Dear Editor,
I think it’s very unfortunate, because I was really looking forward to it: the lawsuit that Member of the St. Maarten Parliament Christophe Emmanuel was supposed to file against me.
In this newspaper I had called him a “fraud.” After that I received a threatening letter in which he told me to take back my words, otherwise he would certainly take “legal actions.”
I still think Emmanuel is a fraudster, but there aren’t going to be any legal actions. Unfortunately, because I would have liked the confirmation from the court that there is enough reason to call Emmanuel a “fraud,” because as a minister he supposedly committed dubious acts pertaining to the handing out of parcels of land.
Maybe Emmanuel did not dare to take me to court anymore, because this month several other politicians from St. Maarten are under investigation or are being prosecuted. For example, an investigation is taking place of the “criminal” landfill whereby the role that politicians might play in this is being looked into. Former politician Silvio Matser is on trial for voting fraud. But the biggest news is the approval by the court to prosecute Theo Heyliger, who has been the most important politician on the island for many years. The big man behind the current government is reportedly suspected of bribing a politician, but is possibly involved in more cases.
St. Maarten is not the only island where a big clean-up is happening: also in Curaçao a number of politicians have been prosecuted this month, including former minister Jacinta Constancia, who has to go to jail for fraud in a remarkable case that involved the purchase of 40,000 masks. Earlier, she had to resign as a member of parliament because she hit a colleague in the face during a debate. A very serious matter is the prosecution of former minister George Jamaloodin, who is suspected of being one of people that ordered the murder of politician Helmin Wiels. Jamaloodin, who as a minister walked around with a gun and was involved in a criminal robbery at the secret service, fled to Venezuela, but hopefully will soon be extradited to Curaçao. Both ministers were members of the government of former prime minister Gerrit Schotte. The court will rule in his case next week. He is suspected of accepting a bribe. Schotte was previously sentenced to three years in prison because he had been bribed by gambling boss Francesco Corallo, who could therefore influence the policy of the Curaçao government. This gambling boss operates from St. Maarten and has close contacts with all kinds of politicians.
Stories about fraud and corruption on the islands aren’t new. I’ve written about this in the past. But the developments of this month show that more and more it is possible to act against corrupt politicians. The Netherlands assisted in this process, after the Second Chamber passed a motion of the SP and the VVD to investigate the connection between politics and the gambling world on the islands. Initially, the interference from the Netherlands led to remarkable reactions. Theo Heyliger organised a demonstration against me and VVD colleague André Bosman. Gerrit Schotte sent a detective agency to us and accused me of wanting to plan a coup on Curaçao as a secret service agent of the Dutch AIVD. Francesco Corallo sent lawyer Gerard Spong, who unsuccessfully tried to silence me as a member of parliament. Corallo is on trial in Italy for the bribery of politicians, among other things.
It’s very good that fraud and corruption are finally seriously dealt with, but that is only possible if we also dare to follow through with it. I would also like an investigation into the media that publish articles about the gambling mafia, but that have to deal with intimidation and even with cyber attacks. And let’s not forget the white collar criminals, like the dubious accountants of KPMG.
Ronald van Raak
Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament for the Socialist Party (SP)
