|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mejia meets Koizumi of Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan met with President Hipolito Mejia of at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on Wednesday. During the meeting Prime Minister Koizumi and President Mejia exchanged views on future bilateral relations and agreed to further enhance relations between their nations. Furthermore, Prime Minister Koizumi indicated Japan's intention to advance cooperation with the Dominican Republic in the social welfare and technology sectors, stating, "I intend to give forward-looking consideration toward providing vaccines for children and mechanical shovels to be used at government-operated farms." In the evening, a banquet hosted by Prime Minister Koizumi at his official residence. As reported by the CDN news network, President Mejia invited Koizumi to be present at an upcoming meeting in the Dominican Republic with Central American countries. Koizumi responded that he would like to visit the Dominican Republic, "but not on a work trip - on holidays." He expects more Japanese will travel to the Dominican Republic as increased promotion in Japan. President Hipolito Mejia also met with Japanese Emperor Akihito at the imperial residence in Tokyo yesterday. |
|
New Tourism office in Japan Minister of Tourism Rafael Subervi Bonilla announced that in less than a month a new tourism office will be opened in Tokyo to increase Japanese visitors to the DR. The Minister made a special presentation to Japanese travel agents and tourism industry executives of the first Dominican travel guide in Japanese. He assured travel agents that his office would work closely with airlines to secure new routes and prices from Japan. Subervi Bonilla, who traveled to Tokyo with President Hipolito Mejia for the official visit, is highlighting his country's service industry, quality products, attractions and enticing prices. Currently, about 6,000 Japanese tourists a year visit the DR. The tourism office will operate at the Dominican Embassy in Tokyo. |
|
Deputies pass electoral reform bill The Chamber of Deputies passed a bill that reforms the Central Electoral Board yesterday. The vote was 114 in favor and 15 against, of a total of 150 deputies. The bill proposes to divide the Central Electoral Board (JCE) into 2 chambers - one to handle electoral disputes overseen by 5 judges and the other for purely administrative matters overseen by 3 judges. The current JCE president, Morel Cerda, would preside over both chambers and the overall number of judges would thus be increased from 7 to 9. Opposition deputies had conditioned their approval of matters of interest to the Executive Branch - such as the US$600-million issuance of sovereign bonds - on the change in the Electoral Law. The bill was reformed during meetings of the so-called National Debate at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra. The opposition parties had rejected the Senate choice of judges for the Central Electoral Board on the grounds that the judges were partial to the ruling political party. The bill now passes on to the Senate for its approval although several senators have expressed their opposition to the bill. |
|
Taxi driver's opinion heard Diario Libre reports that an email from New York taxi driver Moises Castillo sent to the president of the Supreme Court of Justice is being used by the defense of former presidential security chief Colonel Pedro Julio Goico as supposed evidence of interference with justice in the case against Goico for supposed credit card fraud against the commercial bank Baninter. "I am a Dominican concerned with what is happening in my country and it hurts to see so many criminals free on bail," he told Diario Libre, confirming that he sent the email, but saying that he does not personally know Supreme Court of Justice Jorge Subero Isa. District Attorney Maximo Aristy Caraballo had complained that Supreme Court of Justice Jorge Subero Isa sent an email that influenced the decision of judge Nancy Joaquin. The judge returned the case against Pedro Julio Goico and two other military (Alberto Torres Pezzotti and Pedro Juan Diaz) for supposed credit card fraud. In her opinion, the case should be graded as "criminal" not "correctional". Subero received the Castillo email in which the taxi driver laments the weaknesses of the Dominican justice system and specifically mentions the track history of Pedro Julio Goico, who is already free on bail for his involvement in a RD$90-million National Lottery scandal from 1997. Subero sent a copy of the email to Enrique Marchena Perez, coordinator of the first-level instruction judges (those who prepare the cases), requesting that the missive be distributed among the other instruction judges. Press reports indicate that the credit card was instrumental to the purchase of luxury properties and goods in the Dominican Republic and abroad. Baninter has not pressed charges and it is unclear who had been paying the credit card bills of the card issued in the name of Pedro Julio Goico and his relatives. When asked who was responsible for the payments, Attorney General Aristy Caraballo referred journalist Edith Febles of El Caribe to Baninter for the answer. Interestingly, email and web discussions are playing an important role in holding interest in the corruption scandal, which is being described as the worst of its kind to affect the government so far. On a lighter note, many humorous emails are circulating regarding the advantages of owning what is being described as the "Pepecard". |
