PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Justice Edson Kirindongo celebrated “International Justice Day” with a church service at St. Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Church on Front Street Sunday.
During the church service, Kirindongo officially honoured Chief of Police Carl John by replacing his rank insignias of Police Commissioner with those of Chief Commissioner. He congratulated John for the tremendous job he is doing considering the limited means he has at his disposal and encouraged him to continue to serve and protect the community in the best manner he can.
Chief Commissioner John stated during his short speech to those attending the service that he gladly accepted this honour by the Minister of Justice on behalf of all the officers and other staff in the Police Force who on a daily basis go out and perform their duty. He said these are the persons who really deserve this honour.
John said Kirindongo had chosen not only the right day but the right place to honour him and for that he was very grateful. It is not about Carl John getting another star on his shoulder, but about accepting the responsibility of leading the Police Force of St. Maarten to serve and protect the community the best way possible, he said.
Finally, John thanked his family and asked them to continue to support him during the many challenges he will encounter, and congratulated all colleagues on International Justice Day.
The service was attended by heads of several departments, including the Royal Marechaussees, Customs, Coast Guard, Police Force and other colleagues within the Justice Ministry, their families, friends and residents.
Kirindongo said during his speech, “International Justice Day commemorates and marks the importance of continuing the fight against impunity and bringing justice for the victims of crime in general, around the world. Those who commit crimes on a large or systematic scale should be held accountable.
“It is without any doubt that since 10-10-10 the Ministry of Justice has made and is still making great effort to strengthen and improve the functional cooperation in Justice-related matters with our counterparts in French St. Martin, the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba, the BES islands and other island countries in the region, as an overall strategy to not only efficiently serve the people of the island, but to also become a dependable partner within the Eastern Caribbean region and Dutch Kingdom.”
He congratulated all Justice Ministries mainly in this region and around the world, in particular his colleagues working in the Ministry of Justice on the island and their families, on this very memorable day as he looked forward to their continued support in the fight against crime.
Source: Daily Herald
Police Chief Carl John officially inaugurated
