Statia, Saba residents may go to St. Maarten for abortions

THE HAGUE--When abortion is legalised in St. Maarten in the future, residents of St. Eustatius and Saba may opt to undergo the procedure on that island.

Dutch caretaker Minister of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sports Edith Schippers stated this in a letter she sent to the Second Chamber on Monday in relation to her visit to the islands in April this year.

Schippers explained that she understood from her colleague in St. Maarten, Minister Cornelius de Weever, that government had plans to legalise abortion in the future. The current Penal Code of Country St. Maarten forbids abortion. Abortion became legal in the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba on October 10, 2011.

Legalising abortion may take a while, but the best solution would be to have patients from St. Eustatius and Saba treated in St. Maarten when there are no legal restrictions there, stated Schippers.

Bonaire's San Francisco Hospital has submitted a request for a permit to carry out abortions, but no such request has come from St. Eustatius or Saba, and the minister doesn't expect this to happen either.

Bonaire's request will be honoured under a number of quality conditions, stated Schippers. The Dutch Public Health Inspection will supervise this. When the permit has come through, patients from St. Eustatius and Saba will be referred to Bonaire to terminate their pregnancies. The aspect of privacy calls for further analysis, she added.

In the letter, the minister also addressed the issue of euthanasia. The law to legalise euthanasia, which will regulate the conditions under which ending a person's life becomes possible, will become effective on October 10 this year.

For the practical execution of this law, the islands will need a mortician. Bonaire is about to appoint such a person, but this matter is more complex in St. Eustatius and Saba. The minister has promised that her ministry will "think along" to appoint a mortician for these islands.

In the area of sports, Schippers announced that her ministry would help to finance the training of local sport coaches on all three islands. According to the minister, it is important to train local people to stimulate an active, healthy lifestyle. Having local sports coaches also promotes employment on the islands. She said she would make funds available to finance half of the cost to train local sports coaches.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/28472-statia-saba-residents-may-go-to-st-maarten-for-abortions-.html

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Dubai sees 6.6% more trade in gold, telecom and non-oil sectors

Dubai's non-oil foreign trade has seen a significant growth of 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting the resilience and diversity of the UAE economy.

Copyright © HT Media Ltd.

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Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/dubai-non-oil-trade-431631

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Ramada Ajman celebrates World Environment Day

Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman, a premier destination for business and leisure travellers, celebrated World Environmental Day by planting greenery fern and building a garden to create awareness towards environment protection amongst hotel staff and guests.

Celebrated globally on 5th June, the World Environment Day is an annual event that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action.

The Idea Agency

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Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/pr/ramada-ajman-world-environment-day-431723

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Turning The 'Naksa' Around

Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) - The other day on my way home, I passed the three huge hotels just across the seam line between east and west Jerusalem, impinging menacingly on the Palestinian side of the city. The hotels – the Leonardo, Grand Court, and the Olive Tree – were reportedly built with funding from Jewish millionaires dedicated to settling in all of Jerusalem. The infamous Irving Moskowitz is said to be one, but even if he did not put his money into them, he would have rooted for their construction all the same.

Source: http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/palestinian-refugees/10575-turning-the-naksa-around.html

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Govt asked to agree to suspension of Tromp

PHILIPSBURG--Government has been asked to agree to a suspension of Emsley Tromp, President of the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS), while an investigation into lapses in policy and integrity issues is executed.

  The call for the investigation is related to the granting of a US $150 million bond to St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies. That bond was to allow the company room to reinvest and to finance the planned Simpson Bay Causeway.

  Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams made the request from CBCS President Robert Pietersz public during Wednesday’s Council of Ministers Press Conference. Government “will deliberate” on the board’s proposal and will respond “shortly.” 

  The reason given for the suspension request hinges on it not being proper to have the person that is also part of the investigation be on the job, Wescot-Williams explained.

  The Council of Ministers has not yet taken any decision on whether to stop the building of theSimpsonBaycauseway. Funding for the causeway is tied in the harbour bond loan. The matter has been raised in the Council.

  Some of the bank supervisory board members have given government their point of view on the issuance of the bond. The management has also given their response. The harbour Group will give a presentation to the Council of Ministers soon.

  Finance Minister Roland Tuitt recently met with Tromp about bank issues in general. One item warranting immediate attention is the approval of the bank’s 2012 budget. This is very necessary as severalSt.Maarten projects, including the build up of the local branch, have been held up.

  Funds for the build up of the local branch are “extremely important” for the country, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said.

  The moving ahead of investments by the Central Bank is another issue that needs to be cleared up as soon as possible. “This is a matter than needs to be quite clear because it is tied up in the discussion [about] the harbour bond,” Wescot-Williams said.

  “We would like to impress upon the [supervisory] board that they approve that budget as quickly as possible so items related to country St. Maarten can be carried out during this year,” Tuitt said.

  Tuitt, as new minister, has also held meetings with several departments within his ministry.

