Posted on 11/09/2005 7:29:11 AM PST by smartin
AMSTERDAM — The government of Aruba wants US President George W. Bush to intervene to stop a tourist boycott of the autonomous Dutch island in the Caribbean.
Alabama governor Bob Riley called for a nationwide travel boycott of Aruba because he accuses the island authorities of not fully cooperating in the search for missing Alabama school graduate Natalee Holloway (18).
Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway-Twitty, joined Riley for the announcement of the boycott. Riley asked his fellow governors to join him in urging the boycott of Aruba, CNN reported on Tuesday. "There are no other alternatives to get Aruban authorities to take this as seriously as they should," he said. Holloway disappeared on 30 May while on holiday in Aruba with classmates. Extensive searches have failed to find her. The police think she was murdered.
A Dutch teenager and two Surinamese brothers are believed to have been the last people with Holloway prior to her disappearance. The three young men were held in custody for some time before being released without a breakthrough in the case.
The parliament on Aruba went into emergency session after the boycott call. Afterwards Prime Minister Nelson Oduber said Aruba wanted the US President to intervene.
"Aruba is not Cuba, North Korea or Iraq. We are friends with America. Most tourists come from the United States and we work together to combat drugs criminality and money laundering," Oduber said angrily.
He wants Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot to seek clarification on the issue from the American Embassy in The Hague. Aruba's representative in Washington will raise the matter directly with the US government. "We want to know if Bush supports this boycott or not," Oduber said.
Tourism figures for the months after Holloway's disappearance do not show a drop in the number of American's visiting the island. Mirna Jansen of Aruba's tourist board noted that US citizens did not appear to be following through on their claims to be less inclined to come to the island..
Notice plain old criminality or 'Murder' were left off the list. Bush should say 'You made your bed, now lie in it'.
Tourist ARE NOT protected by the authorities in Aruba. An islander can kill a tourist and the islander is protected. Forget 'bout it.
While we're at it, what about the very many US citizens who go missing day in and day out in Mexico, other SA Countries and around the World. They most certainly will never get the publicity this matter has garnered.
Good point.
and
Yes, he should.
Aruba is a nice place, with great people. The governor is a moron.
So what's it going to be Mr President?
Damn....they put him square in the spotlight on this one! Should be interesting.
Exactly.
They might not, but I think there are steps under way to try to secure the borders. Let's hope it works.
Yes, they sure do.
The President should just say that the American people will decide this one without his help.
He is to busy to mess with Aruba.
I disagree.
Governor Riley is a moron because you say so?
ROTFLMAO!
Aruba is a partner in the WOD...like it or not. The president is not going to cut this tie based upon the disappearance of one teen.
That's a plausible answer.
Our governor is not a moron. I am glad he did this because it is obvious that the politicians down there have not done anything to aid in this investigation. We like our governor very much.
Yes, he is too busy.
Calling for a boycott is not exactly the same as signing a treaty.
Boycotts like this have nothing to do with national politics. They are driven entirely by the people as they should be.
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