A House divided cannot rule - Cloyd Marlin: PJIAE Decision Risks Splitting Families and Dividing the Island

GREAT BAY--Former Member of Parliament Cloyd Marlin has condemned the since retracted decision by Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company N.V. (PJIAE) to stop issuing access cards to French St. Martin–born nationals without Dutch-side work permits or residency.

Calling the move divisive, Marlin warned it risked tearing apart families, straining cross-border unity, and undermining the very identity of St. Maarten and Saint-Martin as “one island, one people.” The decision, taken after consultations with the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA), has drawn sharp criticism from Marlin, who believes it undermines the island’s long-standing unity.

“I think the division they are creating is contradictory,” Marlin said. “On one hand, we speak about uniting as one people. We talk about joining CARICOM, we just attended CARIFESTA, and in exactly two months and eight days from now for St. Martin Day, we will gather at the border with great speeches about unity and our history. Many of us have grandparents from the French side. Yet now we are picking a fight with our own family, abruptly, without meaningful discussion on how to resolve what is being perceived as a problem.”

He continued: "Reading the recent comments from ministers and members of parliament in the ruling coalition, I have to wonder if they even discuss these issues among themselves. More and more, we are seeing decisions of great consequence being taken without clear coordination. How is it possible that a decision with such far-reaching impact was not addressed in a coalition meeting? This cannot be explained away as a sporadic decision involving a privately owned company and individuals without permits."

"I am calling on Minister Brug to clarify his role: is he picking a fight with our French-side neighbors, or is he targeting airport workers? We need clarity on whether this is specifically about French residents who live on the French side but work on the Dutch side. And if that is the case, what about French nationals employed in French-side restaurants and businesses on the island? Is this truly a question of labor law, or is it about security and security clearance at the airport? The public deserves a clear explanation."

Marlin also criticized what he described as a “hands-on, hands-off” inconsistency in government’s dealings with public entities. “Just a month ago, when I wrote about directors being hired for GEBE, the ministers claimed they had a hands-off approach to government-owned companies. But within the last two weeks, we saw government instruct the airport to remove signage for local taxi app operators, while the same airport advertises for Anguilla. Now government allows our French St. Martin-born workers to be shut out of the airport without warning. That looks like hands-on control in one instance, but a blind eye in others.”

‍