Former Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte of Curacao appeals Court of First Instance ruling and notes that Dutch authorities and local politicians are leading a political witch hunt against him.

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Prime Minister and parliamentarian, Gerrit Schotte appealed a Court of First Instance ruling against him and his partner Cicely Van Der Dijs. The ruling is part of a political persecution campaign staged by Dutch authorities to end Schotte's political career and stymie his efforts on behalf of Curacao's independence movement.  The ruling is the culmination of a long series of politically motivated and illegal actions against the former Prime Minister.  

According to E.F. Sulvaran, Mr. Schotte's attorney, "the chance that Gerrit Schotte receives a fair trial in Curacao is minimal, the motivation of the persecution is to eliminate him from the political arena."

Mr. Schotte's March 15^th appeal will force Curacao's courts to re-examine the ruling, especially given that the Dutch controlled prosecution illegally indicted the former Prime Minister and introduced illegal evidence to obtain a conviction.  Mr. Schotte and his legal team also questioned the judge's integrity noting that she had acted illegally throughout the prosecution of the case. Mr. Schotte's attorney believes that the appeal provides a "new ball game that restores his basic political and civil rights."

Since Gerrit Schotte became Prime Minister of Curacao in 2010, he has faced a systematic effort by Dutch authorities to prematurely end his political career.  The Dutch campaign includes the widespread distribution of misinformation, extraordinary violations of Mr. Schotte's privacy, and the systematic harassment of his partner Ms. Cicely Van der Dijs.

During Schotte's tenure as Prime Minister he repeatedly dodged Dutch maneuvers to undermine his government. These dirty tricks that led to his early forced resignation as Prime Minister in 2012 continued against him as a sitting member of Parliament.  

The latest move by Curacao's political class has been to demand his resignation from parliament because of the Court's Ruling. Under the terms of the Constitution, Mr. Schotte has the right to remain in Parliament until the entire appeal process is completed, including future possible instances as the Supreme Court in Curacao, the Higher Court in the Netherlands and the European Court. In other words, the law safeguards the presumption of innocence and Mr. Schotte is innocent of all of the charges leveled against him.

The motivation for these illegal efforts is clear: the aim is to prevent Mr. Schotte from returning to political office from where he could provide the leadership to minimize Dutch involvement in Curacao's internal matters and attain further emancipation of his people and in the future even independence for Curacao. 

Gerrit Schotte is the undisputed leader of the Movement for the Future of Curacao Party (MFK) that leads Curacao's emancipation/independence movement. Recent public opinion polls reveal that the MFK is the frontrunner in the forthcoming elections and that Mr. Schotte is the political leader with the highest approval ratings in the country.   

Mr. Schotte has repeatedly stated that his pro emancipation/independence views are not anti-Dutch; they simply capture a long-held aspiration of the people of Curacao to achieve less involvement of the Dutch and in the future even full independence. 

Dutch authorities and their local political allies fear the return of the MFK to power because with Gerrit Schotte leading the MFK toward certain victory at the polls the route toward emancipation/independence for Curacao will be ensured.     

Contact:
Secretary General Mr. Sithree van Heydoorn
Movement for the Future of Curacao (MFK)
+5999 540-9714 
email: [email protected]

SOURCE Movement for the Future of Curacao