In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, President Leonel Fernandez recognized the responsibility that Dominican Republic has taken on in helping ensure Haiti's stability, and expressed his support for the UN Security Council's decision to prolong their Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah) for six more months. Fernandez added that increased international cooperation with Haiti and its efforts towards reconstruction would be equally beneficial for Dominicans. The President acknowledged the importance of migration from poorer nations to more developed nations, and said that historically, migration has been one of the ways people look to better their lives.
He went on to highlight the relationship between migration and sustainable development as having a broad-based impact on the advancement and wellbeing of our nations. He recognized every state's sovereign right to apply migration policies but considered that the current "asymmetry" in the free circulation of production factors and the limitations on the movement of people should soon become a thing of the past.
"As it is not possible to make this phenomenon disappear, we can only aspire to oversee it in a legal and organized fashion, in the framework of respect for the human rights and dignity of all persons," said Fernandez. "In the meantime, many people could benefit from this situation, through remittances, the creation of contact and cooperation networks, human resources capacity building, technology transfer and diverse forms of collaboration and exchange," he said.
In his speech, Fernandez acknowledged the deterioration of global security due to external factors such as the trafficking of drugs, arms, and people and assured that the Dominican Republic would remain vigilant in its efforts.
See Fernandez's speech at http://dr1.com/news/2006/092106_dominicanrep.pdf
President Leonel Fernandez has announced his wishes for the Dominican Republic to obtain a seat on the UN's Security Council, and is looking to secure more votes for the election, to take place in November 2007. The Dominican Republic, an original member of the UN, has never been voted on to the temporary Council, and would be the first Caribbean nation to hold a seat. The DR will be challenged by Venezuela, which has received the support of Brazilian President Jose Inacio "Lula" De Silva, while Guatemala has received the support of the United States. The DR has received support from Barbados, and in the next months will be seeking support from European, Asian, Pacific and Middle Eastern nations.
Speaking yesterday at the United Nations, President Fernandez called for the current reforms under way at the United Nations to include the Security Council, the body that takes the political decisions within the organization. "It is our conviction that the Security Council must be expanded, to make it more plural and participatory, with the aim of having more equitable representation from the different regions, as well as of the national interests that prevail in today's world," said President Fernandez. He continued, "Also, there is a need for greater fluidity in the relations between the Security Council and important United Nations organs such as the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The Director of the Office for the Reorganization of Transport (OPRET), Diandino Pena, has announced the signing of a contract for EUR$99 million, equivalent to some RD$4.2 billion, to be used in the construction of the electromechanical installations of the Santo Domingo Metro. The contractor is the Franco-German consortium, Siemens-Thales. This money would pay for the station controls, the electrification of the entire metro, ticketing booths, ATP signage, energy distribution, a communications bridge and a command station. The Ministry of Finances will now evaluate the contrary, prior to deciding whether to send it to Congress. Pena pointed out that 35% of the metro project had been completed in its first 10 months of construction. Construction of the metro began in January. To this point, the metro has cost Dominican taxpayers RD$3 billion. Pena denied the OPRET office had asked the government-owned Banco de Reservas for a RD$3 billion to continue the construction of the metro. He said that by 2008 the metro would be completed.
The executive vice president of the Dominican Corporation of State-Owned Electric Companies (CDEEE), Radhames Segura, is blaming the generation companies for the power outages that are affecting the country and demanded that they explain why their generators are out of service. Segura, nevertheless, admitted that as of 31 August the distribution companies EdeNorte, EdeSur and Ede-Este had pending debts of over US$92 million to the generators, but he told the press that this amount was not sufficient for the companies to put the generators out of service. Segura said that the service should be back to normal again by next week.
The government is taking out a US$40-million loan at government-owned Banco de Reservas to pay the debt remnant with electric generating companies since 2005. The World Bank is demanding the payment before they can disburse the first installment of US$50 million of a US$150 million loan. According to a report in Diario Libre, Segura said that when the World Bank delivers that amount, possibly in November this year, the US$40 million loan from Banco de Reservas would be paid off.
The European Office for Development Funds, the European delegation present in the country, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have launched a Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation program for the Dominican Republic with an initial budget of EUR6,95,000, equivalent to RD$282,688,470. The plan, presented at a gathering at the National Palace, aims to reduce vulnerabilities, human losses and damages caused in the wake of natural disasters. The program emphasizes work in the northeastern part of the country, which is considered to be particularly vulnerable, and will last for three years. The ONFED offices will oversee the project, with help from the Civil Defense, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Environment, the Dominican Red Cross and the UNDP.
