Amigoe: Delegation to Washington for Holloway-case

Amigoe, December 16, 2005: Delegation to Washington for Holloway-case

ARUBA — A delegation consisting of chief of police Dolfi Richardon and lawyer Arleen Ellis-Schipper went to Washington today to talk with American members of congress on the Natalee Holloway case. They will definitely talk to Spencer Bacchus from Alabama. According to the Strategic Communication Task Force, Bacchus self has requested to talk to them. When the governor of Alabama had called for a boycott of Aruba, Bacchus wanted to know whether this was appropriate.

Ellis-Schipper has been more than once on national TV in the US to explain the Aruban legal system. Richardson is chief of police since Jan van der Straten left. The plan is to talk with people in Washington behind the scenes. Some people in the Task Force do not think that going to Washington is going to be useful; because chances are that the congress members from Alabama to whom the delegation is going to talk are facing re-election. The home front is for them more important than the interest of Aruba. Some members also think that the mission might work against them.