Natalee Holloway - Aruba Boycott Update

The story is not available on line as it appeared in Aruba, but evidently while Georgia Gov Sonny Perdue has been supporting a boycott of Aruba, the Georgia Chamber Of Commerce has been enjoying a stay there, now. Details of the trip were acknowledged on the C of C site some time ago.

In the article from Aruba, several members of the Chamber claim to be planning to meet with Governor Perdue upon their return to state their support for Aruba as a result of the past five years the Chamber has enjoyed visiting the island on the annual awards trip.

Comments

[pearl]

We from Aruba is praying and still searching for natalee's save return.

God bless Aruba and America.

[Albert]

Membership Campaign Tops $1.5 Million; Sets All-Time Record Nov 9, 2005

Also as a result of the campaign, the Georgia Chamber now has members in 154 of the state's 159 counties, also a new record.

For 24 of the campaign's top producers and their guests, their next stop is Aruba in January, for the annual post-campaign planning and evaluation session. This five-day excursion to the popular Caribbean island is a mix of relaxing and brainstorming about the 2006 campaign and ways to make it even better.

Dear Harry,

First of all I would like to express my words of apoligies due to the fact that by mistake a post that I have send came out to be send anonymous. This is the post of Investigators of Aruba going to Barbados early Wednesday morning. That was done by mistake and you know that my previous post always had my name under it. Sorry for that Harry!
I have observed this article and I also met some of the delegates in Aruba. Theyt are having a good time and to be honest with you none of them care about the Natalee case neither about their own governor that supported the boycott against Aruba. As member of the Aruban media, we have a duty to perform and that's to inform all of you to the best of our ability. I will not divulgate yet what our media's are, but Harry you will be surprised and you will learn that in Aruba we have more then you could ever believe. Today we didn't receive any news from the police force neither from the p.p.o. No new developments in the case and only rumors! Nothing official.

Regards

[TJ]

From:Hyscience of today

Subject: New Lead
To All:

Julia Renfro of Aruba Today confirmed that she was interviewed three times by Aruban interrogators for about 45 minutes, each time, concerning her association with Twittys and the case in general.

Also, Julia has confirmed a new lead that was received by the Aruban police, yesterday afternoon, that seems quite promising. We will remain silent on the lead until in order to allow time for the Aruban authorities to act upon the lead.

Developments on this lead will be posted as we are informed upon them. This is a hot lead!

With Aloha,
# Posted by harry at 01/17/2006 11:08 pm - reply- forum

[TJ]

MILLER APOLOGIZES TO ARUBA AND WILL BE BACK IN SPRING FOR A VACATION ON ARUBA...

In another media today, Tim Miller appologized to the people of Aruba for calling and backing up a boycott against this nation. He said that what he expressed was because of frustration. He expressed his frustration and his support to the boycott on CNN, FOXNews and MSNBC. He said that the Arubans should not be victims of this case and that there should be no prejudice of Arubans based on the case.

"My frustration came when we came back in Oktober and lost communication with Dompig, when they were handling the search at the landfill. But then I understood the pressure he was in and I was under pressure too, and I thought then that they deserved the boycott."

Regarding Dr. Phil show, he said that the procuders gave him the wrong impression of what the show would be about. He did not know it would turn that way. He has no communication with Skeeters any more and after the show in the green room: "I told him he needed therapy". Miller told him that he ruined everything that people have done in Aruba. First they say Natalee is dead and then changed opinion and say that she might be alive and in Mexico. He told the producers of the show that they don't even have a clue of what they are saying. I requested to be out of the show.

Regarding the media presence in Aruba for the case, he said that the negative reporting hurt the investigation more than anything. He finished saying that eventhough he is not that liked on the island, he will return over a few months for vacation.

Last edited on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 01:48 pm by MF

http://www.freedomofblog.com/view_topic.php?id=78&forum_id=29&page=3

[TJ]

http://www.freedomofblog.com/view_topic.php?id=78&forum_id=29&page=3

There is now confirmation that two ALE officials have gone to Barbados, where the F.B.I. office for the Caribbean area is located. This in connection with the re-interviewing and gathering of some information from the F.B.I. They will ask also for more cooperation from the F.B.I.
Last edited on Wed Jan 18th, 2006 01:48 pm by MF

[sbg1961]

From the last good President (if their ever was one)
about Aruba.

