2008 Human Rights Report: Dominican Republic

A.Hidalgo

Silver
Apr 28, 2006
3,268
98
0
Yes folks the the annual State Department report is out. After reading the report I had this profound deja vu feeling, but then again its only standard operating procedure in paradise. Here are a few excerpts.

On the good front....
Political Prisoners and Detainees

There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.

Internet Freedom

There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet access was widely available, including Wi-Fi hotspots. Blog functions were also available on several local press sites that allowed strongly stated views against the government and other powerful sectors.

Academic Freedom and Cultural Events

There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

On the not so good front...

Denial of Fair Public Trial

The law provides for an independent judiciary; however, despite increasing independence in the judiciary, instances of political influence in decision making were still evident. Interference by public entities, when it occurred, tended toward public pronouncements regarding active cases and selective prosecution, as opposed to direct intervention in existing cases. On occasion, however, it appeared that judges in superior courts attempted to improperly influence lower court decisions. In addition corruption continued to be a serious problem.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

There was significant evidence of racial prejudice against persons of dark complexion, but the government denied that such prejudice exists and therefore did little to address the problem. Acts of discrimination were common. In particular there were strong prejudices against Haitians, which disadvantaged many Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, as well as other foreigners of dark complexion. Few government officials acknowledged the existence of this discrimination; others regularly and publicly denied that it existed.

Government Corruption and Transparency

The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials who engaged in corrupt practices did so with impunity. The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected that government corruption was a serious problem.
my bold



Go here for your reading pleasure.2008 Human Rights Report: Dominican Republic
 

tflea

Bronze
Jun 11, 2006
1,839
164
63
Rights

Human Rights seem to vary don't they....country to country, decade to decade, century to century. We're all here for such a short period of time.
Does it really make a difference? Really, that is meant to be non-exclamatory.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,370
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Editors at times practiced self-censorship, particularly when coverage could adversely affect the economic or political interests of media owners. Owners at times used the media to attack their critics. Coverage of the major bank fraud trials was often influenced by the fact that two of the major newspapers were owned by defendants in the trials.
Hmmmmm.... interesting.

They could've added that the media often takes a tiny spec and turns it into a giant mole for days, sometimes weeks on end... until ratings fall. Then its off to the next "crisis". :cheeky:

Much of the report is the same old stuff they print every year. I wonder if all they do is update some of the stories and dates. Funny how they still insist that a Dominican was "allegedly" killed by a Haitian in Neyba. Apparently, getting your head chopped off in order to have your motorcycle stolen count as a killing depends on what exactly? Ugh.

-NALs
 
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A.Hidalgo

Silver
Apr 28, 2006
3,268
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0

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,370
3,150
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Well, had the cardinal said anything or not it was going to be rejected/ignored given that reports such as that one, despite whatever good intentions it may have, are always seen as paternalistic.

It looks too much like this scenario:

cimg0003kii.jpg


BTW, its not just the Human Rights report, its pretty much any report from First World based organizations that is seen like that. Its like Chilean president Bachelet once said "from the South (ie. Developing World) everything looks different."

-NALs