Alabama Lawmakers Ask residents not to travel to Aruba

This may be a bit premature and actually probably a bad idea in general. Today the Alabama House passed a resolution to boycott travel to Aruba. Just as it was wrong when Dee Fine asked for boycotts on her radio show; this may be even worse. I am failing to see the productive value in such a measure except to further strain the relationship that of recent had been going in a more positive direction.

The Alabama House passed a resolution Friday asking Alabama residents to boycott travel to Aruba, where an Alabama teenager has been missing for more than seven weeks.

The resolution expresses concern that no one has been charged in the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway of Mountain Brook. She disappeared May 30, hours before she was to catch a return flight to Alabama, at the end of a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island.

The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Leslie Vance, D-Phenix City, who said he hopes the threat of losing tourist dollars will encourage officials in Aruba to speed up the investigation.

“This is a way to say to the authorities down there that you have to get serious about this,” Vance said.

Rep. Jim Carns, R-Mountain Brook, whose district includes Holloway’s residence, said he supports the resolution.

“I think we need to do something to get their attention,” Carns said. “One of our citizens went their as a tourist and apparently something terrible happened.”

On the very day that the “Aruban Aruban Prime Minister Nel Oduber and Minister of Justice Rudy Croes ordered all materials pertaining to the Natalee Holloway investigation to be given to the FBI“. Talk about bad timing. One would think that even the family might be troubled by such a statement at this point. The Holloway’s and Twitty’s have made it abundantly known that their problem is not with the Aruban people. Their issues have been with the investigation and those it it, some who are no longer on the case.

I hardly think that this is the time to politicize this unfortunate event and more one to help provide resources to the investigation. Maybe a better idea would have been to give a donation to Texas EquuSearch.

Maybe if the Alabama Representatives wanted to do something productive, they should question why the FBI does not have Natalee Holloway on FBI Missing Person’s List? Maybe the good people of Alabama may want to call their Representatives and ask them this question as to why an American Intelligence organization would not have Natalee listed before they decide to boycott a country? As a fellow Monkey was emailed back by the FBI Birmingham Field Office after asking that very question:

“FBI Headquarters makes the designation as to who goes on the missing
persons list, not the individual field offices. The investigation is still
ongoing and FBI HQ will decide when/if she will go on the list.

Thank you.”

Hat Tip: From fellow anonymous Monkey for forwarding the article.