Philipsburg:--- Close to two hundred persons took part in a peaceful march that started off at Le Grand Marche's parking lot on Friday afternoon as they called on the Parliament of St. Maarten to respect the wishes of the people and call for new elections. Several persons stood alongside the road while many drivers stopped and looked at the marchers who shouted from the top of the voices telling those that were on the sidelines to join the march because the change starts with the people.
The crowd which was expected to be much larger was hampered by the time it started because most people said they were working and preferred if the march had taken place much later in the evening. Another hindrance to the turnout Friday afternoon was that the unions chose to call a general membership meeting at 3pm Friday afternoon to inform their membership of the outcome of the meeting they held with the Prime Minister regarding the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) payments. President of the Windward Islands Teachers Union Claire Elshot told SMN News on Thursday that her members would have joined the march because they did not get any satisfactory answer from the Prime Minister when she met with them earlier in the day but the WITU members did not participate in the march.
Despite the turn out, the marchers were carrying placards throughout the walk from Le Grand Marche to the Government Administration Building and they kept chanting "Enough is Enough, the change starts with us, know your rights to petition and march," as they demanded that new elections be called as soon as possible to end the current political crisis on St. Maarten. The peaceful march was organized by Lisa Alexander who began gathering signatures about a week ago demanding that new elections be called and the rights of the people on St. Maarten be respected. Radio personality and talk show host Mercedes Wyatt (ELECTRA) also participated in the march as one of the lead persons chanting and walking alongside the organizers Lisa Alexander and Rene "Koto" Wilson.
Rene "Koto" Wilson who was organizing a separate march joined Alexander in the march she organized since both marches were for the same cause. Wilson said that several persons called them and told them that they would have liked to participate in the march but it was taking place during their working hours. He said they are satisfied with the turn out because Friday was the beginning of the fight that will continue throughout next week. Wilson further explained that the protesters intend to continue their fight throughout next week until the Members of Parliament understand that it is the people that elected them and they need to listen to the electorate.
Wilson said that St. Maarten is the only country that has a convicted criminal in front of their Government Administration Building. The well known activist was referring to the statue of the late Claude Wathey that is erected in front of the Government Administration Building. Wilson said nowhere else in the world this happens but on St. Maarten. "The late Claude Wathey was convicted for embezzlement and Government chose to place a statue of a convict in front of the Administration Building because all of the politicians that reined under the late Wathey are also guilty of embezzlement." He said one of the things he intends to do is to get the Kingdom Prosecutor to conduct an investigation on the functioning of the Landsrecherche on St. Maarten because there are too many cases related to government officials that are not being investigated. "Right now, the politicians in the Netherlands and the Kingdom Prosecutors want to know why the Landsrecherche on St. Maarten cannot get its job done. I will be pressing for them to send St. Maarten's Attorney General Taco Stein home because he is not working in St. Maarten's interest. Stein was here before and he knows exactly what takes place on the island when it comes to corruption. So far, Taco Stein cannot say why cases that are over three years old cannot be completed."
The protestors and the organizers have decided that they will go to the Parliament of St. Maarten on Monday morning when the continuation meeting convenes to express their concerns and protest while the intention is to turn in all the signatures they collected during the petition drive. The organizers were still busy collecting signatures at Le Grand Marche's parking lot prior to starting the march and they did the same in front of the Government Administration Building. It was expected that Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams, the spokesperson for the Council of Ministers, would have come outside and greeted the marchers but the Prime Minister did not show her face. The only Ministers who were among the people were Minister of Health Cornelius de Weever and Minister of TEATT Romeo Pantophlet. Minister Silveria Jacobs was seen standing with a group of people while the protesters were walking down the Pondfill road. At the Government Administration Building, Member of Parliament Frans Richardson was seen speaking to some of his friends and supporters.
Click here to view more photos of Friday's peaceful march.