PHILIPSBURG:--- The National Alliance has expressed astonishment with the misleading statements made by United Peoples Party member Franklin Meyers, who heavily criticized NA on a recent radio program for its decision to request a meeting of Parliament to discuss developments at Princess Juliana International Airport.
On the radio program on 95.9fm Meyers, a former Minister of Tourism unfoundedly suggested that Alliance only requested the PJIA meeting because the airport was being run by a local. He suggested that if the airport was being run by "a certain van this or van that" the NA would not have wanted a meeting.
Meyers' assertion is not just ludicrous; it also exposes the hypocrisy of the United Peoples party and concocted stories UP continues to plant in the community.
NA Leader William Marlin said it is Meyers and his party leader Theo Heyliger who have built a track record of side lining and politically assaulting locals in St. Maarten.
Marlin said the UP Party member seems to forget that it was he who set out to put two locals on the breadline while serving as the country's first Minister of Tourism. As soon as Meyers assumed the position of Minister of Tourism he launched a political assault on two locals when he signed a letter in November 2010 to suspend St. Maarteners Regina Labega and Edward Dest from the S. Maarten Tourist Bureau.
Meyers not only suspended Labega and Dest, but also barred them from entering their offices and accused them of embezzlement.
It was only after Labega and Dest fought back and obtained lawyers to write government, that they were allowed to return to their offices, but Meyers never dropped the charges against these local St. Maarteners.
It was the same Meyers and his party leader Theo Heyliger who were then commissioners with the Democratic Party in the former Island Territory, who waged a public assault on another local - Christina Labega (Regina Labega's sister) and drove her out of her top executive position at the Harbour Group of Companies.
It is clear that the UP party members have a history of stifling and side lining locals. Former Minister Meyers seems to believe that he can fool the people of St. Maarten all of the time, but the people of St. Maarten do not forget these things.
Throwing up smoke screens and making up false and misleading stories to accuse the National Alliance of going after locals will not fool the people of St. Maarten.
For the record, the National Alliance has a right to request meetings of Parliament and it has nothing to do with the made-up stories that Meyers is suggesting.
Are the people of St. Maarten to believe that only the UP has the right to call meetings to ask questions? If the UP locks a civil servant out of office and files a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office that is good, but if another party requests a meeting to discuss developments at government owned companies, then that party is against locals. UP has again exposed its hypocrisy.
The meeting requested by the National Alliance is to discuss developments at the Princess Juliana International Airport. The National Alliance has not accused anyone of embezzlement nor did the National Alliance call to lock anyone out of their office and send them home on suspension.
While Frankie Meyers and his party leader Theo Heyliger may want to hope and believe that the people of St. Maarten have short memories and you can continue to fool them as you go along, they are UP for a big surprise come election time. Because you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you definitely cannot fool all of the people all of the time!
National Alliance Press Release