|
DA appeals Joaquin's decision District Attorney Maximo Aristy Caraballo appealed the decision of Judge Nancy Joaquin, who returned the case on the opinion that it should instead be sent to a criminal, and not correctional, court. El Caribe newspaper interviewed former judge Jose Miguel Pantaleon who explained that the case will now move on to an appeals court that may set bail for the four accused of the credit card fraud. The appeals court judges could also accept the opinion of Judge Joaquin and send the case to a criminal court for the preparation of the case. |
|
Solicitor urges end of impunity Solicitor General Virgilio Bello Rosa said that there is a lack of courage and decisiveness needed to fight corruption in the Dominican Republic. Bello Rosa spoke to an audience ranging from government ministers to diplomats attending the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption seminar held at the Hotel Jaragua under the auspices of the Organization of American States. Bello Rosa has been vocal regarding his opinion that the case against former presidential security chief Pedro Julio Goico should be tried in a criminal court. Bello Rosa said, ÒWe are at the mercy of unscrupulous persons for whom reaching government office is the equivalent of winning the lottery," he said. He also said that Dominican jails have not been for those who have money, especially if this money has been obtained by perpetrating white-collar crimes. He questioned the interests of those within the government who protect the corrupt members of their parties and are ruthless in taking action against judicial officers who rule against impunity. "Here in the Dominican Republic there has not been a single case in which a person in office, or once outside of it, has backed judicial persecution and the rendering of accounts against one of its members, even if the facts are well known," he said yesterday. "It is time that we assume the will of an increasingly aware public, that we organize ourselves to make our voices heard, that we denounce and reject those who engage in abusing that which belongs to all Dominicans by taking advantage of their positions, and that the courts levy exemplary penalties," he proclaimed to his international audience. At the event, Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said, "It is not enough to strengthen cooperation or to send to jail some of the corrupt if the structural causes that generate corruption are not eliminated because otherwise, others will take their place." |
|
Ambassador optimistic about bilateral Speaking at the monthly luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce, Ambassador of the US in Dominican Republic, Hans Hertell said, "I am convinced that if things continue as they are now, the Dominican Republic will be one of the first countries in the region to have free commerce with the US". He added that proof of this is the conversation he had with Robert Zoellick, the leading US trade negotiator. Hertell said that although many question the benefits that a free trade agreement would bring to the country, the same people should consider the current condition of the country and all the profits free trade has already brought. He mentioned that Senator Kerry of Massachusetts said that the Dominican Republic is currently the country with the highest growth in the Western Hemisphere, because Dominicans know how to profit from all sorts of commerce with other countries. In reference to exports, Hertell mentioned that in 2001 more than US$4.4-billion was exported from the country to the US, making it the 5th most significant exporter to the US this side of the globe. |
|
Military investigated for visa scandal Several Dominican militaries serving at the United States mission in Santo Domingo are under investigation for supposedly securing travel visas for individuals posing as members of the military. The servicemen were assigned to the Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) of the US Embassy. First Lieutenant Cesar Mejia Gonzalez is the only name mentioned in the press in this case. As reported in Diario Libre, the militaries would forge personal documents for their clients and recommend them to a military commission for courses abroad. A source at the US Embassy confirmed that the investigations are ongoing. |
|
Successful kidney transplant Listin Diario reports today on the kidney transplant that is keeping eight-year old Jheisy Valdez alive. The child received a kidney from her father two weeks ago at the Corazones Unidos hospital, where the medical team was composed of Ashley Baquero, Nicolas Rizik, Jiomar Figueroa, Juan Caraballo and Federico Suero and other specialists. Baquero told the Listin Diario that a successful transplant opens doors for operations on other children who cannot afford to seek treatment abroad. |
|
