The introduction of a 9:00pm curfew in Aruba on Saturday did not go without hiccups. There was a video on social media of one motorist loudly playing music of action movie “The Purge” who seemed to be taunting police to chase him.
A total of 76 persons were detained over the weekend for violating the order. Of 31 held during the first night 29 received the applicable fine of 1,000 florins each while the other two will have to pay more because they also resisted arrest.
ORANJESTAD/THE HAGUE--Journalists in Aruba are angry about the fact that they have not been exempted from the curfew. They are boycotting press conferences and news from the local government since Friday. The Netherlands Association of Journalists NVJ is concerned and has written to Aruba Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes.
And, on Monday, Members of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) and Nevin Özütok of the green left party GroenLinks submitted written questions to Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops.
The Aruba government has not included journalists in the group of vital professions which is allowed to move during the curfew hours, between 9:00pm and 6:00am. As a result, the journalists have not been able to do their job and they feel censored since the measure went into effect last Friday.
The Aruba policy seems in contravention to St. Maarten where journalists, including of this newspaper, have a special document so they can work during the curfew hours. The media have a vital role in communicating information and news to the people.
The Aruba media immediately protested against the government decision and sent a letter to the NVJ, the Aruba Police Force KPA and the local Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday. On Saturday, the journalists of 21 media outlets tried to meet with the Prime Minister, who doesn’t think that the measure doesn’t curb freedom of press.
According to Wever-Croes, the curfew is a measure to curb the spreading of the COVID-19 virus. Nonsense say the journalists. “Government acts as if the virus is more active during the curfew than during the day when we are allowed to go on the road together with the rest of the people,” the journalists contended.
Tensions between the Prime Minister and the group of protesting journalists erupted on Saturday evening. According to Wever-Croes, the journalists disrupted her press conference inside the Government Administration Building. The journalists wanted to give her a protest letter and when she came outside, she was treated with disrespect.
The Prime Minister said she was informed by the journalists that they would continue to do their job during the curfew hours. She said that she explained the situation to the group, and then suggested to discuss the matter the following day as she was very tired. “But what was worse was that when she turned around, the journalists started to yell and insult her,” it was stated in a press release over the weekend.
Members of Parliament (MPs) Van Raak and Özütok are worried about the limiting of freedom of the press in Aruba. They asked Minister Knops whether he agreed that especially in times of the coronavirus, journalists should be able to do their job and inform the people. “In this light, what is your view on the fact that journalists in Aruba cannot do their job as a result of the curfew?”
Van Raak and Özütok wanted to know on which law the decision to curb freedom of the press was based. The MPs sought clarity about the arrest of Aruba journalist Sharina Henriquez of NTR Caribbean Network on Sunday for violating the curfew. “Is it correct that she was handcuffed and received a fine of about 500 euros?”
Van Raak and Ozütok asked Knops whether he was willing to include in the preconditions for (financial) assistance to Aruba during this crisis that journalists have a vital occupation and that they should not be hindered in doing their job. They reminded the Minister of the fact that the journalists have the support of the NVJ.
The NVJ has sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Wever-Croes in which she was urged not to hinder the work of the journalists. “Especially during the coronavirus crisis, journalists play a crucial role in providing independent information,” the NVJ stated.
The NVJ pointed out that in the Netherlands, journalists were included in the vital sectors and professions and that the special position of the press is taken into account. “We want to urge you to do the same for journalists in Aruba within very short.” NVJ Board Member Wensly Francisco said he wants to create emergency press badges for the Aruba media. Aruba has no local journalist association where members can obtain a press badge.
