THE HAGUE--The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament wants State Secretary of Safety and Justice Fred Teeven to persuade the Curaçao Government to reinitiate the investigation into the sexual and physical abuse of children by the Friars of Tilburg in Soto, Curaçao in the 1960s.

 

The move by the Second Chamber comes after various regional media in the Netherlands reported last Saturday that the investigating committee under the guidance of attorney-at-law and former Judge Ronald Koeijers wasn't active and in fact only existed on paper.

 

According to the regional newspapers, which published the story of the press agency de Persdienst, the committee has not followed-up on reports filed by several persons who said they were abused by a handful of friars at San Fernando, a boarding school in Soto for young orphans and children from broken families.

 

The newspapers, among others Brabants Dagblad and de Gelderlander, told the story of "Johnny," a 62-year-old Curaçao man whose real name was not disclosed. Johnny was abused, sexually and physically, by three friars at San Fernando from age 10 to 14 before being transferred to the boys boarding school Scherpenheuvel. He mentioned friars Henricus, Candidus and Emilianus as the culprits.

 

Johnny has been fighting for his case and that of other abused children for many years, without much result. He only received a formal apology from the Friars of Tilburg, along with a 45,000 euro compensation, but that didn't expose the systematic abuse at the boarding school.

 

The victim approached the Deetman Committee which investigated sexual abuse cases committed by the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The committee considered his report inadmissible because the incidents took place outside the Netherlands.

 

The Koeijers Committee, installed in 2010 to handle reports filed by Curaçao victims, reportedly received two complaints, one by Johnny and the other by "Cora," who was abused by staff of the Catholic Church at the age of eight and twelve. No follow-up was done by the committee, which is said to only exist on paper. Johnny's story has appeared in the media various times over the past few years.

 

The Labour Party PvdA and Christian Democratic Party CDA in the Second Chamber are seeking clarity. Member of Parliament (MP) Marith Rebel wants the Dutch Government to clarify what has happened with the Koeijers Committee and what has been done with the complaints that were filed in Curaçao. "It is a shocking story," said Rebel, who announced that she would be submitting written questions to Minister of Safety and Justice Ivo Opstelten.

 

Madeleine van Toorenburg of CDA has asked her colleagues of the Permanent Committee for Safety and Justice for support to ask State Secretary Teeven to address the issue in Curaçao during his visit early next week. Teeven leaves for Curaçao on Sunday.

 

The Permanent Committee meets today, Wednesday, at which time the proposal of Van Toorenburg will be discussed. Van Toorenburg said she was positive that her proposal would receive general support. "The State Secretary can use his visit to ask what is needed to reinitiate the investigation. We know that this is a matter and responsibility of the Dutch Caribbean countries, but we have to do something for the victims," she said.

 

The Daily Herald