THE HAGUE — Last weekend various Dutch media sketched a divided and tense Curaçao en route to the elections this Friday. Most of the attention was given to the alleged relation between former premier Gerrit Schotte and the Italian mafia.

In a broadcast from current affairs program Brandpunt several politicians are interviewed, including Schotte, but also interim-premier Stanley Betrian, who expressed his concerns about the atmosphere on the island. Political analyst Gilbert Cijntje told about the conflict between the PAR and the MFK and pointed out that both parties are partially right with their criticism on one another. “Mind you, none of the two parties are entirely right.”

Brandpunt also interviewed current Chairman of the Parliament Dean Rozier and PAR-politician Jesser El Ayoubi, who told how they became personal victims of the campaign battle. The broadcast showed images of the security camera, where an unrecognizable person is setting fire to a truck from Kortijn IJs. Owner Rozier described the incident as an attempt from Schotte to intimidate him after he left the MFK. “I no longer sympathize with him.”

On being asked Schotte denied his party had anything to do with the fire and pointed out that items had been stolen from the MFK party-office. “We don’t have anything to do with that.” “I don’t have any time for Rosier”, he said with a shrug, “I have time for my people”.

El Ayoubi took the journalists from Brandpunt to the place where he was cornered by MFK-supporters while his young son sat in the back of his campaign vehicle. “This is pure terror against a child”, he said. On the incident Schotte he smoothed the ruffled feathers but he understood the anger because the PAR-politician called people stupid apes. “Politics is always personal on this small island”, he said. El Ayoubi denied having made such remarks.

Schotte was further asked about his request for information on Fransesco Corallo, an executive who supposedly is a member of the Sicilian mafia. Schotte repeated that Corallo has a ‘blank dossier’, according to the most recent letter from Italy. He emphasized that Corallo wasn’t given a position.

Financing

NRC Handelsblad also reports in detail about the request for information on Corallo. In an interview with correspondent Emilie van Outeren, on being asked if there was a post for Corallo, Schotte replied: “Yes, we had something in mind.” Simultaneously, he denied that Corallo was to have an important position, for instance, as commissioner with the Central Bank. “There was no position; the relation with a criminal was due to the allegations. We simply wanted to obtain information on him.”

In conclusion, Van Outeren also asked if Corallo finances the MFK. Schotte replied that Corallo financed several parties. However, she didn’t receive a direct answer to the question whether the MFK is one of these parties. “During the two years’ existence of my party MFK, he hadn’t bought any tickets for our fund raisings.”