Natalee Holloway Update

From Amigoe

ARUBA – A manifestation is planned for this coming Thursday against the way in which the American TV stations CNN and FOX are portraying Aruba in their programmes. The organizers get annoyed at the unfounded negative news coverage and want to express this peacefully.

They are now waiting for the permit and as soon as they get that, a group of concerned citizens will gather on the Plaza Betico Croes on Thursday at 18:00. Special attention will be paid to the way above-mentioned media deals with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The manifestation will be peaceful and the Parliament will be asked to do everything in their power to end this spate of negative reports. Chairman of Parliament Marlon Werleman will probably be present to officially receive the request. Interested parties are asked to come with Aruban flags.

MSNBC has an overview of the investigation.

And this:

VAN ZANDT: ... this guy. As far as the way he would manipulate her. He met her a couple of days in advance but again, the chance that he has to go away, to take her up to the light house or something, this was the last night she was leaving. Dan, it‘s my gut opinion. You know sometimes you‘ve got to go on your gut shot on this...

That's an interesting bit of information - if true, it confirms something I was told. And Natalee's Grandmother is in Aruba.

I'm not from the South, but that somehow reminds me of a joke I heard years ago. During the Civil War there was a Union regiment marching past a hill. Some old Rebel came out up and top and started yelling, "Hey, Yankees, come on up here and git me if you can!"

So one guy walked up, chased the old guy down the other side of the hill ... never came back.

Next thing you know three soldiers broke ranks started up over the hill ... 20 minutes went by ... never came back. Then a full squad. Same result.

Well, the Commander figured out by then it was a trap. "Charge," he yelled and the entire Regiment bore down and broke for the top of the hill. Lucky for them, just about 30 yards from the top, one worn out half-walking Yankee came up top from the other side, yelled, "Go back! Go back,! Hell, there's two of them up here! ; )

One can hope ... light a candle for Natalee.

Comments

[nc_mom]

"Chairman of Parliament Marlon Werleman will probably be present to officially receive the request. Interested parties are asked to come with Aruban flags."
------------------------
Gee, I wonder how many folks waving American Flags we can get down there ..

[FloridaPatty]

Oh I love, love, love marches.

SCUBA please tell us you are covering this.

I have to tell you I am so glad to see the Arubans doing something, anything, voicing their thoughts openly although it sounds a bit like what Castro does organizing his own state events.

[FloridaPatty]

Contingent of Americans going to be there? Would be awesome to see them REPRESENTIN!

[Newbee]

Hey the discusion 131 is not loading for me anyone else having probs

[Eugene Bernat]

I never thought I would agree with Gloria Steinem, but here it goes "the truth will set you free, but first it is going to piss you off." I do sympathize with many of the Arubans going through the pain of the truth that it is not "happy island" after all.

Eugene Bernat

[Anna]

Love the joke, Dan! We will convert you to Dixie before this is all settled if you are not careful. Next thing you know, you will be drinking mint julips or sweet tea and asking for grits.

Well, in a crisis like this, we are all southern and support this family. It's too bad there are not two Beth's involved for if there were, I believe she could get to the bottom of this single handedly. Shame she and the rest of the family are having to do so. She is the one who delivered the prime suspects, last to be seen withs to the police and so far they do not seem to have made any further progress even given that big of a head start.

[SandyBeach]

It's my understand that Aruba can only get CNN, not the other networks. Is that true???

[andy]

I agree with Eugene, it's a very sick Paradise Isalnd.

[andy]

Well, they pissed off Fox w/all their lies and twists on the story - Fox slamned dunked them and the only way for Aruba to recover some dignity is to solve the case immediately. Otherwise none of the MSM's will return. Beyond that - the Aruba name is in the landfill trash with the victim; Natalee's spirit will haunt and cause them unrest for centuries.

[MissAruba]

Andy boy o boy go and take a look in your backyard please...
Just read something about a serial killer who starded killing people back in 1974 but they caught him last year!!!!
You guys have some sick people living in the US,oh my god...

[MissAruba]

He killed an 11 year old girl by hanging and then masturbaded over her body.I'm glad that I was raised in Aruba...

[IamRosie]

MissAruba:

We caught him this year in February. And for 31 years we had an active investigation going on. We never gave up. And he was nailed by excellent police work by dedicated officers.

[MissAruba]

Also what I read tonight in an arubian newspaper : 3 american boys(16,18 and 20)where found in a chollerhouse doing drugs while the 16 year old his parents where having dinner,it took the police some time to find his parents!!!

[MissAruba]

31 tears of active investigation...I would not call that active but anyways the freak was caught!

[CancunGirl]

The protest against the media portraying Aruba in a negative light, what good will this do?

Will people look at this protest after seeing Beth fight to find whatever remains are left of her daughter, and Dave going through the landfill searching for his daughters remains as well, and think WOW, Aruba sure is being portrayed negatively. What? How crazy is that idea???

