ASSISTANT SECRETARY NORIEGA ADDRESSES DOMINICAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SANTO DOMINGO 007304

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/EPSC, WHA/PA, G/TIP, PM, EB,
EB/OMA; TREASURY FOR UNDER SECRETARY TAYLOR, DO:NLEE,
RTOLOUI, LLAMONICA; NSC FOR SHANNON, CRUZ; WHITE HOUSE PASS
USTR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV OVIP PREL PHUM MARR DR
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY NORIEGA ADDRESSES DOMINICAN
CONGRESS



1. Summary. Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) Roger Noriega addressed a joint
meeting of the Dominican Congress on December 10 in the
Senate chamber. He urged congressional representatives to
act quickly on a 2004 budget and he laid out U.S. views on
the pending Article 98 agreement, on trafficking in persons,
and on free trade agreements. Noriega concluded his historic
address with a call for Dominican institutions to protect the
public and to prosecute bank fraud. Press commentary and
English text of speech are given below. End summary.


2. On December 10 during a 24-hour visit to Santo Domingo,
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
(WHA) Roger Noriega addressed a joint meeting of the
Dominican Senate and House of Representatives. He called on
the elected representatives to assume their responsibilities
by considering and quickly passing a 2004 budget to be
presented by the GODR in connection with IMF negotiations.
He praised and thanked Dominican troops supporting Operation
Iraqi Freedom, asked congress to ratify the Article 98
agreement as soon as it is presented by the Executive, and
advised them of sanctions in U.S. law for countries which do
not enforce legislation against trafficking in persons. He
stressed that the United States shares the Dominican people's
interest in free and fair elections and he outlined
advantages of free trade agreements, both bilateral and in
the Free Trade Area of the Americas.


2. Noriega expressed the sympathy of the United States for
Dominicans in their current economic difficulty, commenting,
"There are no easy solutions for deep-rooted problems and
there are no shortcuts to lasting recovery." He called upon
all sectors of public opinion and economic activity to share
the responsibility of finding a sustainable economic program,
which "will require sacrifice and tough decisions." He
reminded congressional representatives, "There is no greater
honor for any elected leader than putting the national
interest above his own."


3. The Assistant Secretary rejected pessimism and cynicism,
reminding listeners that although finances of the Dominican
economy are in "profound disorder," the country's productive
capacity is intact, Dominicans are hard working, and they
want to see laws and regulations respected. He called
explicitly for full prosecution of bank fraud cases now in
the Dominican justice system. "These cases are too important.
All of us who respect and admire the Dominican people are
watching -- and expecting to see the people well served and
protected by their institutions and by their elected
officials."

COMMENT


4. This was a memorable and vivid event. Noriega spoke in
Spanish, standing at a long table on the dais of the Senate
chamber, accompanied by the presidents of both houses and by
the Ambassador. The live wall of press cameras caught the
drama of his stance before the golden mural dominating the
Senate chamber. The chamber was full. Images carried in the
broadcast media that evening played up the drama of the
setting.


5. Some print journalists later tried to elicit complaints
from various political leaders about "U.S. interference" in
this event and the Noriega visit, but no one was buying that
line. President of the House of Represenatives rejected the
word and commented that the United States had asked for the
venue as a way to speak directly to the Dominican people
through its representatives, "the authentic voices of the
people." Speaking separately, spokesmen of all three major
parties flatly objected to the journalists' characterizations
and replied that Noriega was demonstrating the non-partisan
stance of the U.S. in favor of democracy. "Man in the
street" interviews by one paper found three passers-by
willing to agree that U.S. action was, in fact, interference
-- and that it was a good thing, because Dominican politicans
needed to hear the messages.


6. The first editorial comment has been favorable.

- - The lead editorial in the GODR-owned Listin Diario of
December 12 highlighted its key sentence, "If right now the
North Americans are interested in getting to know our
difficulties in depth, there is nothing bad about that,
especially since not a few critics of White House policy
accuse it of neglecting U.S. neighbors in Latin America in
favor of events in the Middle East."

- -In "El Caribe," commentator Flavio Dario Espinal noted
that the Republic has not received such high-level attention
from U.S. administrations since 1994, and he stressed the
political message: "It is no coincidence that Assistant
Secretary Noriega placed such emphasis not only in free and

SIPDIS
transparent elections but also in the need for election
observers, for which he pledged U.S. support. . . (the
message) shows that even though the Bush administration
values the support of the Dominican administration, it places
equal importance on political stability and a regular
electoral process, especially in the context of a region
already suffering from too many political conflicts and
crises of governability."

