To The People of St. Maarten
It is unfortunate that some media outlets are being used to propagate a particular political agenda, but no, neither in this case is there a "smokinggun". It is unfortunate how the office of the Governor is being discredited,by a letter from his hand to the Prime Minister being put in the public domain, against all ethical standards.
However allow me to clarify some indisputable facts:By letter of May 16th, the Governor responds to the letter from the Prime Minister dated May 10th, regarding what transpired on May in the Council’s meeting of May 7th. The letter of the Governor was received on Friday, May 17th. This letter was cc’d to the Council of Ministers by the Governor himself, as all letters to the Council of Ministers are!! By letter of May 17th, Minister Marlin requests AGAIN that the dissolution of Parliament be put on the agenda of the Council of Ministers of May 21st.On that day, before we could get to the incoming documents, a standard agenda point where mention is made of all incoming documents, minister Marlin asks about his request. The Prime Minister presented the advices she received pertaining to this request. The advices became a topic of discussion. The Prime Minister mentioned receipt of a letter from the Governor, but that the contents in her opinion did not change the position she has taken. By not having the dissolution of Parliament placed on the agenda, the four ministers abandoned the meeting of May 21st and the meeting was closed.On Friday, May 24th, the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers approached the Prime Minister, indicating Minister Marlin requested a copy of the letter from the Governor. Prime Minister’s subsequent response was it would be put as an incoming document on the agenda. That same day, Minister Marlin requested and got a copy from the cabinet of the Governor. By that same evening -it is alleged-, the letter was published on line. How could a formal letter, Cc’d to the Council of Ministers, be hidden? And why would it be? The position of the Prime Minister is and remains what she has always said it to be. In fact, the letter in question was the counter balance to the letter sent by the Governor to the Deputy Prime Minister Marlin regarding his actions following the May 7th meeting. Was this one published? Using this letter now, Minister Marlin again attempts to put the dissolution of Parliament on the agenda of the Council of Ministers. And what will the position of the Prime Minister be? The advices as received on May 12th and May 17th are still applicable, in fact these are strengthened by recent developments, which have made the current Cabinet of Ministers a caretaker one.