The Dominican bishops have expressed their support for Loma Miranda, located between the provinces of La Vega and Monsignor Nouel, being declared a national park by law. In their message, “The Value of the Political Life”, to mark the 170th anniversary of National Independence (that will be celebrated next Thursday, 27 February), the Dominican Conference of Bishops established their position on the area, which remains in the public debate given the possibility that Falcondo Xstrata might obtain mining permits from the Ministry of the Environment.
The bill aimed at creating a national park in Loma Miranda has already been passed in the Chamber of Deputies, but the Senate is studying the bill.
Now the Catholic Church bishops say that it is “very important to have the involvement and the support of all citizens in the social movements and demands, creating flows of solidarity to demand that the administrators of the state handle the negotiations of the people’s assets cleanly and for the benefit of the nation.”
They recalled that there have already been positive experiences with popular struggles in the country, such as the case of the 4% of GDP for education campaign, the campaign against the construction of a cement factory near Los Haitises, the revision of the Barrick Gold contract and the Loma Miranda defense campaign itself. It is not the first time that the bishops have called for the nation’s assets to be handled with transparency. In their statement this time last year, they called on government officials to act “with sufficient political will in order to defend the national heritage.”
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2014/02/20/i491511_obispos-dominicanos-esperan-declaren-loma-miranda-como-parque-nacional.html