Editorial: Natalee and the bla bla bla professors
by Jossy Mansur
DIARIO Aruba
11/21/2005

I didn’t know that in Aruba there were so many professionals who are specialized in bla bla bla, that is to say, those who express their baseless opinions, but what is revealed is their ignorance. There are some media in Aruba who are somewhat politically inclined which have lost notion of reality and which hide the word ‘truth’ behind their forgetfulness.

They can very well continue to wait for a reply from me that will never come, because I am not going to waste time tending to some fanatic blindingly tied to their negative habits of twisting everything and interpreting in their own way what they can’t express or write.

Their sick focus on the case of Natalee has become a pathetic aspect, not because it is difficult to solve, but because of the errors committed and the sentences dictated are obvious to everyone around the world who is aware of them.

It has nothing to do with whether Natalee is alive or not, but with the judge who came from Curaçao who preferred to ignore all the good work that the Aruban police did and the solid presentation of the prosecutor. Are the three suspects guilty or innocent? This will come out because you cannot hide this truth for very long, but sooner or later, it will come to light. On my part, they are innocent if Natalee turns out to be alive!

Some media, addicted to the government of the day converted the case of Natalee into a political circus. We, on the other hand, maintained a posture of looking at the case for what it is, and indicated the factors which came out of the many admissions of the three principal suspects: Joran, Deepak and Satish.

No one has accused them of murder, but they themselves admitted to police during interrogations that something bad happened to Natalee while she was with them, without specifying what ‘something bad’ was! That they admitted to committing sexual abuse against her, is in the admissions they made to the police, also confirmed by the latest videotape by Jamie Skeeters with Deepak, who made important revelations which incriminated all three.

I do not share the opinion that our police agents acted indifferently, or that they intentionally covered up certain details, but I do agree that there were strange things which happened at the beginning of the case that have to be deeply investigated to determine how one or another agent could have diverted, covered or twisted some details which ended up complicating the case more than necessary. My confidence in our agents continues as firm as ever.

It is not extensive that the judge who presided over the case and decided that some things were inadmissible. He could be the best judge in the world, but in this case, he made light of and greatly neglected to pay attention to the three suspects’ admissions, since he didn’t even interrogate them about what was left hanging in the air, such as the declaration of Joran at the beach that he believes that Deepak raped and killed Natalee! How did this matter end there? How were the other accusations and counter-accusations among the three suspects not evaluated for their just content? To say that they are chronic liars is not sufficient; it has to be determined where and how they lied to be able to arrive at the truth.

That Joran is in Holland thanks to the judge? I don’t have a problem with this; where I have a problem is with the official explanation sent to DIARIO from the Justice department specifying that the judge decided to se him free because he expressed his wish to continue with his studies. What will happen if another person in KIA also decides that they want to continue with their studies?

And about the matter of the boycott against Aruba. I have explained on various occasions and on American national media that I am not in agreement with any sort of boycott against our island for any reason.

I have explained to those with a sufficiently open mind to be able to understand, that Aruba has nothing to do with the case, that it is simply the place where it happened, nothing else! Justice is being handled by the Dutch, not by Arubans!

The boycott will be avoided by avoiding crazy statements, imprudent and mismanaged protests and by trying to engage in a dialogue instead of confrontations. We are known around the world as people who are sensible, hospitable and thankful to those who invest in our island and want nothing but good.

Additionally, I am certain that in Aruba we have enough sensible people to intervene and solve the matter in a way that is acceptable for all involved. If we permit that the intention of the boycott continue to grow, then it can become very serious and we all end up losing.

I will let the bla bla bla speakers continue with their subject matter. They exert no influence on me, no matter how many unfounded and unjust attacks are launched against my way of looking at the case, but there is one thing that I will not accept, and that is to tolerate any indirect comment that I could be against the interests of our island.

I have fought a lot and against great forces to defend Aruba; I have confronted countries and contrary interests in our fight for Status Aparte; I have run all sorts of personal risks during the time I fought against the communist current that arrived to Aruba from Grenada and Cuba, propagated by some cell that is still active on our island.

And I continue to be vigilant, now against the current intention to introduce in Aruba a totalitarian way of thinking and acting, in the creation of a sort of government whose negative alliances with neighboring countries, because it will destroy the peace and tranquility which reign on our island.

That I have an enormous respect for Holland? That is categorical! It is not for nothing that I am fighting for us to preserve our Dutch nationality, for us to become part of Europe on our terms, and for us to continue simply rectifying what is wrong in the justice system, which itself is good.

There are some that interpret the system who are deserving of my criticism; not the system itself, which I have categorized on American television as one of the best in the world.

I maintain my opinion, despite that the judge who came from Curaçao to complicate the case and threw it to the wolves. It is through the action of the Dutch judge that the serious problems started for Aruba and it is driving the American national sentiment in a negative direction toward our island.

Look at the problem for what it is, not for what you want to turn it into! It is the sentence of the judge who came from Curaçao which gave rise to the impression that the Dutch justice system is full of holes and open to partial interpretations! And they want to attribute this to Aruba, instead of placing the blame where it should be: in Holland!

[translated by Getagrip]