Author: The Publisher

GREAT BAY – Young policeman Richmer Michel Patrick York told his story about the events of March 4, 2015 that resulted in the death of Hakeem Isidora yesterday in great detail during the appeal hearing against his conviction to 8 years in the Common Court of Justice. York, 24, described the threatening situation in Belvedere that forced him to use his service weapon to defend himself. Solicitor-General Ton van der Schans however, did not buy the self-defense story of the defendant and his attorney Shaira Bommel, but he offered some leniency with a demand of 6 years. The court will…

If the Richmer York case shows anything, it is that police officers are at risk 24 hours a day. On duty or off duty – it does not make any difference. Oh wait, it does make a difference. When officers wear their uniform, they have the monopoly on violence. So if a rebellious citizen threatens their life, say, with an axe or a spade, they are within their rights when they pull their service weapon and use it when push comes to shove. When they are off duty they routinely carry their firearms as well – and then it becomes…

With the untimely fall of a coalition that never was, questions arise again about the screening process. We do not know whether screening-failures are at the heart of the collapse of the cooperation between the National Alliance and the United People’s party, but as usual the island is buzzing with unverifiable stories. Nobody will have an argument with the idea that this is unhealthy. On the other hand, there seem to be people having problems with the concept that the screening process ought to be confidential. So now we have stories floating around about the screening process, alleging for instance…

GREAT BAY – The coalition of National Alliance and United People’s party is up in the air after the NA signed a coalition agreement with the Democratic Party and the United St. Maarten Party. The three parties have a 9-6 majority in the new parliament. Rumors about the failure of the NA-UP coalition have been circulating for the past week or so, after formateur William Marlin had to extend the deadline for his final report to Governor Holiday several times. While there are only rumors about the true reasons for the failure of this coalition, it is apparent that there…

MARIGOT—“I am in full agreement with the decision taken by the government of the day and the Council of Ministers to boycott the November 11 event,” leader of the political party Movement for Justice and Prosperity (MJP) Louis Mussington says about the boycott by the Dutch side Council of Ministers and the majority of the parliamentarians of the St. Maarten Day celebrations in French Quarter last Friday. He believes that it the unilateral decision by the Préfète Anne Laubies to send the Gendarmes over to Oyster Pond without informing her counterparts Governor Eugène Holiday and Prime Minister William Marlin is…

GREAT BAY- The arrival of five ships in port yesterday was certainly not an unusual sight, but what made the day special was the presence of the Harmony of the Seas, the largest passenger ship in the world owned by Royal Caribbean International. The Harmony of the Seas, the third in the Oasis class has surpassed her sister ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. This mega ship has 2,747 staterooms and with double occupancy, it has the capacity to accommodate 5,479 guests. From above, the Harmony of the Seas towered over Anthem of the Seas, which…

The Government of Curaçao should not continue throwing the people’s money in a private company. An airline of which its management has proven their incompetence to run it. They have no viable plan and the right aircraft to operate their scheduled flights. If Curaçao wants to have an airline to save the hundreds of jobs then they should, before injecting any money, make sure that the airline has an action plan to restructure its business plan. Also, a change of management must take place. The current management has wasted millions of dollars of the Curaçao Government. This proves their incompetence…

The Caribbean Cybercrime Conference pushed local politicians with their noses right into today’s digital reality. Cybercrime is probably one of the most profitable criminal activities of our time, but law enforcement in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom has limited expertise at its disposal to deal with such issues. The conference is a call for action and for setting priorities. People don’t die from cybercrime, but these activities could very well ruin people’s lives, and sabotage the health of a country’s economy. There is no point throwing money blindly into cybercrime capabilities but it is high time for decision makers…

ORANJESTAD – “All businesses can become a victim of some form of cybercrime; the motive often is financial gain. A complex underlying issue makes this form of crime difficult to detect. The data is volatile, clues disappear quickly and the source is often anonymous. Furthermore cybercrime, which is not limited to borders and time, can cause great damage and make many victims in a small timeframe. It is a pre-eminent form of transnational crime,” Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan said yesterday at the opening of the first Caribbean Cybercrime conference in the Renaissance Hotel in Aruba. Caribbean Cybercrime Conference Maan delivered…

The lackadaisical attitude of government and parliament towards reports from the General Audit Chamber is more than worrisome. When a serious report presents serious shortcomings there ought to be at least one Member of Parliament sounding the alarm and asking for a meeting to discuss the situation. But ever since the Audit Chamber presented its findings on administrative appointments at the beginning of this month, nobody has made a move. There is no outrage, there are no concerns to speak of; at least, that is the impression this silence suggests to the community. If nothing changes, we will find people…