Next Wednesday, President Leonel Fernandez will meet with all political parties with representation in Congress, to discuss the forthcoming constitutional reform. The meeting will take place at the Presidential Palace as announced by Msgr. Agripino Nunez Collado, after a meeting during which Fernandez presented the need for reaching consensus, as the country requires a modification that will serve as a basis for future reforms such as the redefinition of the Central Electoral Board and a Law of Political Parties.
As reported by Diario Libre, Nunez Collado stated that "the President is very clear about this being a constitutional reform for the 21st century". He said that the lawyers who were appointed to propose the constitution changes have recommended holding popular consultations, which should be "as inclusive and participative as possible". There will be two levels of consultation. One will be directed towards organized sectors such as FINJUS (the Institutionalism and Justice Foundation), Participacion Ciudadana (Citizen Participation), or the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs, and another level will consist of open dialogue with anyone in the country's provinces who has anything to say about the constitutional reform. The 13 lawyers appointed by the President have until 31 December to present their preliminary reform project.
The arrival of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, which was scheduled for 9pm last night, was again postponed, this time due to bad weather in the area, caused by tropical storm Chris. Annan finally arrived this morning together with his wife Nane and was received at Las Americas International Airport by Dominican Deputy Foreign Ministers Jose Manuel Trullols and Alejandra Liriano, and the Coordinator of the UN System in the DR, Niky Fabiancic, according to Foreign Ministry sources.
The Customs Department complained that the Santiago District judge has heard cases that are sending bad signals about the correct application of the law and the struggle against customs violations. El Caribe reports that these cases include that of the company Provisiones Marte & Reyes CXA, from which the Customs Department seized 5,807 boxes of whisky, wine and different types of liquor and 400 loose bottles, merchandise that was found in a sealed underground cistern. The company was unable to prove that the merchandise had been legally imported, and was indicted. The Civil and Commercial Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Santiago ordered the confiscated merchandise returned on grounds that it was being held by the Customs Department and not the Justice Department which was allegedly a violation of due process.
The National Tobacco Institute (INTABACO), the Attorney General's Department, and state security institutions have impounded 2,871 boxes of counterfeit cigars, with 40,000 cigars that were on sale in different tourist centers in the country and other stores. Counterfeited brands included Romeo y Julieta, Cohiba, Montecristo, Davidoff, Partagas, Gloria Cubana, Macanudo, Punch, Troya, Thomson and others. The cigars were seized in shopping centers, stores, beaches and tourist plazas in Santo Domingo, Bayahibe, Higuey and Bavaro.
The Japanese government is donating RD$200 million to the Dominican government for the construction of the Foreign Trade and Investment Development Training Center. The donation will be spent on equipment, vehicles and materials to be used in the construction of the center, which will be located next to the Center for Export and Investment on Luperon Avenue in Santo Domingo, as reported by Diario Libre. The donation agreement was signed by Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso and Japanese Ambassador Haruo Okamoto, who said that the Japanese government is interested in strengthening bonds between his country and the Dominican Republic.
A Dominican Air Force helicopter crashed into a house in El Cangrejo de Monte Llano, Puerto Plata yesterday, after taking off from the Puerto Plata Air Force Base. The two officers on board were wounded and immediately taken to the Ramon de Lara Hospital in San Isidro, according to Diario Libre sources. The helicopter had taken off at 10:58am bound for Dajabon on the border with Haiti and fell three miles southeast of the military base in Puerto Plata. The wounded officers were Captain Roa Ochoa and Lieutenant Coroner Valenzuela Taveras. The inhabitants of the house that was hit by the helicopter were unharmed. The accident is being investigated.
The PLD ruling party, which won the majority in the May congressional election, has announced who will be determining the legislature's agenda for the next year. The party announced that the Senate will be led by party secretary general Reinaldo Pared Perez (brother of Armed Forces Minister Sigfrido Pared Perez), who is senator-elect for the National District (city of Santo Domingo). The vice president of the Senate will be Cristina Lizardo, senator for the Province of Santo Domingo (sister of General Controller Simon Lizardo). Spokesman for the senators will be Francis Vargas, PLD-Puerto Plata.
