‘Arubagate’ speculation increases, while CTO officials missing in action on Caribbean blacklisting issue

Russ and Dee

Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Senior Correspondent
E-mail: rc@caribbeannetnews.com 

Friday, June 17, 2005

ORANJESTAD, Aruba: As hosts Russ and Dee of the 'Morning Show' on The Source FM 101.1 in Birmingham, Alabama keep up their sustained attack on Aruba in particular and the Caribbean in general in the fallout over the case of a missing 18-year-old high school graduate, officials at the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), who have been approached for comment, appear to have gone "scuttling for cover."

When news of attempts by the two radio hosts to 'blacklist' Aruba and the Caribbean as a result of their dissatisfaction over the way Aruban authorities have been handling the matter first broke, Caribbean Net News contacted the CTO, where its Public Relations Officer, Johnson Johnrose, said that he would contact his bosses and have some quick reaction to this "serious" matter.

Two days have gone by and we have yet to hear some official word from the CTO.

In an email on Thursday morning, Johnson said: "My apologies for not getting back to you yesterday. I got tied up in meetings outside the office.

“Regarding your request, I have not been able to pin down the Secretary General (SG) (who is out of Barbados) or the chairman. I'll try really hard this morning to get them and will get back to you soonest."

At 1:15 pm on Thursday, Caribbean Net News made its fifth telephone call to the CTO but a clearly embarrassed Johnson once again apologized, saying he could find no one to formulate an official response and would get back to us.

"I have sent the SG two emails pointing out to him the seriousness of this matter and even suggested a response, bit he has not gotten back in touch with me," said Johnrose.

Meantime, while the CTO Heads have "run for cover", Russ and Dee (now joined by dozens more) continue to encourage thousands not to visit Aruba and the Caribbean. The "campaign" has reportedly now spread to the California and the Miami area.

"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.

This fallout stems from the case of Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old High School graduate from Alabama, who vanished in the early hours of May 30.

Holloway and 124 other students were in Aruba to celebrate their graduation.

Police initially arrested two security guards followed by the arrest of three young men, one of whom is the son of a "judge-in-training".

Having being detained and intensively interrogated for over one week, the two security guards were released but officials have continued to hold the three young men.

The case has created some tense and embarrassing moments for the authorities.

In fact, 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 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.

Several searches have been conducted, including one at the home of one suspect some two weeks after Holloway's disappearance, but nothing untoward has yet been found.

Recent media reports that one of the suspects had a personal web site that promoted gang culture and violence, including gang rapes, which was removed from the internet, allegedly by the suspect’s father, shortly after he was arrested, have led some observers to question whether this amounted to an attempt to conceal or tamper with evidence by the boy’s father (a “judge-in-training”).

Such reports have only served to increase speculation that there have been attempts by Aruban officials to protect the three well-connected suspects or, as the author of a letter to Caribbean Net News puts it: “Arubagate cover-up”.

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