[kiminfl]

Aruba should be portrayed in a negative light. It is time for a boycott. The residents of Aruba elected the officials that have left things the way that they are now. I am with John Walsh, boycott Aruba...

[scubajap]

Miss Aruba,
Please do not defend Aruba by pointing fingers at the U.S. I have been defending the island here for about a month now, but it is a pointless and unproductive way to defend the island by putting down the U.S.
Keep that in mind if you ever argue with your spouse, it doesn't work then either.
Every country has its problems. Aruba has far less of them than anywhere else I can see, but these people don't care, so don't waste your time. You don't serve Aruba by telling them the U.S. is sick, that will only escalate the bad feelings.

[CuriousReader]

Liked the joke. And as far as Aruba, I'd probably like visiting there, too. Perhaps, I'm missing something, but it seems that the "Media" isn't "bashing" Aruba...it's bashing an obviously troubled investigation... I'd think the general population in Aruba would prefer to have had the case handled differently from the start (especially the two security guards who were detained on the basis of the false story given by the three boys)... And yes, flawed investigations happen in the U.S...incompetant Prosecutors & LE Personnel are also "fired" or "retired"...sometimes not soon enough....

[leel]

"I'm glad that I was raised in Aruba..." seriouly, Miss ARuba....we are glad you were raised there too, ....now, just stay there please.....

[R Nelson]

Miss Aruba,
Please do not defend Aruba by pointing fingers at the U.S. I have been defending the island here for about a month now, but it is a pointless and unproductive way to defend the island by putting down the U.S.
Keep that in mind if you ever argue with your spouse, it doesn't work then either.
Every country has its problems. Aruba has far less of them than anywhere else I can see, but these people don't care, so don't waste your time. You don't serve Aruba by telling them the U.S. is sick, that will only escalate the bad feelings.

Posted by: scubajap | August 17, 2005 11:17 PM

I am sure I speak for more than myself when I say that your posts are always appreciated.

[Pearl]

Beth is fighting for her child at the t.v but here in the hotels she is drinking and have good time.

[kiminfl]

Pearl - do you have the tab? If it were me, I would probably be drinking every day with the b.s. that is given from Aruban officials..

[annie]

I don't understand this complaint that they have. Aruba has not been discussed negatively. The way that they have botched this case has, but that is being discussed not only in the US but in many other countries as well. It is obvious that they have grossly mishandled this case and why they can't just be big enough to admit to it is beyond me. Instead they constantly have to try and cover themselves. As far as the people of the island, the island itself, it has not been discussed negatively by any of the press as far as I have seen. I just don't understand the purpose of this protest. It is clearly the government running scared for their lack of concern about this case. They keep hoping it will just go away and it is bothering them that it won't. Honestly, why can't they just focus on what is important here (finding a missing person) instead of worrying about a reputation. The reputation would speak for itself if they spent the amount of energy covering their butts on actually actively searching and investigating this case. Geesh!

[Darkman]

Man, this whole thing, right from the start is a bag
of worms, with the mayberry police, Andy and Barney,
doing the detective work!

I will not go back and talk about all the BS mistakes
you all know them.

I say it's one of the biggest cover ups of the century!

I feel so sorry for the parents

[Roy]

the U.S. is sick, that will only escalate the bad feelings.

Posted by: scubajap | August 17, 2005 11:17 PM

I am sure I speak for more than myself when I say that your posts are always appreciated.

Posted by: R Nelson | August 18, 2005 12:01 AM

Difficult not to lash back when you hear all this crap about the island you love. But you are so very right.
Wisdom is difficult level to reach.

[Chicago]

Annie,
Well said. Over & over again it has been repeated in the US that our frustration is not with the Aruban people. The police botched the case from the beginning. Evidence has been lost. The govt is involved in the cover-up. (i.e. the govt controls the dump, Ruben says the govt does not have bulldozers, but conveniently bulldozers fill in the search hole.) Aruban people are responsible for electing their officials.

[nursemind]

Aruba as been unfairly bashed. We certainly have our problems here in the US with crime. Reading the cruel remarks about Aruba makes me cringe and feel like the "Ugly American". I would love to visit Aruba someday and would feel safe. There's unsafe places everywhere you go and you just need to be aware of that and act accordingly. Tourism will not suffer in Aruba. It's only a few cable TV channels that are covering this.....for ratings. The national newspapers and news channels have not followed it at all so most Americans say "Natallee who?" There are far too many missing/murdered people here in the US to keep track of.

