"CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?"

Investigation on "HOLD"

ORANJESTAD (AAN): Monday, the police union (SPA) held a press conference to clear up certain matters that are still pending with the police force. According to SPA president Eric Zaandam, there are some things that are going in a troublesome route and because of this he felt it would be good to hold a press conference.

According to Zaandam, he noted that letters that were sent to the police force, to indicate that certain persons cannot speak with the press anymore, etc. Also, in the Public Prosecutor’s Office, certain people cannot speak to the press, which makes everything fall upon the police force, on its employees.

According to the SPA president, it is now enough and they have to explain to the press what is taking place, so that the press can see what is going on.

Zaandam said that he wants to elaborate on the matter of Commissioner Dompig, where he has been prohibited from speaking to the press and that the Minister of Justice said that Dompig speaks too much with the press and because of this he has forbidden him from doing so.

According to Zaandam, 2 months ago Dompig was approached by AHATA’s CEO, who is a member of the Communications Task Force, Jorge Pesquera, to become spokesperson of the task force.

The reason was that a few consultancy companies in the US showed that the message on the part of Aruba was not reaching in a clear and strong manner internationally using the spokespersons that they were using.

The consultancy companies counseled the Task Force to get a person who knows the legal process and knows about investigations in Aruba and so they decided to approach Dompig to do this.

The arrangement for Dompig’s interviews was that all questions that were to be asked of Dompig, among others for the magazine ‘Vanity Fair’, were first screened by the consultancy companies so that Commissioner Dompig could give the appropriate answers. All this took place according rules and wording, with the Prime Minister’s knowledge who gave the OK for this. Now that everything has come out in Vanity Fair and that the American producers have come out with another strategy to attack Aruba, all of a sudden Dompig has become a person who speaks too much.

The Minister of Justice came into the game, as if there was no communication between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice, and now all the press knows that the Minister of Justice prohibited Commissioner Dompig from speaking. These dirty games are unacceptable, according to Zaadam, who said that, for example, no one from the Task Force has come forward to say that they gave Commissioner Dompig the OK themselves, and that they have screened everything and that all was done in a correct manner.

The Prime Minister also can come forward to say that the Minister of Justice was at fault for prohibiting Dompig from speaking. This, according to Zaandam, who said that he wants to bring this type of thing forward to show how the police is being played by all other institutions.

All these games are for one sole objective that is unacceptable for the police, where for example prosecutor Karen Janssen was also prohibited to speak. After some time, now the Minister of Justice has expressed that prosecutor Angela from Curaçao has come to Aruba to conduct an investigation of the team of investigators.

According to the SPA president, Angela has come to Aruba to do this and not to assist in the investigation. This cannot be, according to Zaandam, who said that there can never be and investigation in an investigation.

After that SPA met with the team of investigators, they agreed that they are going to have everything on hold, until they are able to find out exactly what prosecutor Angela has come to do in Aruba. When they asked chief prosecutor Karen Janssen what prosecutor Angela came to do in Aruba, she said that she doesn’t know, that it’s something she can’t.

Prosecutor Angela hasn’t been in contact with the investigative team either, about for example, certain documents that he has related to the case, to see in detail what is taking place.

According to Zaandam, prosecutor Angela is sitting in an office at the Attorney General’s, is looking at the investigation files, which is something that cannot take place, and because of this they have stopped the investigation of the case, temporarily. Zaandam said that he realizes that this is a very troublesome decision, but it will be taken until they find more clarity about this.

He continued to say that now the American Senate has asked for more information on the case of Holloway and the intention of the government to send Arlene Schipper and Commissioner Dolfi Richardson to Washington. Zaandam said that this is after three Commissioners that they added to the investigation of the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. This way people’s attention is diverted.

This, according to the SPA president, who said that it is a public secret that there is a problem between the Attorney General and chief prosecutor Karen Janssen, and this is just something that cannot go on in the police force. According to Zaandam, he wants to avoid any division within the police force, that they government and others are trying to create.

First there was the supposed clash between Commissioner van der Straten and Commissioner Dompig, where van der Straten retired and things calmed down. Now Dompig took over the case, where they involved Dolfi Richardson in the game, to see if there was a clash.

SPA advised the two Commissioners that there is no clash in the police force and they expressed together that they are behind the investigative team, that they are together in this and that they speak together in respect to the team and the case. It is clear that if there is a separate power who wants to divide this team, they can forget about it.

According to Zaandam, the investigative team is doing a tremendous job and this has also been expressed by the Dutch colleagues, who were also in Aruba for the investigation.

These Dutch experts expressed in an FBI magazine that they could not have done a better job than the Aruban investigative team, (I can't believe the balls on those Dutch experts saying the FBI wouldn't have done a better job than the Aruban investigative team!) would have.

However the Minister of Justice indicated that there will be an investigation of the investigative team, on the part of prosecutor Angela (whom he has respect for, according to Zaandam), who has barely 2 years as prosecutor, compared to the 15/16 years of experience of the prosecution’s office. According to Zaandam, it’s best if they brought a prosecutor or expert from Holland, for example, who has a lit of experience in this area, for them to come do their investigation.

Zaandam said that the police of Aruba even listened to the FBI agents in Aruba speaking to their superiors in the US, saying what a good job the Aruban investigators are doing and do with the resources they have.