~ Who is Mario di Palma Jr.? ~ PHILIPSBURG — To say that Mario di Palma Jr., the apparent owner of the District 721 project in Simpson Bay is a controversial figure seems to be quite an understatement given the press coverage in a series of articles by Melissa Nicolas-Rembotte and Igor Rembotte in St. Martin’s Week. Now Di Palma is in the middle of a conflict with Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Ludmilla de Weever and President of Parliament MP Rolando Brison surrounding his latest venture, the District 721 restaurant in Simpson Bay. According to St. Martin’s Week,…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — President of Parliament MP Rolando Brison confirmed the worst fears of the authors of several integrity reports when he attempted to interfere with the work of economic control officers at the District 721 restaurant last week. The video of this incident shows Brison saying that he is “a citizen” but he is of course first and foremost a politician. That makes his actions highly questionable. The authors of the De Wit-Samson integrity report of 2014 knew already all about it. One of he report’s recommendations reads as follows: “Consider with the reorganization and expansion of the tax inspectorate…
By Hilbert Haar The Pro Soualiga Foundation does not have its own agenda, or so it claims in an email to StMaartenNews.com. I have a different impression: the foundation is pushing an agenda that aims to finalize the decolonization process and to declare the Kingdom Charter an unconstitutional document in the process. If that is not their agenda it must be somebody else’s agenda. That would not surprise me. Maybe it is time for this obscure foundation to offer some transparency, for instance by answering the following questions. Who are its board members? Who is paying for the efforts the…
Dear Editor, Please find a reply to your article entitled “Pro Soualiga Twists old study to fit its agenda” Firstly, Pro Soualiga does not have its own agenda. Pro Soualiga is merely stating what the United Nations declared in 1955, what the Dutch State declared in 2017 to the International Court of Justice, and what Dr. Hillebrink stated in his thesis. The fact that Dr. Hillebrink was awarded his law doctorate fourteen years ago does not change the facts stated in his thesis. His study was substantiated by Leiden University which happens to have one of the Netherlands’ most revered law…
PHILIPSBUG — In an attempt to revive its decolonization claims the Pro Soualiga Foundation sent out a press release about the promotion of Steven Hillebrink at Leiden University on the thesis The Right to Self-Determination and Post-Colonial Government: The Case of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba without noting that the promotion took place almost fourteen years ago on February 28, 2007, and by slightly altering some statements from this study to fit its own agenda. Hillebrink’s study is thorough and exhaustive (and accurate up to July 1, 2006) but it does not offer the definitive conclusions the Pro Soualiga Foundation…
Dear Editor, Please find a press release regarding Leiden University awarding a Law Doctorate regarding the decolonization of the Netherland Antilles. LEIDEN UNIVERSITY AWARDS LAW DOCTORATE REGARDING NETHERLANDS ANTILLES DECOLONIZATION Leiden University, one of Europe’s leading international research universities and the oldest university in the Netherlands, awarded a Doctorate of Law to Steven Hilliebrink regarding the decolonization of Aruba and the former Netherlands Antilles in 2007. Dr. Hillebrink defended his thesis entitled “The Right to Self-Determination and Post-Colonial Governance: The Case of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba” before a promotion committee of seven highly reputable professors of constitutional law. The…
By Hilbert Haar Is Rolando Brison going to be the next minister of public health, social development and labor (VSA)? Who knows. There are plenty of rumors but there is not enough solid information to answer this question one way or the other. But the process that leads to the appointment of any minister is very clear. For Brison the dilemma seems to be that he would have to resign as a member of parliament to set his appointment process in motion. Once you give up that seat, somebody else is going to come in and you will never get…
PHILIPSBURG – Rumors have been circulating that the holdup in the appointment of the Chairman of Parliament Rolando Brison as the new Minister of VSA is due to the fact that there is no Main Voting Bureau because all the members have resigned. StMaartenNews.com spoke with the present Chairman of the Main Voting Bureau, Attorney Jason Rogers, who indeed confirmed his resignation. However, Rogers informed StMaartenNews.com that up until the present moment, there has not been a formal acceptance of his resignation – in the form a ‘besluit’ (decree) – and therefore, as long as there is no ‘besluit’, he…
~ Says Chairman of Parliament setting dangerous precedent ~ GREAT BAY — Sewing seditious behavior and interfering with civil servants executing directives is a dangerous precedent to set, says Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel in response to a circulating video of Chairman of Parliament Rolando Brison confronting economic inspectors at a nightlife establishment. In the video, Brison is recorded chiding and questioning the inspectors for trying to close the establishment, questioning their authority and legal basis. He further asked the inspectors if they “have a conscience” and called them “arrogant”. Related article: Economic controls aimed at fairness and the…
PHILIPSBURG — The Kingdom’s ministers of justice have agreed on a system whereby local Caribbean candidates will be trained for the function of public prosecutor every year. They took this decision during the half-yearly Judicial Four Countries Consultation (JVO), a digital meeting that was chaired by Aruba’s Minister of Justice Bikker. The ministers also agreed to fine-tune juristic education in such a way that graduates from the universities of Curacao and Aruba get equal access to selection and education for the professions of attorney, judge and public prosecutor in the Netherlands. The ministers furthermore acknowledged the importance of speedy information…
