The Jocelyn Arndell Festival Village.
PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten said on Monday that the Jocelyn Arndell Festival Village was closed earlier following a rise in fights and indicated that twenty-five additional police officers are expected to arrive between April 25 and May 5 to assist with enforcement.
Speaking during the continuation of a meeting of Parliament on Monday, the Minister said the decision was made after repeated incidents placed pressure on law enforcement.
“The amount of fights that have been going on in the Festival Village for the last week, it has come to both the Minister of Justice and my attention that we were forced to close the Festival Village a little earlier… If the show ends, an hour after each show ends, it has to be completely closed, and my issue is there is a small group in the community that are spoiling it for the rest,” she said.
She urged family members to speak with those involved and indicated that continued behaviour could impact the future of Carnival. “I want the family members of those people to talk to them. We want to enjoy ourselves. If it continues like this, it is putting a lot of pressure on KPSM. There is going to be a point in time where Carnival will be celebrated in one week – is that what we want?” she said.
Heyliger-Marten stressed that Carnival is meant to be a time of enjoyment, not conflict. “Carnival is a time for jollification and enjoying ourselves, not fighting. Hold up that anger. If you’re angry, stay home. I’m just being straightforward. Don’t spoil it for the rest because it’s going to come to that point. KPSM cannot take it at this point in time,” she added.
To support local law enforcement, the Minister said that enforcement officers will be brought in from Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire. “Between April 25 to May 5 we will have about 25 police officers coming from Aruba, Curaçao, and I think Bonaire to assist. Wish we could have them earlier, but financial constraints do not allow it. We will have reinforcement,” she said.
She reiterated the call for the public to act responsibly so that everyone can safely enjoy the Carnival season.