The Plaza de la Salud government-funded medical center in Santo Domingo is launching a free dengue-testing program, and will treat people with low income who present symptoms and are referred by other health centers. Dr. Julio Amado Castanos Guzman, who heads Plaza de la Salud's Board of Trustees, made the announcement yesterday. The announcement comes on the heels of an increase in people who are flocking to labs with suspect cold symptoms as a result of all the media attention the outbreak has created.
The leaders of the "unity" movement within the PRD selected former Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch as their candidate for the party's Presidential nomination at the primary to be held on 7 January 2007. Ortiz Bosch would be the main contender against former Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas Maldonado, who is the candidate favored by other movements within the party, including the PPH faction led by former President Hipolito Mejia.
The Dominican constitution, as well as the Inter-American and the Universal Declarations of Human Rights, condemns any type of privilege that undermines equality between all citizens, such as the prohibition to enter public places. This was explained by attorney Manuel Sierra Perez, who assures that the Dominican Criminal Code punishes discrimination in the country, whether for race, color, religion, language or sexual preference, according to a report in Diario Libre. The lawyer was asked about the incident that took place at Praia nightclub, where a group of people was denied entry, provoking an incident that ended in the death of student Pura Alexandra Nunez. The club's owner, Jean Pierre Baza, has refused to comment on the matter.
In what is being described as the largest purge at the National Department for Drug Control (DNCD), 220 staff members have been removed at the orders of Major General Rafael Ramirez Ferreira, who is the organization's newly appointed director. Ramirez announced the arrest of staff members from three DNCD divisions, the closure of the offices in the northeast regions, and asked for the names of three high-ranking officers involved in criminal activities to be withheld. Civilian and military discharges in the divisions of San Pedro de Macoris, Nagua and Pedernales are the latest dismissals in a sweep that began on 16 August when Ramirez took control of the DNCD.
Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Bienvenido Cruz Marte, who served as a liaison between the United States Embassy and the National Drug Control Department (DNCD) and was responsible for seeking out Dominicans wanted in extradition, was sent to La Victoria Jail yesterday for three months to give time for the preparation of the trial against him. He is accused of forging Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) sentences, allegedly with the purpose of extorting and blackmailing people on the pretext that they were wanted by the justice system in the US. A judge found sufficient evidence to try him on grounds of trying to extort a man for RD$ 5 million to avoid extradition. The arrest warrant was issued by the National District Third Court of Instruction after requests from Assistant Attorney Generals Bolivar Sanchez and Frank Soto, and Assistant Prosecutor Luis Gonzalez. When arrested, the detainee was carrying a report from the United States Marshal Service, another from the US Justice Department, an unlicensed pistol, five cellular phones, two recording devices and a CD with recorded conversations involving his victim. Cruz Marte's alleged accomplice, his wife Lucy Rodriguez Pereyra, was sent to Najayo Prison for three months, too.
The Russian airline Transaero is looking into the possibility of making the Dominican Republic the hub of its operations in the region, and would connect with South American transit routes, specifically to Brazil and Argentina. Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez, who is attending the "Leisure Fair" in Moscow, met with representatives from the airline to discuss the possibility of extending Transaero service all year, since it now only operates in the winter, and extending services to Puerto Plata as from 2007. Jimenez also met with representatives from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine who are looking to make the DR into a possible travel destination for their public. Jimenez points out that this market has 50 million people to draw from, and that in 2006 Eastern European tourists numbered more than 24,000.
A report by the Organization of American States (OAS) has concluded that an increase in aggression and threats against Dominican journalists is a reflection of the fact that freedom of speech is under attack. Ignacio Alvarez, from the OAS Inter American Commission for Human Rights, is here at the invitation of the Dominican Republic Center for the Freedom of Expression (CLERD). Alvarez concluded that although freedom of speech has come a long way in the last 25 years, the threats towards journalists in democratic states can be very subtle and can greatly restrict freedom of speech.
Dominican Alfredo Rodriguez will be sworn in as the next president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New York. Despite the large numbers of Dominicans in New York and throughout the United States, it is the first time that a Dominican has attained one of the Chamber's 24 executive positions. The Chamber of Commerce includes the membership of 400 supermarkets and 7,000 bodegas. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce works to promote Hispanic interests in commerce, and to increase the number of US businesses in the Dominican Republic.
One soloist and two bands will perform at the Caribbean Pop Festival to be held from the 2nd to the 6th of November at Altos de Chavon. "La Oreja de Van Gogh", Bryan Adams, and The Rasmus are the first three acts to be announced by Evenpro, the promoters. This is the Dominican debut for all three. Bryan Adams is scheduled to perform on 2 November followed the next day by Finnish band The Rasmus, which plays modern rock. The Spanish group "La Oreja de Van Gogh" will close the festival on 6 November.
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