THE HAGUE--Establishing individual, autonomous Coast Guard organisations for Curaçao and St. Maarten is not a serious option for Dutch caretaker Minister of Defence Hans Hillen.
"I don't see how Curaçao and St. Maarten can run their own Coast Guard operations. A Coast Guard operation is a complicated matter. I don't see this as a serious option," Hillen told the Dutch Parliament Second Chamber's Permanent Committee for Defence on Wednesday.
The Minister stated this in relation to questions by Members of Parliament who had inquired about the seriousness of insinuations by the Ministers of Justice of Curaçao and St. Maarten that they wanted to get rid of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard which is mainly sponsored by The Netherlands. "Formally St. Maarten doesn't want to get rid of the Coast Guard, but insinuations have been made."
The Curaçao Government has indicated that it wants an independent investigation into the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. Hillen was not too enthusiastic about this idea. He said Curaçao hadn't been entirely clear on the objectives of this investigation. "Because that part remains unclear you end up with a nebulous discussion. It is cumbersome and interferes with the work that needs to be done," he said.
Hillen said a strong presence of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard was needed on the islands, especially in Curaçao and St. Maarten, because of the islands' roles as international transhipment points for illegal drugs from South America to North America and Europe.
The Minister said he shared the Second Chamber's concerns about St. Maarten's specific role in the transhipment of illegal drugs. "You are worried and rightfully so. I am also worried, but we have limited means to fight drugs and we face under-capacity at the Coast Guard."
Hillen said it was impossible to simply close off the waters surrounding an island. He pointed out that international drug-smuggling had the tendency to move elsewhere if local pressure by Justice authorities became too much.
Member of Parliament (MP) Marcial Hernandez of the Party for Freedom PVV said St. Maarten was a "thorn in the flesh" of United States (US) Justice authorities. He mentioned a report of the US State Department and the Dutch National Police Service KLPD which referred to St. Maarten as a "transhipment point." "We have to do something about this," he said.
According to Hernandez, the control of ships coming to the islands is totally insufficient. "International drug organisations deploy divers undisturbed to collect large amounts of drugs from the sea that have been dumped there. These are professional operations," he said.
"These islands are not only a tropical paradise for tourists, but also for drug traffickers. This is a serious problem and the Coast Guard has a big role in fighting this," said MP Michiel Holtackers of the Christian Democratic Party CDA. "A strong Coast Guard is highly necessary. We are worried about drug-trafficking, especially in St. Maarten," said MP André Bosman of the conservative VVD party.
Bosman and Holtackers urged the Minister make it clear to Curaçao and St. Maarten that they had to pay their share of the Coast Guard operations on time. The countries were late with their payment this year. "We should not allow payment arrears," said Holtackers. Bosman said it was unacceptable that The Netherlands had to repeatedly ask for payment.
Hernandez lamented the fact that in St. Maarten the cutters of the Coast Guard only made the 61-per-cent operational norm. He asked the Minister how he planned to intensify Coast Guard operations and "drastically increase" the number of arrests of drug smugglers.
Hillen acknowledged that the Coast Guard in St. Maarten faces a capacity shortage. "The occupancy is a mere 66 per cent and that is too little." He said recruiting personnel was not the biggest challenge in St. Maarten and Curaçao, but the appointment of these employees was. "Personnel wait a long time for their letter of appointment. This creates nagging insecurity."
The Minister further announced that the general cost-cutting measures of the Dutch Government would not affect Defence operations in the Dutch Caribbean, because "the problems there are too great." He said he had asked Minister of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations Liesbeth Spies to reverse a cutback of 2 million euros for defence-related operations at her ministry.
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