Seminar on Current Situation in DR to be Held in DC

Keith R

Keith R

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Thought this might be of interest to those of you in the Washington, D.C. Area....


The Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will be holding on Wed., April 21st, a seminar on "Democracy at the Crossroads: Economic and Political Crisis in the Dominican Republic." According to the invitation, "The seminar will provide a forum to debate the nature of the crisis and the outlook for the future with leading experts on the Dominican Republic. " Speakers invited include
* the US Ambassador to the DR, Hans Hertell ("US-Dominican Relations and the Electoral Process");
* former DR Ambassador to the US and current political commmentator Bernardo Vega ("The Role of the Media in the Current Crisis");
* David Lewis, a consultant that has been helping the DR government in the FTA negotiations ("The DR in the Regional Context: the WTO, CAFTA, and WTO");
* Manuel Orozco of Inter-American Dialogue ("The Impact of Remittances on the Dominican Economy");
* Pedro Silverio of PUCMM ("The Causes & Implications of the Economic Crisis");
* Rosario Espinal of Temple Univ. ("Political Parties, Civil Society & the Challenges of Democratic Governance");
* Jonathan Hartlyn of UNC-CH ("Strengths & Weaknesses of the Dominican Electoral System");
* Emelio Betances of Gettysburg College ("The Role of the Church in Dominican Politics"); and
* Lilian Bobea of FLACSO ("Dominican Security Forces: Between Reform & Repression")

You can RSVP to attend by calling 202-691-4030

Best Regards,
Keith
 
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MaineGirl

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I'd love to attend and will be in DC that week.

Perhaps we can meet for another round of ice cream with your lovely wife, the twins and la suegra.

I'll send you a pm.
 
Keith R

Keith R

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MaineGirl said:
I'd love to attend and will be in DC that week.

Perhaps we can meet for another round of ice cream with your lovely wife, the twins and la suegra.

I'll send you a pm.
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Hi Amity! That'd be great, although my suegra's currently in NYC recovering from knee surgery and a near-death experience.

I think the seminar will be interesting, especially if Vega is there, as he is often entertaining. The seminar is organized by an old profe of mine who runs the Wilson Center's Latin American Program now, and he's well-known for putting tough questions out to meetings like this (he's anything but shy!).

Best Regards,
Keith
 
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MaineGirl

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Fyi

The seminar is from 9:30 to 4:00. It is located in the Ronald Reagan building, 1300 Penn. Ave. The metro stop is Federal Triangle.

I'm looking forward to it!
 
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BushBaby

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Dolores said:
Keith, please post a report on key points made at the seminar.
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Better STILL, get them to video the whole thing & send it to us so we can show it in the Congress, Senate AND to Mejia himself!!! Would love to hear the excuses he has for none of these problems raised as being of HIS making!!!

How about it Dolores, do you have good contacts in television stations here that could sub-title it & put it over the television channels???

I would LOVE to see a report though Go for it in what ever way you can Keith!! - Grahame.
 
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MaineGirl

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I went.

It was a fascinating day. I took notes and will gladly share the remarks of the presenters. For me the most interesting remarks were made by David Lewis, Manuel Orozco and Rosario Espinal. Hans Hertell was the keynote speaker but unfortunately did not seem as well prepared in his speech as the panelists. Pedro Silverio went first; his command of English made him difficult to understand (not to mention the concepts in his speech!)

Again, if anyone is interested I recorded key points made by the panelists.

I came away from the day with a lot of interesting facts and opinions. I can't wait to share with my students (whose perceptions of Hispanics are extremely limited in scope) that I was in a room full of suits, degrees and honors, and where English was spoken politely, but everyone who was anyone was speaking Spanish, even the learned professors, the IMF bankers, the economists and all other interested parties at the event.

Keith, tried to pm you and was very sorry not to see you.

Amity aka Mainegirl
 
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PJT

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MainGirl,

Good for you for opening a window for us.

I would like to know what the comments were from David Lewis, Manuel Orozco and Rosario Espinal. If you could please summarize the main points and post them as it would be very interesting to view them.

I would not expect Hans Hertell to say anything noteworthy. He is a diplomat and would shy away from public comments about the present Dominican administration. Perhaps his speech was not well-prepared on purpose.

