Aruba: Minister Booshi Wever: ‘If I lose the case, I will step down’ … “Minister Wever denies having been in a strip-club that night”

This sounds  rather  familiar to a former  American politician  … “I did not go to that strip club … not a single time, not once”. The political fur seems to be flying in Aruba these days. Now we have a political strip club scandal.

Minister Wever denies having been in a strip-club that night.   He declared before the judge that ministers are not supposed to visit such establishments.   He said that he was indeed in Punto Fijo for a baseball tournament.   He indicated that the article bothers him a lot.   “My kids are being teased with this article.   This situation is very unpleasant for my family, because people keep talking about it.”  

I think the larger issue is that the Aruban government has no concept of what freedom of speech is. The MEP party has made it abundantly clear in past news articles what they plan on doing to individuals who dare speak against them.

They may have other more pending issues though, like finding Natalee Holloway.

  

Amigoe: 8/31/06; Minister Booshi Wever:Â   ‘If I loose the case, I will step down’Â  

ARUBA — “I do not know what happened that night and if the minister was present.   That’s also not the matter.   The matter is whether Diario, based on rumours, had to publish that the minister was involved in misbehaviour, without first investigate whether the rumours were based on the truth and without listening to the minister’s side of the story”, said the judge during the lawsuit yesterday that minister Candelario ‘Booshi’ Wever (MEP) of Immigration Affairs, Public health, and Environment had instituted against the morning paper Diario.  

The minister said that based on the news in the paper, he was called to account by the party-top of the MEP.   He said that if it turns out that what the newspaper wrote is true, he will have to step down.  

The judge told the parties that they will have to try to come to a mutual declaration that Diario will then have to publish.   He says that this will do more justice to the matter, than just a rectification.   “If I give a verdict, one of the parties will always run away from the verdict and nothing is solved.”.  Ã‚  

The paper published an article on August 7^th, stating that there were rumours that a politician had visited a strip-club in Punto Fijo (Venezuela) that weekend.   When the politician was presented with the bill, he refused to pay, because the amount was too high.   There was a fight and the politician was dealt telling blows.  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Diario published the article the next day and included reactions from the society as a result of the alleged misbehaviors of a ‘minister’.  Ã‚   Diario didn’t mention the name of the minister in its article.   How can the minister be concerned now, was the reaction of the defence.     The judge was very clear about that.   There is no doubt on who is being referred at; especially considering the political cartoon with minister Wever and his fellow party member Premier Nelson Oduber discussing the behaviour of ministers.  

Minister Wever denies having been in a strip-club that night.   He declared before the judge that ministers are not supposed to visit such establishments.   He said that he was indeed in Punto Fijo for a baseball tournament.   He indicated that the article bothers him a lot.   “My kids are being teased with this article.   This situation is very unpleasant for my family, because people keep talking about it.”  

The lawyer of the minister claimed a big amount in damages.   She said that Diario should be taken before the judge with clock-like regularity, because trifles with the journalistic values.  Ã‚   “It is the lowest form of yellow press.”   The newspaper always came off with a verdict with low damages or none up till now.   The lawyer says that it is time to put an end to the ‘unnecessary offensive comments, lies, and allegations that exceed the level of decency’.     Diario’s lawyer said that there is no reason for a conviction.   The newspaper has published the minister’s letter as reaction on the minister’s injunction to rectify the article.   The newspaper has not published the name of the minister either.   The newspaper is of the opinion that there is no offence, because the article said that the news is based on rumours.   According to the plaintiff, the rumour is described with so much details that the reader gets the impression that the misbehaviour has indeed happened.  

Dario had three witnesses, Venezuelan natives that were in the club and made a statement at a notary’s office.   They claimed that minister Wever was in the club, drunk, had abused his power position, and had disturbed the public order.   The judge agreed with the plaintiffs that the declarations do not say what happened exactly and also that it cannot be verified.   “It is a you say, I say story”, said the judge.   There is no evidence that what Diario wrote has really happened.”