By Fabian Badejo The decision of the Joint Court of Justice to grant the Public Prosecutor’s Office permission to prosecute United Democrats (UD) leader, MP Theo Heyliger, continues to generate public discussion. However, the whole judicial system as it operates on St. Maarten, needs to be further scrutinized vis-à-vis the dispensation of justice. Justice, in a colonial setting, is different from justice in a sovereign nation. Throughout the history of colonialism, the judiciary functioned as one of the pillars upholding the system, usually under the pretext of maintaining “law and order”. But whose law? And whose order? St. Maarten, as…
Author: The Publisher
By Fabian Badejo The decision of the Joint Court of Justice to grant the Public Prosecutor’s Office permission to prosecute United Democrats leader, MP Theo Heyliger is in line with previous decisions of the same court concerning other sitting Members of Parliament, and thus, does not come as a surprise. Theo is “suspected of having committed bribery between 2012-2013,” the Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a terse press release issued on Tuesday, August 21, 2018, in which it added that it would “not be issuing any further statements.” This is rather unusual for a Public Prosecutor’s Office that has mastered…
By Hilbert Haar This is how it began on a Sunday morning in Moscow. We took a taxi to the Kazanskaia station; that was already quite a little trip through town, but it only set us back 300 roubles, roughly $4.50. While I am sitting on a little wall, waiting for our train to Irkutsk to arrive, three big guys come near me. One of them has an awkward body position. He leans completely backward, most likely to compensate for the huge bulk he is carrying in front – one of the size that makes Toontje Buncamper look like Twiggy,…
PHILIPSBURG — The heavy hammer of a judge’s gavel dropped on Tuesday, August 21st, 2018, thereby immediately revoking the political immunity of Member of Parliament, Theodore Emanuel Heyliger (48), from prosecution. A brief statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office reads as follows: The Joint Court of Justice has granted the Public Prosecutor’s Office authority to prosecute Member of Parliament Th.H.. This decision was announced today, August 21, 2018. Th.H. was heard behind closed doors on August 7, 2018. Th.H. is suspected of having committed bribery between 2012-2013. The date of the hearing is not yet known. The Public Prosecutor’s Office…
On Tuesday the news reached our newsdesk that political stalwarts and members of Parliament, Frankie Meyers and William Marlin, were having lunch over at Yvette’s Restaurant in French Quarter, a hideaway frequently used for political meetings. To give substance to the claims of the ongoing lunch meeting, we were even informed that former member of Parliament Rodolphe Samuel was also at the restaurant having lunch with his family. Naturally, this lunch meeting between Meyers and Marlin gave credence to the rumors that the present government was soon about to implode. The 100 days mark since the Leona Romeo-Marlin II cabinet…
Dear Sir, I am perplexed by the manner in which Caribbean people see governments. Consistently, throughout the Caribbean there are high expectations by the “man in the street” for government to provide jobs, provide essential and non-essential services and to play a role in raising living standards. Again and again, the choice of the people, as expressed by the political leaders, is to choose government as the operator of services and owner or developer of infrastructure. The history of the Caribbean in the post-colonial period suggests that these expectations have never been met, are not being met and the future…
Encourages students of all schools on the Island to strive for excellence Member of Parliament Egbert Jurendy Doran, who is also Vice-chair of the Education Committee of Parliament, visited and spoke to pre-examination students at Milton Peters College on Tuesday 14 August, 2018. Doran, who is also a former student of MPC, was heartily welcomed back to his former school. He spoke to the students about his journey ever since leaving the Milton Peters College up until his present job as a Member of Parliament. It was also a great honor for MP Doran and privilege to be able to…
PHILIPSBURG — The Young United Women Book Club has issued a press release on the importance of Reading and wishes the Students, Teachers and Parents a successful School Year 2018/2019. When we read together, we learn things not just about the book, but also about the people with whom we read. The Young United Women Book Club writes in their press release: “We all know the first weeks of school with our students can truly set the stage for the entire year. When we read, we learn new things. And when we read together, we learn things not just about…
Cole Bay — An unknown incident, more than likely caused by a large vessel, caused significant damage to the Nature Foundation Coral Reef Restoration Program. During inspection dives the two primary coral nursery structures sustained major damage and some coral fragments were affected. Foundation staff replaced the nursery to a safer location and replaced coral fragments at a new location. The Foundation started to populate its first coral nursery structures again after most of the previous coral nurseries were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Foundation has slowly started to implement its ‘Fragments of Recovery” coral restoration…
PHILIPSBURG — Over 2000 students and teachers across seven Catholic elementary and high schools will start the school year with recycling on campus. The goal of this project is to promote in-classroom sorting and separation and get kids involved and aware, at an early age, with the concept of recycling. GreenBox launches this project in partnership with Meadowlands as a pro bono and pilot project, one of many more projects to come. A total of 80 classrooms will be equipped with the three individual sorting bins for plastic, paper & cardboard and cans & glass. Once these bins are full,…
