THE HAGUE–Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party is certainly willing to meet with St. Maarten Justice Minister Edson Kirindongo.
However, he pointed out the responsibility that St. Maarten has to improve its own police force and prison.
“My door is always open and I am most willing to have a meeting with the Justice Minister. But I do think that it is a pity that St. Maarten so far hasn’t taken the initiative to draft plans to strengthen the St. Maarten Police Force and Pointe Blanche Prison. That is a responsibility of the St. Maarten Government and not of the Dutch Parliament,” Bosman told The Daily Herald on Tuesday.
Bosman’s response was a reaction to Minister Kirindongo who stated on Monday that he welcomed any assistance from the Dutch Parliament concerning police and the prison. Kirindongo announced that he planned to travel to the Netherlands to meet with Bosman to discuss the latter’s motion which the Second Chamber adopted last week.
The motion requested the Dutch Government to submit plans with “binding agreements and clear objectives” to improve St. Maarten’s Police Force and the Pointe Blanche Prison to the Dutch Parliament no later than mid-May. These plans are required before the termination of the Plans of Approach in October this year.
Bosman said he was aware that Kirindongo’s remarks were “purely cynical.” But the Minister should make a clear distinction between the different roles. “His role is to draft and execute plans. My task is to verify whether this has correctly taken place. He is somewhat confusing the roles,” he said. A date for the meeting between Bosman and Kirindongo has not been set as yet.
According to the Member of Parliament (MP), there were still large shortcomings in the police and prison organisation on the island. In his opinion, it is essential to improve and strengthen these institutions, especially now that there is mention of terminating the Plans of Approach for the countries Curaçao and St. Maarten.
Bron: The Daily Herald