- - PLD-inclined "Hoy" has not yet published a substantive
op-ed piece on the Noriega visit, although on the first day
of the visit it carried praise of the Ambassador for his
impartial handling of the political parties regarding the
elections. "Hoy" counterweighted that stance the next day
with one cranky paragraph on Noriega subtitled "How Times
Have Changed!" in a column of political tidbits. The writer
noted the positions of the three parties on the visit as "an
unusual convergence of views" about the Assistant Secretary's
appearance in Congress, "unprecedented, as far as we know, in
our legislative history. But so goes the world, so think our
politicians, and some people say that it is all the fault of
globalization. And it probably is, who knows, but it would
have been preferable, and much less embarrassing, to offer
Mr. Noriega another setting in which to take the liberty of
pushing his imperial reprimand into our faces."

- - The same page of "Hoy" featured "Cocktail Talk," a
satirical series written in pseudo-popular jargon. Excerpts:

"So, Joe, we want the United States to save us, help us out,
either directly or through those international credit
organisms, from this hole we got ourselves into. Okay, so if
we are looking for that, we can't complain if they, with all
the good reasons in the world, try to tell us what to do.
And all that before the next explosion of the European
National Bomb (note: European Union Ambassador Miguel Amado),
hotter than hell, who won't give us a nickle unless we cut
ourselves in two. . . Noriega's position about that dirty
work on bank fraud isn't new. When somebody tried
unofficially to get some contingency funds out of the Yankee
Treasury to deal with the hole, they told us straight out
that the U.S. taxpayers weren't going to pay the bill for
anybody's larceny. . . .We can't exactly get huffy if Noriega
is telling us that our economy is in a profound disorder.
You think maybe it ain't so? Or that the economy, the way it
stands, is a healthy little thing? That's no news, either.
And with the business about electoral transparency, the North
Americans aren't getting their powder wet, either. That's
what Dr. Joaquin Balaguer thought, that they were bluffing
back in 1978 after they sent down their best fast-ball
pitchers back then, Andrew Young and Terence Todman. And we
all know what happened then, even if that slippery ole
Doctor, no dummy himself, hijacked the Senate for his
project (note: Balaguer lost the presidency in a free and
fair election). And so the Yankees are gonna maintain their
relations with whoever wins clean elections next year -- why
shouldn't they? Ain't the three big boys in the major
parties all about the same kind of pool hall layabouts? Sure
would like to hear what Noriega would say if there was some
kind of chance in the elections for (hard-line leftists)
Narciso Isa Conde or Fernando Pena. . . ."


7. Embassy's informal translation of the Assistant
Secretary's speech follows.

SIPDIS

(begin text)

Distinguished President of the Senate Dr. Jesus Vasquez;
Distinguished President of the House of Representatives Dr.
Alfredo Pacheco;
Distinguished Senators and Representatives,
Members of the Press,
To All of You, My Friends,

It is a great honor to be allowed to speak to you today.

I will use this opportunity to speak about the policy of
President Bush,s administration toward the Americas.
President Bush believes that the American nations are of
critical importance for the security and well being of our
country. He has demonstrated his commitment to the region
from the first days of his administration and has articulated
a clear policy that we are carrying out.

Our goal is to build an inter-American community, united by
the shared values of freedom supported by the rule of law and
by solid democratic institutions, driven by free trade and
free investment.

Your responsibility as representatives of the Dominican
people is great. Making the law is a high honor and a solemn
obligation. I know, because I was for a number of years an
advisor to your counterparts in the United States Congress in
Washington, concentrating on strategies to improve our
relations with the countries of the Americas. Our two
countries work closely together in the UN, in the OAS, and in
the WTO, as well as in other institutions. And soon you
will be asked to ratify a bilateral Free Trade Agreement with
the United States that we hope will provide lasting benefits
to our two countries and to all our people.

More than just a neighbor and a friend, I come here as a
brother. Although my family comes from Mexico, it is in the
United States that millions of Dominicans and Mexicans have
found a common home.

Yes, we share baseball, of course. But we share much more
than that. Ties of blood unite us. There are more than a
million Dominicans living in the United States. Even so, a
piece of their heart will always remain in their native land.

And more than sixty thousand U.S. citizens live here. And
many thousands of U.S. tourists come here to enjoy the warm
hospitality of this beautiful country.

Let me discuss with you some of the principal aspects of our
relationship.

Security

One of the principal aims we share is to make the world a
safer place for our citizens and for the international
community.

When terrorists attacked on September 11, there were
Dominicans among the citizens of more than 80 countries who
were victims. The economic effects of terrorism were felt
almost immediately in the Dominican Republic.

In their actions and replies, Dominicans looked outward,
taking part in subjects with global reach, pledging
themselves to the openness and freedom that those terrorists
attacked.

In Iraq elite Dominican troops are working with international
forces.