[chickadee]

I have one question for all of the Aruban posters- what cruel remarks are you referring to? We had a problem with gang activity/drugs in my neighborhood at one time. We got the n'hood folks together-had meetings with officials(inc. police) and started a blockwatch-things are better now. If I had a crime like this in my neighborhood, you bet your sweet *ss I would be out there trying to help-if not just for my family and my sake. What have you all done to help solve this besides complain on here about unfair bashing-which is not true, anyway. Noone is blaming the island residents-except the pervs that did this. And it's hard to compare the whole US and it's problems/crime to a small island! Get over it already!!!

[papapoop]

Van Zandt! What a joke!!! His gut feeling? C'mon. Anyone who hasn't heard the case as of yet is informed with the a news update would have the same gut feeling. It's all speculation at this point and will probably will be forever. True that we all believe Joran and company did it, but prove it. Reporters trying to get their heartfelt feelings in when they should be reporting the news and leave the interpretion to us. The slew of analysts every night that have nothing to say is just another thorn in this case. I feel for Beth and especially Dave, the real parents.

[ev]

I cannot believe that people actually think that Americans are bashing the Aruban people. I want to know what aren't the Aruban people bashing there police and government. See here in America we are allowed to protest when we think something has gone wrong with the police or government. How dare you? You can not speak for every American my husband is from Curacao and we feel the pain of the people from this island not having any control about this case and the fact that you feel that the American Media is overstepping there boundaries please if it was not for the media and continued coverage there would not be a case. As far as the ABC islands we all know that the Dutch really control everything on these islands they treat you like second class citizens. Please I lived in Curacao I know the way it really is. Arubans have not talked because they are afraid of the ramifications once the Natalee mystery is solved if ever.

[FloridaPatty]

MissAruba:

You speak of the BTK killer. I watched his case on Court TV this summer for two days. He did not kill for the past ten years but police did not give up on this cold case which says a lot about our LE. 30 years or not, still going after him. He was caught. The murders of that family in 1974, and yes, the little girl, FREAK is correct, that he is, but now he will not harm anyone else.

[ev]

Miss Aruba -

I cannot believe that people actually think that Americans are bashing the Aruban people. I want to know what aren't the Aruban people bashing there police and government. See here in America we are allowed to protest when we think something has gone wrong with the police or government. How dare you? You can not speak for every American my husband is from Curacao and we feel the pain of the people from this island not having any control about this case and the fact that you feel that the American Media is overstepping there boundaries please if it was not for the media and continued coverage there would not be a case. As far as the ABC islands we all know that the Dutch really control everything on these islands they treat you like second class citizens. Please I lived in Curacao I know the way it really is. Arubans have not talked because they are afraid of the ramifications once the Natalee mystery is solved if ever.

[Mike 1]

Miss Aruba - you may not be so glad to live in Aruba in a year, given the furture of Aruba tourism. Speaking of which, why arn't the Aruban authorities authorizing the money to adequately search the dump (as in Salt lake City / Lori Hacking)??? The Aruba Tourism industry is approximately $500,000,000 US yr. would seem to be a reasonable expeniture, perhaps they continue to belive this will just "go away". They didn't count on Beth Holloway Twitty, she is one tenacious mother. lol. As an american, I am proud of her.

[Mike 1]

Mike 1 <- typo king

[diamondback]

Well, did it ever occur why Clint Van Zandt would have to go with gut feelings on this case, after going over what info the ALE has? C.Van Zandt has experience negotiating with the worst of criminals, well seasoned investigater. He may have found that all the LE did was chase uncredible leads, giving the perps time to cover up. They had the three under surveillance, when? Now finally after two months the FBI are given a more invasive role? Don't expect miracles.

[Can't Let It Go]

A march will not stop Beth and her family from doing their job of looking for Natalee. It is a pointless politically motivated stupid thing to do. If everyone who was marching was out searching instead you might have something.

[linda]

Miss Aruba
I was on your beautiful island a few weeks ago and found it to be very inviting and the people very friendly. Have you been to the USA?
I do not like you saying bad things when you have no knowledge about us. Yes we have crime, our legal system, presistent though it is, makes mistakes. I might also note there are millions and millions of people who live here and a lot more places to hide. Aruba would be only a speck on our map. Please be more kind. I know your people are not allowed to stand up to your elected officials as we are but you are blaming the wrong people here. We didn't botch this case. And hopefully in the end Aruba's police didn't either. Give us a break We just like to take care of our own. And we do not control our media. Just like you do not control yours(Mansur).