The Chamber of Deputies will be led by Julio Cesar Valentin (PLD-Santiago) and the vice president will be Lucia Medina (sister of Secretary of the Presidency Danilo Medina). The senators and deputies are scheduled to vote on 16 August, start of the new legislature, to make the party's choices official.
Armed Forces Minister Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez has announced that the United States government will provide the Dominican Republic with assistance with tri-dimensional radars to detect airplanes that use Dominican airspace at low altitude for illegal activities, mainly drug trafficking. This will allow the Dominican authorities to receive early warning about airplanes violating the country's airspace as well as all vessels approaching its shores, as reported by Diario Libre. The Admiral is in Key West, Florida, where discussions about the signing of a protocol with the Anti-Narcotics Intelligence Coordination Joint Command were taking place. He said that this collaboration with the US would start next week and information will be provided by radar centers in Miami and Puerto Rico that will send the data via satellite. The authorities explained that air traffic control radars installed in Dominican airports aren't able to detect low-flying aircraft. Pared Perez said that the Armed Forces are in the process of purchasing a 3D radar for use by the Air Force.
It is known that thieves who are caught in the act are shortly after freed by prosecutors or justice. This has led to frustration and now citizens are taking violent action against assailants, if you go by three cases reported in today's Listin Diario. One tells the story of a man who had stolen a mobile phone and RD$2,000 from a young woman on Wednesday on Prolongacion 27 de Febrero in Las Caobas around 10pm, and was lynched by residents of Las Caobas. He had no ID on him, but was about 20 years old, said Police spokesman General Simon Antonio Diaz. Another case was reported in Santiago, of an 18 year old caught stealing from a Los Ciruelitos neighborhood home. The man entered the home and attacked a young girl who called for help and the neighbors went after the thief, catching him and beating him almost to death. The Police arrived in time to save him from death. He was taken to hospital and then to prosecutors for preparing a case against him. The Police reports a third case in Cienfuegos, Santiago, where a man was caught stealing electricity wires and was spared from a probable death when he ran into a Police patrol, confessed his crime and asked for protection.
Interior and Police Minister Franklin Almeyda said that the measures to close bars, discotheques and colmadones were taken after a two-year research project showed that most violence occurs around night spots and activities where there is drinking, due to problems between friends or traffic accidents. He explained that the sale of alcohol after midnight have a significant correlation to the increase in violence, although not necessarily to crime. He said that the decision to close these drinking centers at midnight Sunday to Thursday, and at 2am on Fridays and Saturdays is directed at reducing violence, while the patrols seek to reduce crime. He said that the measures have proven their worth in the first week, with a significant decline in violence. He said this is reflected by the considerable reduction in admissions to hospital emergency departments.
He responded to complaints from the Presidente beer producers who said that no study had ever shown that drinking was behind the current increase in crime.
Owners of entertainment centers such as bars, nightclubs and restaurants have begun to complain about the measures that limit the sale of alcoholic beverages and are reporting a 40% drop in their sales since 25 July. In a public letter addressed to President Leonel Fernandez, they express their concern over the negative effects that the measure is having on their profits. Since 25 July, the sale of alcoholic beverages has been limited to until midnight on Sundays through Thursdays, and until 2:00am on Fridays and Saturdays. According to the letter, this measure will force bar, discotheque and restaurant owners to fire approximately 100,000 employees in the short term and will reduce government tax income. A delegation from the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants is discussing the measures with Interior and Police Minister Franklin Almeyda. There have been problems with the methods law enforcement officials have used in applying the measure, especially in the eastern part of the country.
Isidro Taveras Corniel, the manager of a small wares store in Ensanche Ozama, was the lucky winner of RD$26 million on the LEIDSA lotto system. He is the 57th millionaire winner of the lotto in the Dominican Republic. He received his check yesterday and said he hadn't decided what to do with the money. However, once he and his wife confirmed he was the winner, they both quit their jobs and moved to Arroyo Hondo.
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