Antillean PM resigns after Cabinet collapse

7 April 2004

AMSTERDAM — Prime Minister Mirna Louisa-Godett of the Netherlands Antilles and two ministers of her FOL party resigned on Tuesday night after the former Dutch colony’s Cabinet collapsed in a dispute over corruption.

Mirna Louisa-Godett and her two ministers were the last government chiefs to resign from the coalition cabinet after the National Peoples Party (PNP) said on Sunday it was no longer willing to work with FOL Justice Minster Ben Komproe.

Other coalition parties quickly followed suit, but the FOL initially refused to tender the resignation of its ministers. They eventually resigned to prevent being sacked by the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles.

The Parliament passed a motion of no-confidence against Komproe on Tuesday night, despite the fact that he had already tendered his resignation with the Antillean governor.

Komproe resigned to prevent the motion of no-confidence, but opposition party PAR remained dissatisfied and proceeded with the motion to prevent the Justice Minister from remaining in his post for several months in a caretaker role.

The present Antillean government will continue in principle governing the Antilles’ affairs in a caretaker role until a new Cabinet can be formed, news agency ANP reported.

PAR claims that Komproe acted illegally in allowing a convicted member of his FOL party, Nelson Monte, to stay in a first-class wing of a hospital rather than be jailed. Komproe then tried to shift the line of responsibility, but PAR said it would not tolerate his actions.

The five islands Caribbean islands of the Netherlands Antilles — Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) — are, along with Aruba, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Subject: Dutch news