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PHILIPSBURG – The board of the Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM) has responded to a letter issued by its Minister of Public Health (VSA) Richinel Brug with a lengthy and yet unclear statement. It accuses Minister Brug of “false narratives and coordinated attempts at public manipulation” without providing any specifics.
Towards the end of the statement, the board announces that it is finalizing a formal reply to Minister Brug’s letter. “Every claim, assertion and misrepresentation will be addressed thoroughly, factually and in proper context.”
Before getting to that point, the URSM-board alleges that Minister Brug has deliberately “spread misinformation, mischaracterizations and selective leaks of internal party communications aimed at undermining the credibility of the URSM, its president Brenda Brooks and the leader of the party and Prime Minister of St. Maarten, Dr, Luc Mercelina.”
The board states that is has followed a structured and documented process, which included talks with Minister Brug. “The request for his resignation was not arbitrary, but based on serious and substantiated concerns about governance, conflicts of interest and breaches of integrity.” The decision to ask for the minister’s resignation was taken unanimously.
The URSM emphasizes in its statement that the party was founded on the basis of integrity.
“The issue before us is simple and clear—there has been a breach of integrity. URSM was elected on the promise of doing things differently, and we will not compromise that mandate under any circumstance.”
The party furthermore states that its decision has nothing to do with nationality, favoritism “or any of the distractions being circulated.” Instead, the statement continues, “it is about accountability and adherence to the standard that the people of St. Maarten expect from those in public office.”
The board is also disturbed by the disclosure of “names of hard working civil servants” and that this was done in “an attempt to create confusion and shift the narrative.”
Once more, the board calls on Minister Brug to take responsibility for these actions and it repeats that the selective release of documents does not reflect the full factual picture. “What is being presented publicly represents fragments – not facts. The full record tells a very different story, one that justifies the board’s position unequivocally.”
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