Oduber demands equal legal protection for Aruba’s politicians

ORANJESTAD — Former minister Otmar Oduber is calling for legal safeguards equivalent to those afforded to politicians in the Netherlands and urging Aruba’s Parliament to demand government action. In a manifesto, he insists his appeal does not seek impunity: “I am not asking for privileges. I am asking for equality,” he writes, translated from Dutch.

The manifesto comes against the backdrop of the Flamingo case and his decision to seek cassation before the Dutch Supreme Court. His defence team has supported that step, alleging shortcomings in the Court of Appeal’s assessment of evidence and reasoning.

Notably, Oduber wrote the manifesto in Dutch rather than Papiamento, while demanding equality with the Netherlands. However, the document is formally addressed to Aruba’s Parliament, government and people, not directly to the Dutch government. It calls for the issue to be raised at Kingdom level.

His main concern is the basis for launching criminal investigations into political officeholders. He warns against investigations that seek to uncover an offence without sufficiently concrete grounds beforehand. “First a sufficiently objective basis, then an investigation,” he argues.

Oduber states that Parliament approved amendments to the ordinance establishing ministries, known as the LIM, to strengthen officeholders’ legal protection. He demands an explanation for what he describes as their incomplete implementation and calls for an independent constitutional and legal study comparing safeguards in Aruba and the Netherlands.

The former minister says he is not attacking the Public Prosecutor’s Office and that corruption must be investigated. His demand is for limits and oversight on state power. “We are not asking for protection from the law. We are asking for protection through the law,” he writes. The manifesto presents his position; it does not establish that arbitrary treatment occurred in his case.