Parliament to discuss crime on islands

Matters relating to criminality in the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten will be on the agenda of Parliament next month.

In a memo that was issued on Wednesday, the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber informed Ministers Ronald Plasterk (Home Affairs, Kingdom Relations) and Ivo Opstelten (Justice and Security) of the “general consultation” on the islands, that has been scheduled for March 31 2015.

The Ministers have been requested to draft a preparatory letter that lays out the state of the Government on the islands.

“The letter should also shine light on the relationship between the “under and upper world” (including the gambling industry), recently released documents from the Intelligence Services Curaçao and the progress regarding the negotiations between the Netherlands and other Kingdom countries on strengthening the rule of law in the three countries,” the memo stated.

The council also queried whether a date has been set to finalize these negotiations and whether or what any agreements have been reached yet.

“Part of the general consultation can be held behind closed doors, in case you expect the debate requires such,” the memo informed the Ministers.