Letter-writing Campaign
Remember when Nelson Oduber asked the U.S. government to 'blow the whistle' on Governor Riley of Alabama for asking for a boycott? The fact that Oduber (the same man who said Natalee's disappearance was 'insignificant' in his inauguration speech) fully expected this to happen and the fact that to date the Aruban government, the tourism agencies, and ALE all think we should believe them and trust them without question leads me to believe that Aruba is not the free, democratic place it pretends to be. Why else would Oduber be able to fine Diario editor Jossy Mansur for printing anti-government articles? Why else would they expect someone at the federal level to stop the media blitz and governors like Bob Riley? This is the beauty of a grassroots campaign, and it is something that Aruba obviously doesn't understand because they do not have the same freedoms: nobody in the U.S. has the power to tell boycott supporters to cease and desist, be they state governors or average people like you and I. Once we have made up our minds, they will have to fully demonstrate and prove beyond doubt we are wrong. It takes a long time to build a reputation, but only an instant to destroy one.
Dennisintn asks, "so how do we win this war? and it is a war. " The easiest thing to do is write many angry letters, not only to U.S., Aruban, and Netherlands representatives, but also to cruise lines, travel agencies, and even U.S. companies that do business in Aruba. Let them know that we will not be going to Aruba anytime soon, if ever, until Beth and Dave know beyond doubt what happened to Natalee. Cruise lines will stop serving Aruba once numbers drop low enough and long enough. U.S. companies will pull out of Aruba if they find it unprofitable. Travel agents will have no choice but to push travel packages to other places. It can be done; many people will insist that boycott s do not work. They forget one thing, though: nothing like this has ever happened before. We have the chance to remind the world (and our elected representatives) that the American popular opinion is still a force to be reckoned with.
Strategy one: write letters ASAP! The USPS provides guidelines for mailing letetrs to Aruba at http://pe.usps.gov/text/Imm/immicl/immiclab_010.html
CONTACT THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands Embassy to the U.S. (complete with smarmy and insincere letter about the boycott):
http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/homepage.asp
Ambassador: Mr. Boudewijn Johannes van Eenennaam
Netherlands Embassy - Washington DC
4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 - USA
202-244-5300 (phone) - 202-362-3430 (fax)
