roland duncan no longer has immunity, and the dutch parliament are not done asking questions about his ethics and integrity

JUL52013

FORMER MINISTER OF JUSTICE ROLAND DUNCAN, STILL ON THE DUTCH PARLIAMENT’S RADAR

Dutch Parliamentarian Andre Bosman still has former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan in his radar. The Dutch Parliamentarians are still smarting from the fact that Roland Duncan, when Minister chose to put the Dutch Marechaussee’s in a less active position when it came to immigration in Dutch St Maarten.

Former Jusitce Minister Roland Duncan is still an item of discussion in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, despite the fact that he stepped down and a new Minister of Justice was appointed. Member of Parliament Andre Bosman of the liberal VVD party during a debate on Wednesday with the Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk condemned the move by the former Justice Ministerto remove the Royal Dutch Marechaussee from the front line of the immigration at the Princess Juliana International Airport. The Marechaussee was directed t the back office. That was in the Minister’s own interest, siad Bosman who pointed out that all reports make clear that there were problems with crime and human-trafficking in St Maarten. “It is incomprehensible that a Justice Minister who was part of this human-trafficking can be involved in the fringe elements of the Kingdom,” he said, referring to Duncan’s alleged relation to the sex industry on the island.

Repsonding to these remarks, Plasterk said “I found that to be a questionable situation, to say the least: a Minister of Justice who reportedly is the co-owner of establishments of dubious quality and politically responsible for the issuing of permits for people who worked there. That creates at least an impression of a conflict of interest.”

Plasterk said he had all confidence inthe new Justice Minister Dennis Richardson. “I am sure he has the integrity issue high on the agenda,” He said that intervention by the Kingdom COuncil of Ministers, as Bosman suggested, was not necessary with Duncan Gone. According to the Minister, the Kingdom COuncil of Ministers was concerned about reports that the Marechausssee at St Maarten’s airport had been taken off the frontline at immigration and placed in the back office.Reports filed by Dutch civil servants working in St Maarten about possible violations of integrity are taken very seriously, said Plasterk. These reports are not publicly released in order to protect the source. “But we do see a pattern. To put it mildly, things are not going well when it comes to integrity