Alabama radio station blacklisting the Caribbean
by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Senior Regional Correspondent
E-mail: rc@caribbeannetnews.com
Thursday, June 16, 2005
ORANJESTAD, Aruba: The fallout from the case
of the missing 18-year-old American student in Aruba appears to be widening as
The Source 101.1 FM out of Birmingham, Alabama, which features Russ and Dee on
its popular 'Morning Show' that serves all of Alabama and Tennessee, is
blacklisting the Caribbean and especially Aruba over the way the Aruban police
have handled the case of Natalee Holloway who went missing on May 30.
"We are discouraging everyone from traveling to the Caribbean, and especially
to Aruba. Our country may not be perfect, but we are able to solve crimes and
thoroughly investigate missing persons with a greater level of expertise,"
said Russ and Dee from the 'Morning Show' in a letter to Caribbean Net News,
adding that, "when Americans want to go to the islands we will encourage our
thousands of listeners to go to the Hawaiian islands."
Another pressure group, this time out of Oregon, is calling for a complete
boycott of Aruba. "The only appropriate
response for the US to make to Aruban authorities is to impose a stringent
tourism boycott until a more competent, informative, cooperative investigation
into the disappearance, and probable homicide, of Natalee Holloway is
instituted," a statement said. The fallout
stems from the fact that many are of the view that the authorities here are
not doing enough to "crack" the case.
Holloway's mother in speaking to the press recently said she would soon begin
to think that the authorities are seeking to protect three young men (one the
son of a judge-in-waiting) who were last seen with her daughter.
Police had earlier said that a confession was made, with one of the suspects
leading lawmen to the scene. No arrests were made and the authorities did not
comment further on that statement, choosing only to say that they were at a
"critical" point in their investigations.
Caribbean Net News has confirmed the presence of a seven-member team of
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the island which has a population of
just over 97,000 people. An FBI source said
the organization was invited as observers and have only been allowed to
perform minimal roles. On Tuesday the
authorities launched a new search with police and dog teams searching a
certain beachfront. The authorities also made a "sweep" of a mangrove swamp.
Caribbean Net News has also learnt
that there is a 'shark's den' on one side of the island and FBI agents have
developed an interest in the area. The sharks are reportedly fed daily in that
location to keep tourists safe on the other side.
The case of the missing teen has brought media houses from all across the
globe to Aruba but the authorities are unhappy with the negative publicity the
situation has generated as hundreds of visitors have cancelled tours to the
island once billed as a Caribbean safe spot.
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