Queen
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix
Kabinet van de Koningin
76 Paleis Den Haag
Den Haag, Nederland
Justice Department
Minister of Justice Mr. J.P.H. Donner
Schedeldockshaven 100
Oranjestad, Aruba Den Haag, Nederland
tel.001.70.370.79.11
fax: 001.70.370.79.00
The Ministery of Interior and the Antillis,
the Haag, Netherlands
Minister Remkes or Minister Pectold
info@minbzk.nl
CONTACT U.S. OFFICIALS
House of Representatives:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
U.S. Senate:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
U.S. Embassy to the Netherlands
http://netherlands.usembassy.gov/
Ambassador
Embassy of the United States of America
Lange Voorhout 102
2514 EJ The Hague.
T: +31 70 310-2209
F: +31 70 361-4688
Chargé d'Affaires:
Chat Blakeman :
Political Affairs Counselor
Andrew Schofer
CONTACT ARUBA:
Diario Aruba:
diario@setarnet.aw
Aruba Today:
news@arubatoday.com
Amigoe:
webmaster@amigoe.com
ATA (Aruba Tourism Authority)
http://www.aruba.com/pages/contact.htm
Aruban government officials
Govenor General Fredis Refunjol
Plaza Hnery Eman 3
Oranjestad, Aruba
Prime Minister Nelson Oduber
L.G. Smith Boulevard 76 Oranjestad, Aruba
Minister of Justice Rudy Croes
Victor Hugo Stratt 8
Oranjestad, Aruba
Chief of Police R.F. Bernadina
Wilheminastraat 10
Oranjestad, Aruba
Minister of Tourism Edison Brieson
L.G. Smith Boulevard 76
Oranjestad, Aruba
Attorney General Theresa Croes Fernandez-Pedra
Havenstrat 2
Oranjestad, Aruba
(The above thanks to http://ashvickers.tripod.com/id1.html)
CONTACT CRUISE LINES & TRAVEL AGENCIES:
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines:
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/gohome.do
Celebrity Cruise Lines:
http://www.celebrity.com/
Carnival Cruise Lines:
http://www.carnival.com/
Holland America:
http://www.hollandamerica.com/
Princess Cruise Lines:
http://www.princess.com/index.html
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
http://www.cwtvacations.com
7 Blue Seas
http://www.7blueseas.com
http://www.cruiseshopping.com/
Finally, some talking points for your letters- things you might want to mention…
* Why did ALE wait 10 days to arrest the last known people Natalee was with on Aruba: Joran Van Der Sloot, the son of an Aruban judge, and two of his friends, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. It is believed that Natalee was misled into thinking that the Kalpoes car was a taxi, since her companions on the trip report that Joran claimed to be a tourist from the Netherlands who offered to share the 'taxi' ride;
* Failure by Aruba officials to allow the FBI any access to collected evidence, including statements that Natalee's mother Beth Twitty now knows were altered from the originals she signed. Failure to share recorded interrogations of the suspects with the FBI as promised, and furthermore allowing the FBI no opportunity to participate in the interrogations in any way except as observers,
* Failure to search the entire Van Der Sloot property for clues or evidence that could implicate Joran- only his separate apartment was searched. We also have conflicting reports about this: the Kalpoes' attorneys claim the entire property was searched, but assistant Police Chief Gerold Dompig told U.S. reporters that a search warrant was issued only for the suspects' apartment not the main house his parents occupy on the same property,
* Failure to interrogate all of Joran's and the Kalpoes' friends as requested by Natalee's mother Beth Twitty and father Dave Holloway,
* Failure to obtain any search warrants for residences or the suspects' vehicles until days after Natalee disappeared- even though the Kalpoes were spotted washing their car the shortly after Natalee disappeared but after the Aruban authorities knew they were somehow involved,
* Taking no further action as investigators when suspect Joran's father, judge Paulus van Der Sloot , admitted that he 'coached' the three suspects and told them, 'no body, no crime',
* Acting police chief Jan Van Der Straaten threatened Beth Twitty more than once that he would stop the investigation altogether once she began to publicly question their tactics and actions,
* Repeated instances of lost evidence gathered or surrendered by the public , such as possible human remains,
* Investigators who were more concerned with how much money Natalee's parents have at their disposal than her disappearance are still involved in the investigation and still have a job,
*The Aruban government and investigative team have had absolutely no contact with Beth Twitty or Natalee's father, Dave Holloway since August 30, preferring to blame Beth Twitty for compromising the investigation somehow instead of simply extending a basic courtesy to the victim's family,
*Time and time again, the Aruban officials in the investigation and the government chose to shift blame, make excuses, slander the victim and her family, break promises, and pour far more effort into public relations than proving that any allegations of cover-up or simple incompetence are untrue.
*Failure to re-interrogate suspect Joran Van Der Sloot while he was in Aruba during the last week of December 2005 despite Aruban indications that this would be done.
* an utter lack of oversight, accountability, transparency, and extreme conflict of political interests and professional 'incest' on the part of the Aruba Ministry of Justice and the investigators,
* repeated loss and tampering of evidence, altering of signed documents, and unfulfilled promises to Natalee's family by the Aruban investigators and government,
* the fact that Aruba is a major hub for drug smuggling (due to tariff- and search-free trade ports in Aruba) (source: U.S. State Department),
* Aruba's financial laws that protect the identities of investors so well that it encourages offshore money laundering from organized crime and drug trade (source: U.S. State Department).
I hope you guys have as much fun with this as I have. Just rememebr to be respectful and professional.