Cogentrix could take government to court A spokesperson for the power producer Cogentrix told El Caribe that the Dominican government currently owes the company US$39-million for electricity generated since July. Cogentrix has sent letters to the corresponding government officials and copies of those letters to the institutions financing the project, including the Interamerican Development Bank and the KFW of Germany. "What we are trying to do is send a warning about the effect any default on this project would have on the international community," said Leonel Mesa. Mesa explained that if the case is decided in an international court of arbitrage, the government could be forced not only to pay the accumulated debt, but also to reimburse the total investment, which is more than US$300-million. Minister of Finance Jose Lois Malkum has said that the government cannot pay its debt to Cogentrix and is instead trying to renegotiate its contract. The contract with Cogentrix has been described as excessively costly to the state because the electricity must be bought from Cogentrix at a cost much higher than for what it is sold to the distribution companies. In the meantime, the Cogentrix generators have been out of operation for more than one month, costing the government US$3.5-million as the contractual clauses oblige the state to make payment regardless of whether the plant is in operation or not. |
|
Major tuition increase for 2004 The National Federation of Private Education Centers (Fenacep) announced that tuition would go up 17%-26% next year. The greater increases would be levied on those who study at English-language or bilingual schools and will be effective for 2003-2004 school year enrollments. Fauntly Garrido, president of the federation, justifies the hikes by saying that there have been significant increases in the cost of power, telephone service, the exchange rate and social security that will increase the costs of the centers. He said that this year has been very difficult for the schools, which have had to absorb significant expenditures that were not contemplated in their budgets. The Minister of Education, Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch, recognized that the centers need to adjust their tuition to the escalating costs and said she would state her official position next Monday. |
|
Surviving cheap Asian apparel Journalist Doreen Hemlock of the Sun Sentinel of Florida was recently in the Dominican Republic to prepare a series of reports on how the Dominican Republic apparel industry is re-maneuvering to survive amidst the threat of much lower-cost apparel production in China. The garment trade transformed the Dominican Republic into the No. 2 trade partner of South Florida, with more than US$2-billion in apparel-related shipments yearly, she explains. Much of this trade would be lost if urgent changes are not put into effect. In the Sunday Florida newspaper report, Hemlock says that at stake in the Dominican Republic is a bustling industry that directly employs more than 140,000. She focuses on how the smaller manufacturers may be losing the battle, while the larger ones are rising to the challenge. Among proposed changes to be implemented are the offers of higher-value services and the translocation of some production to lower-wage Haiti. Arturo Peguero of Grupo M, the largest apparel producer, explained that in order to prosper, companies are now offering a full range of services from computer design to fabric cutting, sewing, finishing and distribution. He explained that the next step is to cash in on the country's geographic proximity to the United States, with a heightened focus on fashion and seasonal garments that require quick delivery. Likewise, the company is emphasizing quality and quality control, catering to premium brands such as Ralph Lauren and Eddie Bauer in order to offset the higher cost of production in the Dominican Republic. See http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-sbdrapparel24newnov24.story |
|
Puerto Plata Festival The Puerto Plata Merengue Festival opens today, with the participation of some of the leading Dominican orchestras, in hotels and parks until Sunday, 1 December. Among the bands that will have Puerto Plata dancing are: Milly Quezada, Jossie Esteban, Rubby Perez, Sergio Vargas, Eddy Herrera, Ramon Orlando, Joseito Mateo, Rasputin, El Ciego de Nagua, Fefita la Grande, Francisco Ulloa, and la India Canela. The Ministry of Tourism organizes the event, which is supported by the Puerto Plata Hotel Association. |
|
DR has 44 medals The Dominican Republic now has 44 medals in the Central American and Caribbean Games taking place in El Salvador. This figure is comprised of 6 gold, 12 silver and 26 bronze medals. The weightlifting team has contributed 26 medals to the grand total that places the DR in 5th place overall in the medal standings. |
|
Escogido defeats the Bulls Escogido, down 4-0 for most of the game, rallied with a Rafael Furcal (Atlanta Braves) single in the 7th to break the game wide open and lead the Lions to a 7-4 victory at Quisqueya Stadium. The win gives the Lions a 4-3 lead in the series with the Bulls, allowing them to keep a firm grasp on the 4th and final playoff spot. |
|
Stars drop the Eagles Ramon Moreta knocked in two runs in the seventh inning to lead the Eastern Stars to victory over the Eagles. The Stars continued their home field dominance and are now 12-4 at home after beating the Eagles for the second time there. The Stars remained in sole possession of third place and the Eagles are still 6 games ahead of the Giants. The Giants' game with Licey was postponed due to protests in the San Francisco de Macoris area. |
|
|
|
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 1996-2008. DR1. All Rights Reserved. |
