The Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Nicolas de Jesus Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez, has said that after meeting with PRD president Miguel Vargas, and receiving a letter from followers of former President Hipolito Mejia, he felt that it was necessary to wait for better conditions before trying to mediate in the internal conflict between the two factions.
“It is better to talk than to throw stones,” he said after the first exchanges with both parties, adding that there were no conditions for talking. “We will have to give some time to see if then things change, but there are not, at this time, any conditions for a dialogue, this is my personal opinion,” said the Cardinal.
Speaking at the televised Dialogo Libre, hosted by the Omnimedia Group, he said that he wrote to the PRD leaders that wrote the letter, but he made it clear that neither of the two PRD leaders has written him a letter, just their followers have written letters.
He said that he answered each leader individually with a letter that was the same for all, but telling them that he appreciated that they had thought of the Church, which he said is conscious of the need for a dialogue.
Over the weekend, an intransigent Hipolito Mejia had declared Vargas his enemy for life. During a mass meeting in the Centro de Recreo in Santiago de los Caballeros, former President Hipolito Mejia said that he will always be an enemy of Miguel Vargas and of the government who he accused of “killing and robbing” the country.
Mejia cited Pena Gomez, Antonio Guzman and Juan Bosch as leaders “who never killed or robbed.” He went on to say “…neither have I robbed, but they have killed and they have robbed, and those who rob from the people are called traitors, and this is the title that we have placed on the principal traitor of the last elections, if he had any shame he would not walk on the streets, he would be in his house…because of this I threatened him and because of this I will always be his enemy.” In the same way, he said that political democracy has not helped to resolve the problems of the people, so that he is willing to fight on any field and in any circumstance that may be. “Be assured that I am prepared for combat, here, there, and anywhere, nothing and nobody will stop the struggle,” said Mejia.
Party leader Guido Gomez has tried to make peace between Mejia and Vargas.
Over the weekend, he proposed to freeze the sanctions and the expulsions, give amnesty to those affected and desist from any legal action in an effort to sponsor an understanding inside the organization. Gomez Mazara sent former President Hipolito Mejia and PRD party president Miguel Vargas Maldonado, important letters where he sets out seven points, “so we can reach an intelligent understanding.”
The first suggests that from the moment that the National House is turned over to Vargas, access be permitted, with no limitations, to the heads of mass movements who have offices established there. Also, that in accordance with the institutional decision- making processes before the next celebration of an ordinary convention the party president should select the 11 members of the commission that will be responsible for organizing the process.