PHILIPSBURG - The Prosecutor’s Office on St. Maarten and the Attorney-General stationed in Curaçao must stick to their core responsibility to “find the truth” and not act on “perceived” political biases from The Hague or elsewhere, Justice Minister Dennis Richardson said on Wednesday.

 

The Prosecutor’s Officer “should distance itself” from any political statements or perceptions, said Richardson who was in Parliament for a second time this week to continue discussions with Members of Parliament (MPs) about the protocol he signed with The Hague that should result in a boost of manpower and finance for the justice service.

If the Prosecutor’s Office decides to work on political perceptions or decide to paint people as guilty without first seeking the truth, such an action would be like putting “a machete to the root of our system and cannot be accepted,” said Richardson, referring to the judicial position of being innocent until proven otherwise.

 

He vowed to do “whatever it takes” to prevent any discrediting of the system.

 

Getting more “local” judges and prosecutors has the attention of the ministry, said Richardson in response to a call from United St. Maarten Party (USP) leader MP Frans Richardson that was made on Monday.

 

The minister said it is in the mandate of the Court of Justice and the Prosecutor’s Office to propagate the training of organic judges and prosecutors. This is not being done, although it is in the law, he said. To remedy the situation, “a group of citizens are coming up with a plan” to attract home-grown judges and prosecutors. The minister said he was also part of the movement.

 

The minister again spoke about recent comments made by the Attorney-General Guus Schram about the “underworld” mixing with civil society on St. Maarten.

 

Richardson made it clear that he “did not see or approve” the speech of Schram. He urged the attorney-general to not make comments in the future on areas that he as minister bears political responsibility, especially when the claims are unfounded.

 

While Schram referred to the presence of underworld connections without any proof, Richardson pointed that none of the integrity reports carried out in the past year have found any connection. He said if Schram wants “to be the poster child” for the Dutch claims about the underworld connections, he should provide proof.

 

No reports of underworld connections have ever reached his desk, the minister said, not even from the Kingdom Cooperation Team RST.

In the same meeting, the minister answers inquiries from MPs about the government’s planned country-wide camera system. The system will be executed by St. Maarten Telephone Group of Companies based on its capacity and infrastructure. The exact cost of the project has to be determined.

 

The Daily Herald