The big news leading up to the XX Rio Group Summit was the rising tension between Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. The row erupted after Colombian troops made an unauthorized incursion into Ecuadorian territory and killed rebel FARC leader Raul Reyes. Adding to the tension was the news that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had been secretly funding the FARC. President Leonel Fernandez said that he would try to mediate a solution between the parties involved during their visit to the DR for the summit. Member countries sought to help in the mediation process and have received support from the Organization of American States. Fernandez held private meetings with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Salvadorian President Antonio Saca and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, but no word on what was discussed in those meetings was released. But Calderon said that, "it was irresponsible to think that this could have a quick solution and without problems, I think this will take time." Calderon added that he hopes that there will be sensible dialogue about the conflict on Friday. Guatemalan President Alvaro Colon added that he looking forward to the opportunity to help solve the diplomatic crisis.
The heads of state taking part in yesterday's Rio Group Summit meetings have approved programs aimed at promoting the use of renewable energy sources like bio fuels, tidal power, hydroelectric, wind and solar energy as a key element of the development process. Hoy writes that the Santo Domingo Declaration by the heads of state will include the establishment of alliances and agreements between public and private sector entities in the area of renewable energy, with the ultimate goal of promoting energy oriented infrastructural investments at the national, sub-regional and regional levels. Still on the agenda is the motion to approve Haiti and Guyana's entry into the Rio Group and Chile's progressive recommendations to use cleaner and innovative technologies in fossil fuel use. A proposal made by Venezuela on a special energy integration and cooperation declaration will also be discussed. The proposals were put forward during yesterday's meeting during which all the member nations' Foreign Ministers were present, including David Choquehuanca from Bolivia, Alejandro Foxley Rioseco from Chile, Celso Amorin from Brazil, Marisol Arqueta de Barillas from El Salvador, Roger Haroldo Rodas from Guatemala, Renald Clerisme from Haiti, Gonzalo Fernandez from Uruguay and Antonio Rivas Palacios the vice minister from Paraguay, Camilo Reyes from Colombia, Edgar Ugalde Alvarez from Costa Rica and Ricardo Duran from Panama.
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya couldn't make it to today's conference in Santo Domingo because the plane he was traveling in suffered technical difficulties. According to Listin Diario, the President's plane, West Wind, made an emergency landing at the Palmerola US Air Base, about 45 kilometers north of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. A problem with the cabin pressure was given as the reason for the emergency landing. No one was hurt during the landing. Zelaya could still make it to the conference, but is deciding whether or not to let his Foreign Minister Edmundo Orellana represent him.
Speaking at the ITB Berlin trade show in Germany, Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez announced the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Tourism, the city of Santo Domingo, the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce, Banco Popular, Aerodom, the Sans Souci port, residential and commercial developers on behalf of the DR and the Messe Berlin for the carrying out of a feasibility study for the building a major convention center in Santo Domingo. Ricardo Hazoury of Aerodom, Manuel Grullon of Banco Popular and Luis Molina for Sans Souci Port were in Berlin for the signing. Jimenez said this would strengthen the country's positioning in the convention market. "The goal is for the DR to become the base for an ITB Messe Berlin style conference focused on the Caribbean", he said. ITB is sponsoring an ITB Asia trade show and convention for the Asian Travel Market this October in Singapore.
He also announced the March opening of what will be the Punta Cana area's second convention facility at Moon Palace.
At the conference, Jimenez also announced that the Ministry has approved four 30-floor buildings for Juan Dolio beach, the arrival of new brands such as Nikki Beach for Cabarete, Puerto Plata and the Buddha Bar hotel chain for the north coast.
Addressing an audience of over 100 international journalists, Jimenez highlighted the positive outlook for the DR as it implements its strategy to enhance its diversification, now focusing on high-end products. "We have always been known for offering good value," said Jimenez, who then stressed new investments by Ritz Carlton at Cap Cana, Four Seasons in La Romana, Westin in Macao, Punta Cana and Aman Resorts at Playa Grande. "We want to back upscale development, not because the DR as an all-inclusive model is behind us, but because the DR has the capacity to offer the greatest diversity," he explained.
Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez says that the US$150 million investment in Puerto Plata in the last three years has rescued the northern region's coasts from neglect. According to the Minister, Puerto Plata will be the Caribbean's premier tourism destination in years to come. Jimenez made his comments during a press conference at the ITB fair in Germany. The DR is this year's special partner country at the fair. The Minister added that availability of rooms in Puerto Plata has reached 16,000. Speaking on the DR's goals in the future Jimenez highlighted the need to reconnect with European tourists, who make up 30% of the total tourist flow.
The Institutionalism and Justice Foundation (FINJUS) believes that a motion apparently being planned by political parties to press for the substitution of seven judges on the Supreme Court of Justice would reverse 10 years of progress in the Dominican legal and judicial system. FINJUS vice president Servio Tulio Castanos Guzman said that if the motion is really in the works, it would be an attack on institutionalism in the DR. Castanos expressed concern that the reshuffling of the Supreme Court would be in the hands of the political parties, as was the case in 2001. He added that although he doesn't question the integrity of the judges chosen at that time, he was critical of the way they were chosen and of the lack of transparency in the selection process.
According to a report released during the Global Education Forum, most students in the Dominican educational system aren't getting the basic educational tools needed to succeed, which are important building blocks for their academic progress and is leading to unprepared students at the higher educational levels. The report was prepared by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at the request of the Dominican government and points out that failing conditions of Dominican schools, insufficient investment, the bad image of teachers, difficulties in accessing education, drop out rates, high rates of repetition and lack of teaching resources are roadblocks in the development of a strong educational system. The main areas of concern about the state of the education system were that 70% of rural schools only offer between first and fifth grade education and that 45% of primary schools have to run three teaching shifts per day. The lack of an educational monitoring system and the lack of a learning evaluation program are also hurdles that need to be overcome by the educational system. Ian Whitman, Aims McGuiness, John Coolahan and Simon Schwartzman were part of the group that developed the report, which was presented to the Education, Higher Education and INFOTEP Ministers. The report makes recommendations, 55 in all, including increasing investment in education, reforming the teacher training system to produce better teachers, introducing full primary programs in rural schools and gradually reducing the number of teaching shifts in schools.
Mexico and the DR have signed a cooperation agreement and with the assistance of the German Cooperation Agency (GTZ) will launch a training program to educate workers how to manage solid waste and how to recycle. The program will be implemented with a EUR100 million budget. GTZ and DR government reps signed the agreement at the offices of the Economic, Planning and Development Ministry. In the initial stages of the program 40 Dominican technicians will receive the training. Axel Macht of GTZ said that the Mexican experience would be applied to the DR. The training program is currently in place in 2,500 Mexican municipalities.
Environment Minister Omar Ramirez Tejada has given eight national organizations checks for use in reforestation programs. The funds, US$100,000, were donated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through the Facility initiative that provides environmental support to seven countries in Central America and the Caribbean. The funds were handed out during the National Forestation Program (PNF) meeting, which concludes today in Santo Domingo. In all, the DR will receive US$300,000 over three years. The beneficiary organizations are CEUR, Plan Sierra, Enda Dominicana, the San Jose de Ocoa Development Association, the Dominican Forest Chamber, CEDAF, CEPROS, and the UAFAM University.
In related environmental news, the Environmental Ministry has fined the Constructora Joli company RD$372,600 for cutting down trees without permission in the Arroyo Hondo section of Santo Domingo.
Dominican drug officials have once again decided to try and work together in order to stop the recent wave of crimes against the country's drug enforcement officials. The call for cooperation comes as a seventh National Department of Drug Control (DNCD) official was killed this week. National Police Chief Rafael Guillermo Guzman Fermin, DNCD president Rafael Radhames Ramirez Ferreira and other drug control officials have agreed to cooperate to stop this increase in vengeful murders. Army members have also been enlisted in the fight against drugs. Hoy reports that in the next few days, officials will meet to discuss a plan of action on drug trafficking and crime in general.
