MONTGOMERY, Alabama (9 Nov 2005) -- Alabama Gov. Bob Riley called for a nationwide travel boycott of Aruba on Tuesday until authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island cooperate more fully with the family of a Mississippi native who has been missing since May. Riley said he is concerned the Aruban investigation has produced no results in the case of Natalee Holloway, who was 18 when she disappeared, and he's not convinced everything is being done. "There are no other alternatives to get Aruban authorities to take this as seriously as they should," Riley said in calling for the boycott. "I am reaching the point of exasperation," he said. "Every time we talk to them we get a different response." Riley was joined at Alabama's Capitol by Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, who contends Aruban authorities have failed to adequately investigate the possible murder of the Mountain Brook teen, who was with a Dutch teenager and two Surinamese brothers on the night she disappeared. The young men were held for a time but have been released. Twitty and her husband, Jug, did not speak and left before reporters could ask them questions. Tourism accounts for 70 percent of the gross domestic product of Aruba, an island of 97,000 residents which receives some 728,000 visitors each year and another 550,000 cruise ship passengers. Island officials have said more than 70 percent of the visitors are from the United States. Officials in Aruba referred questions about the call for a boycott to the Netherland's ambassador to the United States in Washington. A call to the press officer for the Dutch embassy was not immediately returned. Aruba Police Chief Gerald Dompig said later Tuesday the investigation into Holloway's disappearance is not complete and that authorities want to interview Mountain Brook teenagers who were on the trip with Holloway.
"We want to talk once more with various students because their first statements, taken by the FBI, were very short," Dompig said. "There are a few crucial questions that they still have to answer." He would not say what those questions were. Island authorities previously detained Joran van der Sloot, the teenage son of a Dutch justice official, and his two friends, Surinamese brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. They have said they were with Holloway on the night she disappeared, but a court ruled there was not enough evidence to continue to hold them. | | Natalee Holloway The Alabama House passed a resolution during a special session in July urging residents of the state to boycott Aruba. But the resolution never came up in the Senate because the family asked lawmakers to hold off to give Aruban authorities more time. Rep. Leslie Vance, D-Phenix City, plans to resubmit his resolution when the Legislature begins its regular session in January. Sen. Steve French, R-Birmingham, said he expects it to get quick approval in both the House and the Senate. "We are going to do everything we can to resolve this. Our prayers are with you," French said to the Twittys. Holloway was in Aruba on a high school graduation trip when she disappeared on the final night before the flight back. Riley was asked if parents should allow their children to go to Aruba on similar trips as long as Holloway's disappearance is unsolved. "I would not allow my daughter to go to Aruba," Riley said. Natalee Holloway attended junior high in Clinton, Miss., and her father still lives in Meridian. |
