Last week a meeting of Parliament in Curacao got out of hand and one of the Members of Parliament physically hit another member in the face. The Member of Parliament that was hit filed a complaint with the police and the hitting parliamentarian was taken into custody for questioning.
As reported in an article in the Daily Herald on 25th of February, the Parliamentarian, who was reacting to remarks about a corruption investigation which she was a suspect, has announced her resignation, apologizing to the electorate for her unacceptable behavior. The Member of Parliament got angry over remarks with respect to, for her, a very emotional issue.
As far as known to the SHTA, this is the first time in the history of the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles that a politician has placed the respect for Parliament above self-interest. Parliament as our legislative body needs to demand the utmost respect in our Country which is one of the corner stones of our democracy. The respect evaporates rather quickly when Members of Parliament who have misbehaved badly remain as a sitting Member of Parliament as if nothing has happened. Consequently, this development signals a considerable improvement of the future overall quality of Government for the island of Curacao. SHTA hopes that the article in the Daily Herald on 25th of February in which the Member of Parliament announced her resignation also instills the required respect for the House of Parliament of St. Maarten in our own Honorable Members of Parliament
The Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association is dedicated to bringing quality to all aspects of life on St. Maarten by promoting sustainable economic development for its members in cooperation with the social partners and the creation of a fair marketplace. For more information, please contact our office at 542-0108 or visit our website at www.shta.com