the conclusion that this government cannot govern! Even the Home Alone TV program by Oral Gibbs expressed this very same sentiment on February 17 th, and was duly quoted in the Daily Herald of February 19 th.
Our government is dysfunctional and will not / cannot respond to the demands of the people. It is out of touch, and compromised by campaign contributors! Here follows a summary of some the major reasons why we reject this present government and demand their demission and the holding of new elections.
1. Our government mislead us on the cost of Separate Status
We accuse our government of seriously misleading and tricking us to enter into the disastrous "Country Status". We were lied to and "sold" this Country Status under false pretexts, namely that once we got rid of "evil" Curacao our financial picture would improve dramatically without public ratification. We were promised a land of milk and honey. Now we are told they made a "mistake", and forgot that they had to fund so many new institutions and take on so many more civil servants. We are presented now with a budget deficit of anywhere between 30 to 100 million florins depending on whose figures one believes. Fact is: if we had known that this would result, we would have never been browbeaten into this mal-adventure. We maintain that separate status was fraudulently foisted on us and that the present Parliament and Council of Ministers is populated by those who perpetrated this fraud on us. Allowing them to remain in office amounts to rewarding their malfeasance. If we were to allow the present regime to remain in office without recalling them, we will be inviting Higher Supervision on ourselves. And be most deserving of it! But we know and understand our civic duties, and just like the people of Egypt and Tunisia we will chase this corrupt bunch from office.
2. A de facto leader who will not lead and a de jure leader who cannot!
After the elections, the people found themselves saddled with a Prime Minister, whose party was resoundingly rejected at the polls. The biggest vote getter on the island, who was therefore called to be Prime Minister, abdicates his civic obligation to lead. By proclamation of the electorate the present Prime Minister has been convincingly rejected from leadership. With only two seats in government, there are only two ministers, appointed by her party, over which she cannot exercise any influence. Result: A totally hamstrung leader absorbed in a vacuum of leadership. While it is impossible for her to proclaim good governance, being corrupt by expectations of gratitude for the position that was gifted to her, the "De facto Leader", blatantly labels himself incapable and un-wanting to lead, but instead prefers to call the shots from behind the curtains. No self respecting people should accept this ridiculous state of affairs. We therefore totally reject it.
3. Criminal investigation against leader of the largest fraction in Parliament
We the people of St. Maarten reject a government in which the largest vote getter is under criminal investigation for vote buying. Three police officers gave detailed statements about how this politician gave them each US$300 (a paltry sum which makes it heartbreaking to see how little they are thought of by this politician) in an attempt to buy their vote. This investigation is hanging like a sword over the government and the moment he is arrested we shall have a crisis of globally embarrassing proportions on our hands. That is why it is better that we act now and recall this Parliament instead of waiting for a full blown international disgrace. No self respecting people should accept a government in which the de facto leader is under such a cloud of suspicion.
4. Government which aligns itself against the people who elected it
Member of Parliament Jules James is sitting in Parliament earning the ridiculous sum of US$125.000 per year to represent the people of St. Maarten. At the same time, he is the Managing Director of a company, which practices corporate terrorism against its employees. Coincidently Jules James is appointed the Managing Director of the very same resort who was the biggest political campaign contributor of the UP Party. This same company is now trying its best to destroy the economy. Instead of condemning Mr. Jules James actions, and taking the side of the people, Government has defended him and given all kinds of justifications for this corrupt behavior.
5. One corrupt Minister forced to resign in the first 100 days of office!
Thanks to a vigilant press, a corrupt land swindle by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs was uncovered in which she sought to illegally traffic in government land to the tune of US$3 million. She was forced to resign in disgrace. After being dismissed she still expects to receive taxpayer's salary while obviously having other means of income.
6. A second Minister soon to be forced to resign for gross incompetence
The Minister of Justice has revealed himself to be an incompetent fool who has totally compromised the island's Admissions and Expulsion Law by casually opening the flood gates to all and sundry to live in St. Maarten. Perhaps he does not realize that he is also compromising the Dutch Kingdom because after five years these individuals can apply for a Dutch passport, and move on to live in Holland. The Minister purports to rule by oral decree, creating total chaos and confusion each time he speaks his "oral decrees". Thousands of poor immigrants have been misled by this incompetent Minister and his "oral decrees" to apply for residence permits which he cannot give them as there is no legal basis for him to do so, regardless of what he says. No self respecting people should accept a Minister of Justice who makes a mockery of justice.
7. A third Minister who should tender his own resignation and not wait to be asked to resign
Our present Minister of Finance is a total disaster, and part of the team which mislead us into "Separate Status" based on false figures. For the past ten years or more, this "Minister", a top Civil Servant, in the former Island Territory of St. Maarten, who worked as head of the Finance Department, sat on countless financial task forces, made countless financial projections and studies, consulted with endless financial experts, and travelled far and wide seeking even more advise, but still did not know that St. Maarten could not carry the financial burden that comes along with country status. His present pathetic attempts to balance the budget would be laughable if the situation was not so serious. This gentleman is way in over his head, and utterly clueless. We know that personally he would like nothing more than to sink back into the anonymity of his old civil servant job, as he is becoming desperate. His incompetence is the primary reason why some members of your esteemed Chamber are calling for St. Maarten to be placed under higher supervision. Our recall petition will save you that trouble,
8. We wish to enact a life time ban on Mr. Theodore Heyliger from participating in elected politics on St. Maarten.
This one individual, following in the footsteps of his late grand father, Dr. Claude Wathey, whom you remember well we presume, from causing St. Maarten to earn the title of "Most Corrupt Island in the Kingdom" and a "Den of Thieves" and subsequently earning the dubious honor of being the first and only island in the Kingdom to be ever placed under higher supervision, has totally corrupted the political process on the island. With him running loose, there can be no truly democratic elections. His practice of buying votes for raw cash, has totally undermined our democracy. We fear at what cost people sell their votes to him, because they do not know what he has to deliver to his financial backers. This practice has forced under parties into a desperate race to compete with him in buying votes and has resulting in the total perversion of the democratic process. The people of the island need to be liberated from him and his obscene "money politics".
9. The gang of Politicians who "sold" us "Country Status" under false pretexts, are the same ones who sold us the "Slot Akkoord"
Many of us were shocked when we finally got a chance to read the slot akkoord. The draconian measures agreed to, amounted to a near total give back of the national autonomy. The result of this we now see in the constraints placed on the island by the Financial Supervisory Board (CfT). This disastrous document has to be amended of course in light of our current budgetary woes, and the world wide financial crisis which has even your government facing a multi –billion Euro short fall. That is why we need a recall to elect a new Parliament whose members have the credibility to undertake this task.
We need to allow the country to have a new breed of leadership with uncompromised vision.
Eldridgen van Putten
Social activist, on behalf of the organizers of the petition drive.
