”The constant game-playing of the Democratic Party and independent member of the Island Council, Commissioner Louie Laveist” was responsible for Wednesday’s embarrassment caused by the cancellation of the Island Council meeting, said National Alliance (NA) leader William Marlin in a press release last night.
He was responding to comments made by Democratic Party (DP) leader Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams after Wednesday’s Island Council and Central Committee meetings had to be called off for want of a quorum because NA members had opted not to sign in.
The Island Council meeting was to have been attended by visiting members of the Dutch First Chamber.
Contending that the Louie Laveist saga, not his party, was responsible for Wednesday’s developments, Marlin said he agreed that "it was another embarrassing moment for St. Maarten, but definitely not one caused by the National Alliance."
Wescot-Williams was targeting the wrong party, he told The Daily Herald.
In his press release, the NA leader said he fully agreed with Wescot-Williams that "a poorly constituted government is totally embarrassing and unacceptable."
"The people expect and deserve proper representation from an effective and legitimate government. We believe that the principle of collective responsibility is enshrined in our constitution and any departure from this norm in the highest legislative body reflects bad governance," Marlin said.
He said the Dutch Parliament had indicated to the islands of the Netherlands Antilles that certain standards of conduct were required to qualify for recognition in the international community.
"The visiting Dutch delegation understands that the constitutional framework must have a practical identity in the form of an organised, balanced and effective government and that St. Maarten must show that it is also capable of controlling the affairs of the state by establishing and maintaining legal order in the sense of constitutional discipline, the control function and good governance," Marlin said.
The Island Council meeting with First Chamber members which was to have been held Wednesday was not convened because a quorum could not be established. Only four members of the DP faction – Commissioners Sarah Wescot-Williams, Maria Buncamper-Molanus and Theo Heyliger, and Island Councilman Petrus "Leroy" de Weever – were in attendance.
NA members of the Island Council indicated that they would have signed the attendance list had Commissioner Louie Laveist been present, because they were aware that Commissioner Roy Marlin was off-island on official business. However, Laveist’s absence reflected the current ongoing problems in government, they said.
William Marlin said the NA was willing to cooperate on all matters that were in the best interest of the island, but added: "How can the opposition and government work together if there is no government? ‘A house divided cannot stand.’ We must put our house in order. The National Alliance remains fully on ‘Team St. Maarten for Country St. Maarten.’ We are totally committed to the constitutional change process and the quest to achieving the country status which our people voted for."
He said the NA had always and still continued to support St. Maarten’s quest for separate status.
"At no time did the National Alliance try to embarrass St. Maarten by stating that the government did not have majority support. As recently as the Round Table Conference held in Curaçao on December 15, the National Alliance did not try to embarrass St. Maarten. We played along like good team players on Team St. Maarten," William Marlin said.
He said the latest developments had gone too far. After tracing the history of the Louie Laveist saga, he said, "The DP and Commissioner Laveist are continuing to make a mockery of the Island and Executive Councils, constantly trampling on rules of good governance and the laws that govern the Island and Executive Councils.
"One day he is a non-active Commissioner, the next day he is an independent member, and then he no longer supports the Executive Council of which he is a member and then another day he signs a letter supporting another Executive Council, excluding himself. And just when you think it is all over, he then informs the Lt. Governor that he is now a full-fledged commissioner," he said.
He said that while Laveist maintained his position in the Executive Council he continued to stay away from Island Council sessions to prove a point to the DP. "When it comes to doing what is right, Commissioner Laveist stays away from important meetings to put pressure on Commissioner Wescot-Williams and the rest of the DP, reminding them that they better deal with his demands or else they cannot count on his support," he said. "We have had enough of this game playing."
He said Wescot-Williams was upset because the entire Dutch delegation understood the position taken by the NA and had agreed to walk over to the Parliament building where it had met with the NA council members for an hour.
He noted that he had opted to stay on the island to attend both the Central Committee meeting on Wednesday morning and the extraordinary meeting with the Dutch parliamentarians in the afternoon, rather than travelling to Curaçao for meetings of Parliament.
"But where was Councilman/Commissioner Laveist? Missing in action once again out of protest, because the DP has not taken care of his business as they have agreed to," he said.
He said the fact that Laveist had not shown up for either the morning or afternoon session indicated that there were still issues to be ironed out in whatever arrangements Laveist had made with the DP.