In related news, the DNCD has announced an RD$2 million reward for any information leading to the capture of the people responsible for the murders of Guillermo Antonio Tejada Kranwinkel in San Cristobal earlier this week, and Fragata Elpidio Jimenez Garcia who was killed in Santo Domingo East. If you have any information, please call (809) 685-0089, (809) 688-1320, (809) 688-0202 or (809) 221-4166 extensions 6255-6256-6376 and 6590.
For a second day running Dominican doctors kept their promise and walked the picket lines yesterday as part of a two-day work stoppage. The strike is aimed at putting pressure on the government to give the doctors a pay raise, but the doctors haven't accomplished much other than keeping thousands of citizens out of the reach of much needed health care. Talks between the doctors and government officials have broken down and supporters of the doctor's strike took to the streets to voice their opinions. At the Robert Reid Cabral Hospital the situation was calm, although there was considerable activity in the emergency room. Doctors said they would treat patients in emergency situations during the strike.
Listin Diario is reporting that 300 fighting cocks and chickens have been killed in Hato Mayor, following the detection of avian flu. Details of this latest development were announced by Ricardo Beriguete, sub director of the Regional Agricultural Ministry (SEA). Beriguete did not provide any explanation for how the bird flu got to Hato Mayor. Of the 300 birds killed, 240 belonged to well-known cock fighter Ramon Vilomar and the rest were the property of Odaris Velasquez. The owners didn't object, but asked the government to intervene and rid the country of the disease that is threatening the country's bird sector. Since the first bird flu case was announced in December 2007 in Higuey, accumulated losses for the Dominican poultry sector are estimated at RD$944 million. These losses are due to the decrease in production, a decrease in exports and the increase in the price of chicken feed. Listin Diario reports that the demand for chicken could decrease by 6% to 10% compared to 2007, which could mean losses of RD$1.5 billion to RD$2.5 billion. Products like corn (27%), soy (57%) and production costs (50%) have all experienced increases, leading to other problems for the poultry sector. As for exports of chicken and eggs, experts expect a 50% decrease in exports to Haiti. Adding to the expenses now incurred by the poultry sector are the vaccines that must be given to the chickens in order to prevent them from contracting bird flu.
No, you are not reading yesterday's news briefs. Yet again, international oil prices have reached all-time highs of US$106 per barrel of crude oil, closing at US$105.97. Brent oil prices also reached the all-time high of US$102.95. This is the second record broken by oil prices this week and is the fourth time that oil prices have reached record levels in the last two weeks.
Her final wish is to die in her native Dominican Republic and she might have her wish granted. Diario Libre is reporting that the Presidential Social Plan will provide US$22,000 in funds in order to bring Lucy de Silfa back to the DR on a medical plane. Eighty-one year old de Silfa, who fought against Trujillo, is seriously ill with cancer in a New York hospital. Social Plan public relations officer Roberto Monclus said that when the Plan's director read the news, he made the moves to get the money and informed Silfa's friends and family. Diario Libre writes that de Silfa spent 30 years fighting against the Trujillo dictatorship and was one of the founding members of the PRD party.
Dominican-born author Junot Diaz has won the US National Book Critic Circle Award for Non Fiction for his most recent work "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." Oscar Wao tells the tragic story of a young Dominican-American man's search for love. The story switches back and forth between urban slang, Dominicanisms and references to Dominican historical events, while recounting Oscar Wao's life story. Diaz was on a visit to Caracas, Venezuela during the ceremony, so Sean McDonald of Riverhead Books accepted the award on his behalf. Diaz, author of acclaimed short story collection Drown, has become one the DR's most popular and successful contemporary authors. Congratulations, Junot!
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