Balkenende surprised
by Sarah’s reaction
WILLEMSTAD--Agreements are agreements and a lot has still to be done in the area of maintaining law and order in St. Maarten, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said in Curaçao Wednesday evening.
He was reacting to comments made by Constitutional Affairs Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams during Wednesday’s Executive Council press briefing.
Sarah said St. Maarten had been cooperative concerning the constitutional change process. She said a change in attitude could be expected and St. Maarten technocrats might be travelling less to the various meetings, but would stay on the island to work on matters such as setting up of a judicial system.
She even hinted that St. Maarten would then wait to see what others had prepared in legislation and evaluate whether it was acceptable for the island.
Balkenende said he was surprised about Wescot-Williams’ comments, because everything he had said in his speech had also been discussed during the meeting with the Executive Council on Tuesday.
“There are too many signals that things are not right. The problems with the Police Chief Commissioner are one of these signals. St. Maarten would not serve itself right if it did not face its problems,” Balkenende said.
