The press statement by Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs issued late Sunday night on the arrest and subsequent release of Member of Parliament (MP) Rolando Brison (see Monday paper) raised a few eyebrows. She only not called it “uncanny” that these investigations surface at times when they can negatively alter pollical stability, but added, “It begs the question whether they are indeed geopolitically or locally instigated.”
One appreciates the timing of his arrest being inconvenient with this week’s 2023 budget debate in Parliament, because had the United People’s (UP) party-leader remained detained the NA/UP/US Party/Arrindell government would lose its minimal legislative majority. This scenario could even spell an early end to the Jacobs II Cabinet.
So, also as National Alliance (NA) leader and de facto head of the current coalition her concern is completely understandable. However, for a prime minister these comments are questionable, as they place in doubt the integrity of the Prosecutor’s Office.
“Trias Politica” or the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government is a key principle of modern democracy. Recently a Curaçao minister was forced to resign after she attempted to intervene in court proceedings regarding fraud at the former Bureau Sickness Cost Insurance BZV involving one of her predecessors from the same party who had already been convicted for such.
While the latter is obviously not comparable to what Jacobs said, a word of caution seems in order. Local leaders should best stay away from eroding confidence in the country’s main institutions, including law enforcement authorities.
With all due respect for the prime minister, her related statements were ill-advised.
