2004 – Page 245

Manuel Maria Mercedes, president of the National Commission of Human Rights, said he would renounce his seat on the Commission for Prison Pardons due to the serious irregularities of the process. Mercedes says the government chose to pardon 10 people who had been rejected by the commission, and excluded others that had been approved. Mercedes …

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Government arrears in the subsidy payments to propane gas importers is said to be the main reason for the renewed propane gas scarcity, according to a report in El Caribe. “They are not paying weekly. If they did so, this situation would not happen,” said one source who felt that scarcity is now the norm. …

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The President’s legal advisor, Guido Gomez Mazara, announced his resignation from the post to dedicate himself fully to the eastern region’s re-election campaign for President Hipolito Mejia. Gomez’ notice follows that of another Hipolito Presidential Project (PPH) group proponent, Agriculture Minister Eligio Jaquez. Gomez, viewed as one of President Mejia’s strongest supporters, made headlines recently …

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The US State Department released on 1 March the 2003 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), an annual statement from the Department of State to Congress, prepared in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the efforts of key countries to counteract all aspects of the international drug trade in 2003. The US sees …

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Dominican historian and sociologist Ruben Silie Valdez is the new secretary general of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). He succeeds Jamaican Norman Girvan and will serve a four-year term. Silie was elected unanimously at the Third Special Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Association of Caribbean States held in Panama on 12 February. …

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