IN 1996

Letter From The President To The Chairmen And Ranking
Members Of The House Committees On Appropriations and
International Relations And The Senate Committees
On Appropriations And Foreign Relations

December 2, 1996

Dear Mr. Chairman: (Dear Ranking Member:)

In accordance with the provisions of section 490(h) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (Faa), as amended, I have determined that the following countries are major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries: Afghanistan, Aruba, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, China, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jamaica, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam. These countries have been selected on the basis of information from the March 1, 1996, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report and from other United States Government sources.

This year, I have added Aruba to the list of major illicit drug-transit countries. At the same time, I am adding the Netherlands Antilles to those countries that we monitor as potentially significant drug-transit countries. These already include Cuba, Turkey, the Balkan Route countries and the former poppy-growing countries of Central Asia.

Aruba

In the past 2 years, there has been a major shift in drug trafficking patterns, as enforcement activities in Mexico, the western Caribbean, and The Bahamas have pushed trafficking routes eastward. Taking advantage of the limited enforcement capabilities of most eastern Caribbean countries, Colombian drug syndicates have been routing U.S.-bound cocaine and heroin through the region. Consequently, countries that in the past have been peripheral to the drug trade have now taken on major roles that significantly affect the United States. While all of the eastern Caribbean is vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers, we have identified Aruba as a major drug-transit country. Aruba is situated on a major drug-transit route, with the vast majority of the cocaine and heroin that transits Aruba destined for the United States.

Cocaine trafficking through Aruba to Puerto Rico continues to involve both transshipment through Aruba and redistribution from Aruba as a hub to other locations. Cocaine is smuggled by ship via Aruba, using commercial vessels, cruise ships, pleasure craft, and fishing boats. In addition, according to the Dea, traffickers use Aruba's free-zone facilities to engage in transit of bulk shipments of cocaine without scrutiny by local officials. A substantial portion of the free-zone's businesses in Aruba are owned and operated by members of the Mansur family, who have been indicted in the United States on charges of conspiracy to launder trafficking proceeds.

[Gilberto]

I trust Julia Renfro but she's the only reporter I would say that about.
Has anyone seen the American tabloid the Globe? They have a picture of a bloody tennis shoe they say is Jorans and a hole in some dirt they say was a grave Natalie was buried in. Funny no one else in the media has those pix!!!! I think they faked them. Are they allowed to do such a thing? I mean if those pix were for real would the Globe be the only ones to get them? No way!

[pearl]

MILLER APOLOGIZES TO ARUBA AND WILL BE BACK IN SPRING FOR A VACATION ON ARUBA...

In another media today, Tim Miller appologized to the people of Aruba for calling and backing up a boycott against this nation. He said that what he expressed was because of frustration. He expressed his frustration and his support to the boycott on CNN, FOXNews and MSNBC. He said that the Arubans should not be victims of this case and that there should be no prejudice of Arubans based on the case.

Tim Miller have to appoligized not here in Aruba, but at the media in the States!!!
We from Aruba will Miller out of our Country?
What is he doing in in corrupt island as Aruba?
Get the hell out! miller.

[TJ]

Strong rumour of house arrest of Jossy Mansur in Miami (according to Unusual Supects)....

[Bianca]

Miller is goot to admit he made mistake. Dont' be so harsh on him.

For sure those photos have not been on tv or in the press anywere I seen. Coold they really be fakes?

[Sue]

Aruba stays afloat through Natalie Holloway’s investigation
Jan 18, 06 | 12:14 pm

By Hazel Heyer
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (eTurboNews) -- Serious sunshiny days and sun-kissed smiles are about to greet the Caribbean island of Aruba sometime soon. Tourism has been shattered by the case of a single incident of an Alabama girl missing since spring break of last year. Closure on the case of Natalee Holloway's disappearance seems imminent. The timeline drawn is about six to seven months from yesterday's announcement.

This, according to SMDG Consulting Team chairman Stephen Cohen, adviser to the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association (AHATA) and the Aruba Strategic Communications Task Force who spoke at the Caribbean Marketplace being held in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Cohen's team is tasked with bringing out the facts in the case and establishing a more orderly approach in dealing with the media in a crisis situation. A seasoned television news expert from CBS, Cohen has been part of the SMDG team since the beginning of the investigations.