  He also has meetings planned with the commercial banks to gauge from their perspective “how the economy is going” and to seek “some financial items” government can deal with to get the economy out of its current slowdown. 

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/28537-govt-asked-to-agree-to-suspension-of-tromp-.html

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Cooking gas down today

PHILIPSBURG--Changes on the world oil market is dictating another change in gas prices. The price of diesel, gasoline and cooking gas will be decreased as of today June 13.

The price of the 20 pound cylinder of cooking gas will be reduced from NAf 55.00 to NAf. 45.50. The price for the 100 pound cylinder will be reduced from NAf 182.00 to NAf. 170.00, while bulk purchases will be reduced from NAf. 1.76 per pound to NAf. 1.65 per pound.

Diesel will be reduced from its current price of NAf. 2.15 per litre to NAf. 2.03 per litre. Unleaded gasoline will remain the same at NAf 2.49 per litre.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/28710-cooking-gas-down-today-.html

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Statia plans to go to UN for constitutional advice

By Suzanne Koelega

ROTTERDAM--St. Eustatius is contemplating going to the United Nations (UN) to seek confirmation of the island's right of self-determination in preparation for a referendum that would allow the people to decide on their future constitutional status.

"We don't want to be integrated into The Netherlands and we must let them know that," said Statia's independent Island Councilwoman Millicent Lijfrock and colleague Reginald Zaandam of Statia's UPC party at an informative gathering for Statians in Rotterdam on Thursday. Statia's Island Council was in The Netherlands this week for a meeting with the Dutch Parliament's Second Chamber and a congress of the Association of Dutch Municipalities VNG, among other reasons.

According to Democratic Party (DP) Statia Island Councilman Reuben Merkman, St. Eustatius cannot sit idly by and accept The Netherlands taking decisions for the island without the people having a say and pending the general evaluation of the public entity status in 2015.

Statia's political parties stand united on this issue. Statia's government officials might have signed off on an agreement with The Hague in 2006, but that deal does not have the support of the current politicians.

"All five Island Council members agree that we can renegotiate," said Zaandam.

"We will keep bringing forward our case. None of us agrees with this status, even though the past government signed for it," said Island Councilman Franklin Brown of STEP.

"People are starting to find out what it really means to be part of the Dutch constellation," said Merkman.

"At first when the Dutch said we were different, we thought it meant that they liked us. Now we are finding out what that 'liking us' really is," said Zaandam.

The Second Chamber has started the process to amend the Dutch Constitution to secure the public entity status of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The three islands are vehemently protesting this move by The Hague, saying this is against the agreement that a final decision on the constitutional structure would be taken after the evaluation.

The Netherlands contends that changing the Constitution is a necessary step after the Charter was adapted to accommodate the new constitutional relations as a result of the break-up of the Netherlands Antilles. Zaandam fears that the proposal to amend the Constitution will be approved as a formality before the Dutch elections on September 12.

St. Eustatius is taking action and has started evaluating its options, said Merkman.

"We must safeguard the sacred right of self-determination," said Zaandam.

"We are looking in the direction of taking our case to the UN," announced Lijfrock.

St. Eustatius will be seeking advice from a high commission of the UN on the right to self-determination. The contention is that such right was not applied in St. Eustatius prior to the implementation of the public entity status as of October 10, 2010. No second referendum was held after the first one, in which Statians voted to remain part of the Netherlands Antilles.

Merkman said that before signing off on the public entity status, there should have been a second referendum in which people could have expressed themselves as to whether they really wanted this status. "That would have been the correct procedure," he said.

Statia politicians are striving for another referendum whereby the people would be able to vote for different options pertaining to the constitutional future of the island. Zaandam explained what these options might be: status quo, free association, independence or a fourth option. Zaandam said personally he favoured the French overseas territories model for St. Eustatius.

Together with OCaN, the organisation for Dutch Caribbean people in The Netherlands, St. Eustatius is also exploring other legal paths, including taking Statia's case to the UN's International Court of Justice in The Hague and the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg. To take a case to either of these courts, all local court procedures have to be exhausted first.

St. Eustatius has established contact with Dr. Carlyle Corbin, an international advisor on global governance and an expert on the right to self-determination at the UN, and with Professor Douwe Jan Elzinga, a constitutional expert in The Netherlands. A constitutional symposium is being organised early July through the Friends of Statia organisation.

Zaandam wants to use the proposed amendment to the Dutch Constitution as an opportunity to renegotiate Statia's status. He questioned why in 2010, when his party was in government, the Dutch Government hadn't been willing to break open the Constitution for 20,000 people, but now The Hague was doing exactly that to secure the islands' status. "Now that the door is open, I can walk in, can't I?"

Lijfrock said the support of the people was vital in the process to seek more autonomy and respect for St. Eustatius. "We need the wind of the people in our back. We are determined to change the situation, but we need the collective support of the people," she said.

"We need people to come forward and express themselves," added Merkman.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/28610-statia-plans-to-go-to-un-for-constitutional-advice-.html

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