Reactions to the events surrounding the LMD fight have come from all quarters within the last 48 hours, in large part due to the shootings on Monday and the Tuesday deployment of armed troops. On the international side, Socialist International (SI), the international political organization to which PRD is affiliated and of which deceased PRD leader Jos? Francisco Pe?a Gomez was an officer, yesterday expressed its "profound concern" over the events of the last few days and called on President Fern?ndez to intervene "decisively" to prevent the situation from degenerating into a "massive aggression" against PRD. SI affiliates in Latin America and Europe have been asked to send similar messages to the Dominican President. During his recent trip to Europe, Dominican President Leonel Fern?ndez noted that most of the governments of the European Union (EU) were now controlled by SI affiliates, and that his government wanted to foster good relations with them. The presidential remarks sparked rumors in Santo Domingo that Fern?ndez’s PLD would seek SI affiliation, after years of questioning the importance of the international political body.The Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Watch yesterday called on the Dominican Government to launch an official investigation into the "political violence" associated with the LMD case, including the wounding of a Senator and several journalists. HRW is a human rights watchdog group whose work is often cited by Members of the U.S. Congress. HRW Executive Director Jos? Miguel Vivanco deplored the "indiscriminate use of force" by Dominican authorities against political activists. He said that events of the past three days appear to violate international and Dominican human rights norms regarding the right to assemble, the right of free association and right of free movement, and should be investigated as such.At the national level, the Plenary of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), the business group representing 25 business associations, yesterday adopted a resolution expressing grave concern over the events of the past few days, and calling on all parties to respect the law and rule of law. It called on the Catholic Church to try to mediate a solution to the crisis.The National Union of Businessmen (UNE) yesterday called upon President Fern?ndez to take a personal hand in finding a peaceful resolution to the LMD crisis. UNE head Andr?s Dauhajre called upon Fern?ndez to act "like the President of the Republic, and not a member of the Central Committee of his party" and seek a quick and peaceful resolution to the crisis. He said that the three political parties involved in the LMD fight have no idea of the damage they are causing to the image abroad of the DR, noting that TVE, Spain’s state-owned televisions chain, has projected images to 20 countries of armed Dominican troops with the Congress in the background.
