WILLEMSTAD - The government must release several important documents about the bankruptcy of Insel Air International and the government's involvement. The judge has decided this in the case between journalist Yves Cooper and Minister of Traffic, Transport and Spatial Planning (VVRP) Charles Cooper.
The journalist wants to start a civil investigation procedure about the loan of 33 million guilders that was provided by the Curaçao government to Insel Air. This is tax money paid by the residents of the island. According to Cooper, it is therefore important to clarify whether granting a loan of such a large amount was a responsible choice.
Cooper demanded in 2019 based on the National Ordinance Open Government (Lob) for disclosure of information about the decisions regarding Insel Air. The minister decided not to provide access to the relevant documents.
On appeal, the journalist again requested disclosure of the economic and technical license of the airline, the report of the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (NILT), the loan agreement and the Pledge and Usufruct Agreement.
The minister stated that some of the requested information does not exist, that some of it has to be requested from another minister and that some of the documents cannot be made public due to confidential company data.
The judge ruled that several documents do exist and that the minister must make the documents public. In addition, the minister should have forwarded the request to the relevant ministers. This must now be done. Despite Cooper's claim, the court sees no reason to impose a penalty payment to ensure the disclosure of the documents.
According to the judge, there is no reason to assume that the ministry will not make the documents public.