Joran Van der Sloot and OM Talk in the Netherlands … Oduber Only Worried About Aruban Ecomomy.

As the case of Joran Van der Sloot and his involvement in the disappearance and death of Natalee Holloway heats up after the release of the Peter R. De Vries tapes, Aruba once again shows what’s important to them … their tourism. While plans are made for Hans Mos, the Aruban Public Prosecutor, to meet with Joran Van der Sloot in the Netherlands, the Prime Minister of Aruba, Nelson Oduber, and tourism officials are more intent on discussing tourism rather than the crime that happened on their island. As they tried to do from day one when Natalee Holloway went missing … they just want it all to go away.

For prime Minister Nelson Oduber, the Holloway-case cannot be over with fast enough.  He said in Nova that Aruba has already lost tens of millions American dollars in damages, due to the Natalee Holloway case.

Aruba and its police officials have some serious explaining to do as to why certain questions were asked in the beginning of the investigation with regards to Natalee Holloway having a history of seizures.

However, Aruban tourism officials continue to be in s state of denial when it comes to why their tourism went into the tank in 2005 and thereafter following the disappearance and handling of the Holloway case. There was no economic recession in 2005. As for oil prices, they have been higher following 2005. Aruba, if you don’t think that the way you handled the Natalee Holloway case had anything to do with your tourism drop, then I guess you will not mind when people continue to boycott your island until there is  … Justice for Natalee.

It appeared from a tourist inquiry that the Natalee Holloway-case was also not the most important factor for the tourism to drop in 2005.  The most important reasons were the oil prices, the economic recession, expensive airline tickets, fewer hotel rooms due to renovations (some hotels were even close), and hurricanes.  The effect of the Holloway-case was already to a smaller extent at that time. 

Joran and OM talk tomorrow in the Netherlands (Amigoe: 2/7/08)

ORANJESTAD – The conversation between Joran van der Sloot and the Public Prosecutor (OM) will most probably take place in the Netherlands tomorrow, said Joran’s lawyer Ariean de Bie.  Van der Sloot indicated last Monday that he is willing to be interrogated again by the police.

Other sources indicated that justice has also contacted the murder suspect of Natalee Holloway today.  It is possible that chief prosecutor Hans Mos is also going to be present.  He left for the Netherlands yesterday, supposedly for holidays, said the OM.

Journalists have meanwhile started a chase on the ‘real Daury’.  According to crime journalist Peter R. de Vries, who gave the Holloway-case a new impulse last week with an undercover operation, the presented Daury Rodriguez is not the Daury that Joran meant.  He beeped away the last name of Daury in the footage of his investigation.  Daury Rodriguez denied having been the person that helped Joran van der Sloot dispose of Natalee Holloway’s body.  He was in the Netherlands when this happened in Aruba. 

According to the local radio station Cool FM and a journalist of the Dutch current affairs column Network, a half brother of Joran, a Lorenzo van R., does fit the profile.   He does have a boat and his name has already appeared earlier in the Holloway-file.  Peter R. de Vries has confirmed having heard of Lorenzo van R.’s name, but that he didn’t want to use him for his programme.  The Dutch programme Nova and other media have also mentioned other names, especially names of boys that often hang about the ‘surfing circuit’ near the Fisherman’s Hut next to the Marriott.  

Peter R. de Vries and Patrick van der Eem, the man that elicited a confession from Joran on hidden cameras, are thinking more of the ‘poker circuit’.  Van der Eem says that Joran is addicted to playing poker.  Like former chief of police Gerold Dompig already said in the past, Joran is a meritorious poker player and won quite a bit of money with poker tournaments.  The just 20-year old Joran sometimes gambled away 4000 euro with a night out playing poker.  According to Van der Eem, Joran continued to bombard him with email and sms until the day of the disclosure. 

After he had met Joran in a poker game in the casino, Van der Eem had approached the Dutch police last year with the suggestion to unmask him.  Justice questions the fact that he had given himself up.  Due to the fact that there is no law for special powers to investigate (BOB), deploy a civil informant in Aruba is unfortunately impossible, but this is different in the Netherlands.  Using police-informants is possible, but with ‘a lot of trouble’.  “But that is going to change”, said an insider in the OM.  “A BOB law is in the make and will probably be presented soon.”

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For prime Minister Nelson Oduber, the Holloway-case cannot be over with fast enough.  He said in Nova that Aruba has already lost tens of millions American dollars in damages, due to the Natalee Holloway case.

Chair Rob Smith of tourist organization Ahata is of the opinion that it won’t get to that this time.  “This time, the effects of the case will be significantly less than a few years ago.  I think that the weak American economy is a more important factor for the tourists to stay away.  As destination for short vacations, Aruba remains popular, but I worry more for the summer, when the American middle class traditionally visit the island.”

It appeared from a tourist inquiry that the Natalee Holloway-case was also not the most important factor for the tourism to drop in 2005.  The most important reasons were the oil prices, the economic recession, expensive airline tickets, fewer hotel rooms due to renovations (some hotels were even close), and hurricanes.  The effect of the Holloway-case was already to a smaller extent at that time.  The tourist branch is this year waiting to see what the collapsing of the housing market in the US will mean for the tourism here and thus the American economy.

“All and all in 2005, the Holloway-case has cost us a maximum of 6 points on the scale that we maintain for tourism proceeds”, explains Smith.  “Each point less costs the economy an estimate of 25 million guilders.  But compared with the region, we nevertheless did well in 2005.”