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..
Ha!
Calling for a boycott is= to setting foreign policy?
You should reexamine your "moron" comment after that comment.
A high school girl goes to a club late a night, gets drunk, goes home with strangers and ends up missing. Aruba has 0-1 murder cases a year. The island is virtually crime free. This one girl goes missing, and suddenly nobody should go there? What about all the people who go missing in all the other countries all over the world?
Hey, if need be we should. Start calling for it!
EXACTLY! 18 years old paid for her trip WHEN they darn well know the people who PARTY down there is like a GIRLS GONE WILD VIDEO...
Will the governor seek boycotts against every other country where Alabamians go missing? Or is it just for this one girl whose parents are making a stink?
Sadly, they have already had to admit that to themselves. Can you imagine the guilt and blame they feel?
If the governor of Louisiana can go to Cuba and break bread with Castro over a sugar deal - I certainly don't see why the governor of Alabama can't call for a boycott of a sand hill/rock that won't give up the killers of an American citizen.
Oh no, not the Girls gone wild video claims again! There is no proof she was baring her breasts.
Yup. Would I take my family there after what happened? Nope.
Damn right!
Well I don't know what she was doing, but sitting in a bar at 2:am boozing it up will get you what???
It's what EVERY parent feels when they lose a child no matter what the circumstances. If my daughter died on the way to pick up milk I would blame myself for sending her.
This blame game by others should stop. You know those parents have beat themselves up over this since she went missing. I think Beth has aged 20 years since May.
What authority do they think Bush has over people's tourism choices.
What happens when some Dutch citizen disappears over here and we 'botch' the investigation? Do we extradite American suspects overseas to be tried in foreign courts? No.
There is no proof of that. Even Joran (if you believe this liar) says he only saw her have one drink.
Yes, you are completely right.
You're exactly right.
In college we ALL sat at bars with our friends til the wee hours. We were young and stupid. Like most 18 year olds. They think they are indestructable no matter HOW they are raised. It's a rare kid who never makes mistakes. Fortunately, most of them aren't fatal.
See, another smart thinker. :-)
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