DIARIO Column: Aruban community cannot accept that Joran continues to lie
DIARIO Aruba
02/06/2008

ORANJESTAD (AAN) –After the press conference by the Public Ministry was broadcast live on television, a few calls came into to our offices where the public opinion also had its verdict related to the situation in which Joran van der Sloot has put and continued to put our country.

One remark that was made about the Public Ministry, is about the response that mr. Mos gave a journalist about his question of whether Joran’s parents were informed as to what was going to happen to the youngster. Public opinion finds it very strange that seeing that Joran is 20 years old, therefore of age, there is no need for the O.M. to put his parents up to date of what’s going to happen.

Three years ago the Justice Officer who was in charge of the case discussed the case a few times with Joran’s father, which public opinion finds isn't right. At that time the young man was able to be set free.

But the Public Ministry has another function and it is not to inform the accused or his family of what is going to happen to him and has to remain distant from the accused because at the moment it is too close to the accused and gives information as to what is going to happen, this institution is no longer independent!

The community now again has questions if it is the case that Joran is going to be set free, since he will know all the steps that the Public Ministry will take, given that they are ‘singing’ this into the ears of the father, who is also a jurist.

Various people find that Joran cannot continue to say that he is lying. In all sorts of way on television he is saying “I lied”, but the time has come where it is no longer acceptable to the community of Aruba that Joran continues to lie, because he has done much harm to the economy of our country.

According to public opinion, the community should demand from Joran van der Sloot’s family damages and prejudice because he has set our economy back, by continuing to lie.

A person cannot remain lied to every time he says something and this time the community has to react. These are the thoughts of different people who called yesterday afternoon at our offices when they saw the press conference on television.

Finally, it could be observed that many viewers were very disappointed and they felt from the beginning that the case was not dealt with adequately and that the Public Ministry did not remain neutral and reiterated that the O.M. should not have been in contact with the parents, especially the father of Joran van der Sloot.

[translated by Getagrip]