[aoife24]

Ok Before we start basjinh each other lets just look at the population of the usa and aruba...260 million in the usa and 19,000 in aruba, obvioulsy is going to be more crime in the usa then aruba, so its just DOES NOT make sense to even compare the 2. The reason Aruba is in the spotlight is because this is a playground for the USA and playgrounds should be crime free. I personally (this is just my opinion) would not go to Aruba, not because I am boycotting, but because if somethinghappend to me or my family I would not want my family or myself to be subjected to the Aruban authorites Incompetance to deal with crimes like the Holloways have had to deal with. It is a joke!! I moved over here to NYC from Ireland a year ago...and I feel safer in Nyc then I do in Dublin. Because of the police presence and you just dont mess with the american cops, They do a good job. Also someone there mentioned, i think her name was miss aruba, about how the american are only solveing crimes that were made from 30 years old, but they do keep the case open...have the Aruban Authrorites kept open the case of missing american tourist Amy Bradley who went missing there in 1998 off a cruise ship? she has never been found...Tell me Are the police there still investigating that? Im just curious, perhap they are..

[DICKTHEBIGPRIC]

Yeah, CVZ is known as a good interrogator, but the ALE , or the Dutch will make sure they take care of their own and Joran will walk. All of these experts on TV every night couldn't do any better. Those top notch defense lawyers, like Geoffrey Geiger would have the prosecution for lunch. Many mistakes were made, but this is what you have to deal with at the moment. Where do you go from here? This is a different country with different laws. No DNA, no body, no nothing and two negatives do not make a positive. If the body was put in the dump with a pool covering it, then the poolcover was to identify the spot for someone to dig it up and dispose it at sea. Yeah, Beth and Jug are probably drinkers by now, if they weren't before. Who cares? The MB group moves on. The Reynolds and the Holloways seem more interested than the Twittys, although I wish all of them well. In some way, they are victims of their own circumstances. In today's world, you have to hold on, for dear life to what is precious to you. Make no mistake about it. Tough love saves lives.

[Yvonne]

It is obvious that Natalee brought this entire event on herself. She got herself drunk, danced enticingly for Joran, willingly went with Joran. She probably sent him home and went for a swim by herself at night, got caught in a riptide, and is now part of the food chain. Or, she probably had a rondevous with the male belonging to the DNA on her toothbrush after being with Joran. Being intelligent does not prevent a teenager from doing something stupid. Get off Joran's back. He is absolutely innocent; he is no predator, just a healthy teenage son. Trying to generate a media blitz to convict an innocent man is wrong, and it won't bring Natalee back. I would ban all travel to Alabama; I hear the rich still lynch people they want to use as scapegoats!

[Long John]

Yvonne,

Yesssssssss!

Silver

[Long John]

Aruba is not a "playground for the USA". It's a country frequented by many tourists, most of them from Europe.

If a bunch of US crackers decide to stay home, the island will be better off.

Silver

[ronbon]

I was in Anniston, Alabama in 1962 at Fort Mc Clellan for Chemical Warfare training. The locals were, at that time the stupidist people I have ever met. The "Jugster" reminds of them. Take care of your own, no one else will. I'm sure the Dutch law presiding in Aruba will allow Joran to walk. They have nothing to go on. The prosecution is weak at best. After elections are held, end of story!!!!!

[kathy]

We do have some sick people in the US and they are worlwide! At least when Lori Hacking went missing in Utah the family did not have to "Hire & Pay" for the landmovers, hoes or the people to work that site. I find it outragious that the 2 holes that were dug by the last search team was filled back in! This area was being investigated, did anyone bother to ask if the search in this area was over?

[jayjay]

To all people bashing the US and defending the investigation,

With the exception of a VERY small handful of people, no one wants to blame the Country/Island of Aruba. Most people I have heard on the news or seen posting on these threads have gone out of their way to separate the investigators of this case from the citizens of your country.

However, if you all want to collectively continue to play the international slander game, I am sure my fellow country men and women would be more than happy to point out the inept, corrupt, sleazy underbelly of your country and its policies toward visiting people who support your economy. Unlike your country, we have no problem voicing disapproval of our countries policies, methodologies and tactics on a number of issues.

If I were you, and this is just my opinion, I would collectively, as a society, put as much pressure on your local and federal authorities to prove to the world that they can act as proper advocates for the rare tourists who does experience the tragedy that this family has. Instead of making futile comparisons and taking defensive stances toward us, why not go to the source of all the animosity, your own law enforcement?

[yellowmoon]

Where can I find Shango's postings...can someone post a link to them.

[Mike 1]

Long John _ 70% of Aruba's tourists ARE from the U S, please don't post misstatements. Be very careful what you wish for - Aruba's tourist industry is in for a huge decline, probably simular to St Croix after the Fountain Valley affair. You will miss the tourists that you now malign. Yvonne - Joran's innocent??? that's why Joran has changed his story ten times? Admitted to having sex with her while she was "incompacitated"? (which is against the law, btw.) Blamed the "black" security guards, etc? Joran even blamed Kepoes. Does this seem like he has noting to do with it?

[Mike 1]

jayjay - well stated

[Wondering]

Is this a Natalee Holloway blog, or a stand up comedy blog?

[Pardy]

Do you think a drug ring is connected. Would explain where all the money is coming from for
Joran and the other two's defense............