If current findings are true, Cohen said they are going to accelerate their efforts. Extensive search for forensic evidence continues. Yesterday, 50 members of the Aruban police department searched extensively through the dune by the lighthouse in search for clues. "Anything DNA that is identified to be of Natalee's will allow us to bring a strong case forward against the three boys. We are also getting to finally talk to some of the Alabama teens who left on that plane and did not wait around for interrogation," said Cohen.

Aruba believes it is most important to get a hold of her mental state and most importantly, Natalee's physical state at the time of disappearance. "Two of the boys said they had consensual sex with her. Whether consensual or not, depends on her ability to be conscious and make a choice," said Cohen.

The SMDG is in the process of reviewing all the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations reports. The FBI has been involved in the Holloway case in the first 72 hours of the initial complaint and remained on the island for several months, serving as observers and advisors to the local police. They have also conducted interviews in the US and processed evidentiary materials.

Six FBI agents from the Miami office flew in after the first night. The family hired their own private investigators who've worked with the FBI. "In the final interrogation, there were people on the island who had pieces of the timeline they saw. Like the boys on the beach when they said they were; what fishermen were down on the area that night. Because of the influx of outside media on the island, people were fearful of coming forward," said Cohen.

It is just recently when local authorities were able to create a climate they can trust the investigators where foreign media is not present in that intensity. All these people of Aruba, on the periphery of the case are all significant to solving it.

From the time, Natalee disappeared Aruba has been focused on finding her. From the outset, the island has continuously waged a highly professional extensive and intensive effort to find the teen. It sought and utilized help from the world's experts on missing persons. The people have continued to cooperate and collaborate with private search and investigative efforts by the families and credible groups, according to the tourism association.

Natalee's mom Beth, together with the Governor of Alabama, have jointly called for a boycott against the people of Aruba. This had been elevated to a diplomatic level with which the representative of the Dutch Kingdom in the USA, also the Ambassador of the Dutch Kingdom in Washington, got involved.

Governors of Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia have encouraged residents of their states not to visit Aruba in order to protest the handling of the disappearance of Natalee. However, the boycott has not received support from the US State Department. Neither did it gain the support of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour who did not think it was appropriate.

On November 2, 2005 during a meeting with the Strategic Communications Task Force, Mrs. Twitty stated that during a conversation on October 5, 2005, with the Governor of Alabama the Governor asked her what she wanted: "Do you want an economic boycott of the island or do you want to find your daughter?," Twitty explicitly said she wanted to find her daughter. She further clarified that such action would not be helpful in finding Natalee.

Cohen said that pieces of American media have fed frenziedly on the story for their own purposes. This case is the continuing interest on such a soap opera level, and not of great significance to the American public and proves little consideration for the Arubans whose livelihood is based on tourism - contributing seven percent to GDP.

Minister for tourism and transport Edison Briesen said his industry has remained resilient. There has been no impact on economy after the boycott.

Further, massive support from 78 municipalities in the country has seen all the mayors rallying behind the campaign to promote tourism against all odds, through the closure of a case of one American missing in an island whose crime rate low: that is 0 or 1 murder per year.

[MF]

The Article from Hazel Heyer has a few basic errors.
Just hope that he did not misquote Cohen and I hope that Cohen did not contradict the statements of Gerold Dompig. Let's see what comes out of this.

[Skye]

Strong rumour of house arrest of Jossy Mansur in Miami (according to Unusual Supects)....

Posted by: TJ | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 04:18 PM

--------------------------------------------------

LMFAO

I knew you (TJ) were one of those morons.

[brownalmostblackman]

Fun, fun, fun! Pols everywhere, the same thing, only different. Aruba, Hawaii, it's your dime. Wake up people. Public service? Oh yeah!!! The best pensions, medical. No social security, no medicare, not good enough. We the people vote them in!!! Time for term limits? I think so.

[a..incanada]

Just to sidetrack the above somewhat....Vancouver has added flights to Aruba, to counter the losses from the deep south (USA). This venture of course, helps both countries. I'm thinking that Calgary will follow suit, hopefully. The east is already covered. Congratulations Aruba!!! Your tourism will survive.

[TJ]

Interesting discussion of who were kissing the local boys:
http://ceetveerefugees.11.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=1417