First day of consultation Second Chamber

April 12, 2010 7:22 AM

THE HAGUE--The Netherlands Antilles objected Friday to the proposed amendment of the Kingdom Consensus Police Law to hold off on the Joint Police Facility in favour of a more permanent role for the Kingdom Detective Cooperation Team RST.

The proposed amendment has the support of the vast majority in the Dutch Parliament's Second Chamber.

Curaçao Commissioner of Constitutional Affairs Zita Jesus-Leito, part of the Antillean Parliamentary delegation, strongly advised against the amendment proposed by Members of the Dutch Parliament Johan Remkes of the conservative VVD party, John Leerdam of the Labour Party PvdA and Bas Jan van Bochove of the Christian Democratic Party CDA.

VVD, PvdA and CDA presented the amendment Thursday evening, just before the first day of the handling of the Kingdom Consensus Laws. It would see to the replacement of the Joint Police Facility with RST.

The amendment would legally anchor RST's position. Instead of the Joint Police Facility, RST would be in charge of combating serious border-crossing crimes. The amendment will receive support from the Socialist Party (SP) and the Party for Freedom PVV, which means that a vast majority is for the amendment.

According to Jesus-Leito, the amendment hits the cooperation between the partners in the Kingdom "hard" and "puts the entire process in jeopardy." She said maintaining RST with powers of criminal investigation and under Dutch authority would undermine the chances of the local police forces developing into full-fledged professional organisations.

Member of the Antillean Parliament and leader of the PAR faction Glenn Sulvaran contended that the amendment violated four aspects: the right of self-determination, the consensus and trust among the Kingdom partners, the Kingdom Charter and the Rules of Order of the Second Chamber.

Sulvaran said the amendment went against the Charter, because that highest piece of legislation in the Kingdom forbids taking a local autonomous affair, in this case Police, to the Kingdom level without the consent of all partners.

The amendment also violated the Rules of Order of the Second Chamber, specifically Article 97, said Sulvaran. That article states that an amendment is inadmissible in case it violates the purpose of the law in question.

Johan Remkes was clearly unimpressed by the Antillean objections. He said the Second Chamber had its own responsibilities and wasn't a stamping machine of Government.

"An effective police organisation is an essential link in the justice system. High-quality police cooperation between countries in the Kingdom and an unambiguous push of the investigative apparatus is needed to combat serious internationally organised crime. We have an RST that operates successfully," he said.

He added that it wasn't the intention to maintain RST forever. When the local police forces were able to combat serious crime, RST would become redundant. That is why the Joint Police Facility did not have to be eliminated from the Police Law for Countries Curaçao and St. Maarten and public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (the BES islands), but simply temporarily deferred.

Remkes said his amendment was in line with the Final Declaration of 2006 which clearly stated that the RST would play a role in combating serious organised crime.

The Antillean delegation, determined to arrive at a solution that would make the amendment superfluous, used the weekend to brainstorm and lobby for an opening. The Kingdom Council of Ministers will discuss the matter in a meeting this Tuesday to see if parties can come to a consensus.

The handling of the Kingdom Consensus Laws continues Monday with the Government responding to questions asked earlier.

12 april 2010

meeting room for Antillean delegations in Second Chamber

Pedro Atacho, dhr. Samuel, Ramonsito Booi en Reginald Zaandam

(pictures by Ramsay Soemanta / Studio FVS)