Allow me to pay tribute to the contribution that your country
has made in sending your sons to serve beside ours. To their
fathers and mothers, their families and friends, on behalf of
my country, I wish to say, &Thank you. Your demonstration
of friendship, your sacrifice and your courage will not be
forgotten.8

Acknowledging the role of military forces engaged in
supporting the peace, our countries signed an agreement
concerning Article 98 of the treaty creating the
International Criminal Court. We mutually recognize the
sovereign responsibility of our governments for the actions
of their respective military forces. I respectfully request
that you ratify this agreement as soon as it is presented to
you.

Considering another aspect of security, narcotics traffickers
threaten our societies and create an environment ripe for
other crimes and criminals. The United States are pleased to
cooperate with the Dominican Republic to make our communities
safer and more secure.

Also fundamental for security is the respect for the
principles of human rights. We are deeply concerned about
the trafficking of persons, including across international
boundaries, and especially by the completely unacceptable
practice of sexual exploitation of women and children.

For our part, the United States Congress has mandated the
suspension of many forms of our government assistance to
countries which do not take action against trafficking in
persons, and it has instructed U.S. executive directors of
the international financial institutions to vote against
loans to those countries.

This year you approved an excellent law against trafficking
in persons and the administration has set up entities to deal
with these problems. We will do everything in our power to
cooperate with the Dominican authorities to help them put and
end to this trafficking and to organized illegal migration,
once and for all.

Democracy

Further, some words about another priority: supporting a
strong, functioning democracy. I have followed with interest
the preparations and debates concerning the presidential
election. I see a vigorous debate about the candidates,
politics, and process. This is good. It is a sign that the
democratic process is working.

During my brief visit here I seek to contact all of the
leading political parties to tell them that we look forward
to working with the winner of the May 2004 presidential
elections. Dominicans are expecting a clean, transparent
election ) and the country is fully capable of carrying one
out. The United States shares this interest with you.

Trade

Another of our principal bilateral concerns ) we are
emphasizing to our partners in the region the need to
conclude the negotiations on a Free Trade Area of the
Americas by January, 2005.

We expect that all leaders of the region will consider the
FTAA an indispensable tool for the economic and social
development of their own countries. We have a moral
obligation, as leaders, to make the promise of the FTAA a
reality.

Free trade agreements provide greater confidence for
investment and foreign direct investment accelerates economic
growth. In addition, they establish transparent,
well-defined rules for trade, thereby strengthening
institutions and the rule of law.

The Economy

Another key point of our bilateral relationship is the
participation of citizens in the making of their
government,s policy. You yourselves are now involved in a
far reaching undertaking of this kind.

As your good friends and partners, we are all aware of the
concerns your people feel: inflation, the falling value of the
peso*in sum, the worries about your economic future.

One important point: the United States is not indifferent to
the problems of the Dominican Republic.

There are no easy solutions for deep-rooted problems and
there are no shortcuts to lasting recovery. Nevertheless, I
am convinced that all the different parties in these
negotiations are dedicated to developing a sustainable,
healthy plan that will help the Dominican people to help
themselves.

All responsible sectors of public opinion and of economic
activity share the responsibility of finding a sustainable
economic program.

Debate is healthy, but never-ending debate can only be
harmful. The international community wants to help, and will
do so. But we can do so, only once the Dominican people take
the necessary agreed steps.

This program will require sacrifice and tough decisions.
Your responsibility to the Dominican people is to examine
immediately the proposals of the government and to vote
promptly for the common good of the country.

There is no greater honor for any elected leader than putting
the national interest above his own. We trust that you will
carry out the responsibilities you have taken on behalf of
the country, for, after all, that is why you are here.

Many Dominicans are pessimistic about the future. Many doubt
that there will be any prosecution of those responsible for
the banking frauds that led to the present dilemma.

It is necessary to reject this pessimism and cynicism. Yes,
certainly, the finances of the Dominican economy are in great
disarray. But the productive capacity of the country is
healthy. Dominicans are very hard working people who love
their country and want to see their laws and regulations
respected.

It is here and now that Dominicans must act. And now is the
time for justice to be done. The Dominican justice system
must prosecute bank fraud cases all the way to their outcome,
with the rigorous, transparent application of Dominican law.
These cases are too important. All of us who respect and
admire the Dominican people are watching ) and expecting to
see the people well served and protected by their
institutions and by their elected officials.

Conclusion

Distinguished friends, we share a hemisphere and a future;
and none of us is ready to accept failure. What,s at stake
for our people is too important ) the promise of democracy,
economic freedom, and eradication of poverty.

I look forward with great interest to working with our
friends in the hemisphere to face the challenges we have
before us.

I thank you for the honor of allowing me to speak to you in
this historic institution.

(end)
HERTELL