Regards,
PJT
 
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MaineGirl

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RE: comments on Hans Hertell, he gave more lipservice to Mejia (which was pointed out to him during the Q&A, when he was asked to give equal analysis of the other candidates.) He stated that Mejia was a friend and an ally of the US government.

There was not much more he could say in regards to the other candidates, besides the fact that he had hosted them in his home to discuss their platforms, and had encouraged them to engage in public debate, which they declined to do. And of course he diplomatically stated that he looks forward to working with whomever wins.

During the Q&A, Dra. Espinal asked that if the election process was deemed unacceptable by the OAS observers, what would the US government do about it? Hans Hertell said that he had faith that the process would run smoothly. Everyone in the room laughed. So he returned to the question and said that the OAS observers would report any corruption and then they would just have to see what happened.

I took a lot of notes and when I am back at home I will share some more. A few short days of vacation left.
 
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BushBaby

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MaineGirl said:
RE: comments on Hans Hertell, he gave more lipservice to Mejia (which was pointed out to him during the Q&A, when he was asked to give equal analysis of the other candidates.) He stated that Mejia was a friend and an ally of the US government.

There was not much more he could say in regards to the other candidates, besides the fact that he had hosted them in his home to discuss their platforms, and had encouraged them to engage in public debate, which they declined to do. And of course he diplomatically stated that he looks forward to working with whomever wins.

During the Q&A, Dra. Espinal asked that if the election process was deemed unacceptable by the OAS observers, what would the US government do about it? Hans Hertell said that he had faith that the process would run smoothly. Everyone in the room laughed. So he returned to the question and said that the OAS observers would report any corruption and then they would just have to see what happened.

I took a lot of notes and when I am back at home I will share some more. A few short days of vacation left.
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How disappointing a reply from Hans Hertell. Sounds like he is puting his head in the sand & leaving his backside up to be kicked!! Worse still, has he sided with his "Friend & Ally" to look the other way if fraud takes place & does he perhaps, already know which way that fraud is going to be imposed on the election?? If so, he is condoning the "Fixing" of the result to meet his &/or the USA's goals rather than the wishes of the Dominican People!!

I for one, am all agog waiting for your update Amity. Please send me details by e-mail of anything you feel unhappy to post on this board too.

Regards & many thanks for your trmendous efforts in this matter - we, the enquiring minds, want to know!!!! - Grahame.
 
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Texas Bill

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Amity;
I have PM'd you so this may appear redundant. However, I must add my appreciation to your comments and efforts with regard to reporting your observations regarding the Seminar.
Grahamme (I can NEVER get your name right), I do not take excepton to your comments regarding Mr. Hertell, but hasten to add that he has responded in a typical diplomatic manner. We both know that diplomats speak with a forked tongue and out of both sides of their mouth's simultaneously and Hertell is no different from the rest of the tribe in that regard.
Let us hope that if there is obvious fraud in the election process( we know there will be fraud, but somewhat hidden) that Hertell will call a spade a spade and denounce it publicly to the world.
What the response of the US will be is an unknown at this time since the current administration's focus is elsewhere. They (the administration) are having a rather difficult time policing themselves and the Mid-East so it may be that their attention span on the DR will be limited to a cursory glance. Let's hope not!

Texas Bill
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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Another interested party

I am sure waiting for your notes on this get together.

As for Hertell, he is a political appointee and worthless as a 'diplomat' He has to go throiugh the motions, but he doesn't make waves.

Unfortunately, both Pedro Silverio and Bernardo Vega have agendas (PLD), and while they make excellent points in their analysis of the economic blunders, some of their points need to be salted.

Be interested to hear / see what you have to say Amity...

HB
 
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MaineGirl

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here you go!

After looking at my notes and this succinct summary, I leave you with this succinct summary.

http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?topic_id=1425&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=68597

I did make a list of those who asked questions, and the most memorable was Hector Santos who asked no questions but instead came as a personal emissary of Mejia to contest any malignant comments. He was cut short several times but persisted in his statements defending Mejia.
 
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deelt

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Thnx

Thanks much appreciated. Yeah I heard about Hector. It has been addressed.
Peace


MaineGirl said:
After looking at my notes and this succinct summary, I leave you with this succinct summary.

http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?topic_id=1425&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=68597

I did make a list of those who asked questions, and the most memorable was Hector Santos who asked no questions but instead came as a personal emissary of Mejia to contest any malignant comments. He was cut short several times but persisted in his statements defending Mejia.
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