Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04SANTODOMINGO2580
2004-04-28 13:38:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

DOMINICAN ELECTIONS #42: PLD PROMISES TO THE USG

Tags:  PGOV DR 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SANTO DOMINGO 002580 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA AND DRL;NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON
LABOR FOR ILAB; USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR
OASIA-LAMONICA
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTIONS #42: PLD PROMISES TO THE USG


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SANTO DOMINGO 002580

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA AND DRL;NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON
LABOR FOR ILAB; USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR
OASIA-LAMONICA
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTIONS #42: PLD PROMISES TO THE USG



1. (SBU) Following is number 42 in our series on the
Dominican elections.

PLD Promises to the USG

In mid-March PLD campaign manager Danilo Medina led a
four-person PLD delegation to Washington, where they met with
NSC personnel and asked for an appointment at the Department
of State. Since Medina had made no approach to the U.S.
Embassy in Santo Domingo, the PLD members were received by
the Dominican Republic desk officer in WHA/CAR.

Medina was the PLD nominee for the 2000 presidential
elections. He was accompanied by economist Eduardo Tejera,
economist Julio Ortega, and PLD strategist Juan Temistocles
Montas. The delegation pressed for U.S. support for election
monitoring and left an aide memoire outlining PLD commitments
to the U.S. government on the policy aims of a PLD government
if elected. Particularly notable were an avowal of intent to
continue law enforcement cooperation, support for Dominican
participation in Iraq within the Spanish brigade, and a
commitment to honor the free trade agreement just negotiated
by the Meja government with the United States.

Embassy officers raised directly with Medina the following
week the need to coordinate Washington contacts in advance
with the Embassy in order to assure appropriate attention and
USG preparation for formal contacts. Emboffs stressed, once
again, the impartiality of the Ambassador and Embassy staff
and the fact that Embassy reporting s widely disseminated in
the USG foreign affairs community. Medina acknowledged these
points.

The Ambassador subsequently invited Tejera and Ortega to
luncheon along with economists Jaime Aristy Escuder (PRD
advisor) and Eduardo Garcia (independent). The conversation
was a courteous if guarded debate on approaches to the
overhang of short-term debt, consisting of certificates held
by the Central Bank, and an exploration of the prospects for
macroeconomic stability and the exchange rate. On April 13
the Ambassador hosted Leonel Fernandez with Medina, Montas,
and VP candidate Rafael Albuquerque.

Following is the text of the PLD aide memoire:

AIDE MEMOIRE
Proposals from the Dominican Opposition for Deepening Ties

with the United States

The Dominican Opposition seeks to initiate and establish a
permanent and open communication channel with the government
of the United Status. The specific objectives of said channel
are as follows:

To guarantee stability in the Dominican Republic, we seek
to obtain the support of the US government for a fraud free
electoral process in the Dominican Republic leading to the
May 16, 2004 election day. For political stability to prevail
in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean more broadly, it
is crucial to contain the current government's intentions to
manipulate both the process and the outcome of the elections.
A proactive role on the part of US government officials
including public warnings could help dissuade these plans.

To insure the transparency of the elections, the US
government should support the presence of electoral observers
from the OAS and highly respected non governmental
institutions such as the International Republican Institute,
IFES, NOl, Carter Center and others. Electoral observation
must be conducted not only on election day but long before to
insure the transparency of the entire process.
In the likely event that Dr. Leonel Fernandez emerges as
the winner of the electoral contest, the new government will
not modify any agreement currently in effect with the United
States. The new government will search for mechanisms to
consolidate current commitments and will aim to improve the
quality of relations between the United States and the
Dominican Republic.

Specifically, the participation of the Dominican Armed
Forces in the Plus Ultra Spanish-Latin American brigade in
Iraq will be honored. Moreover, the new government will seek
to expand collaboration with the United States and other
democratic countries in all anti-terrorist activities to
insure that the Caribbean becomes fully integrated into
ongoing Third Border security initiatives.

The new government will also honor the Dominican
Republic-United States free trade agreement negotiated under
the terms of CAFT A and pledges to sign and ratify any
agreement that emerges from such negotiations.

Along these same lines, the new Dominican government will
continue to support the completion and ratification of a Free
Trade Area of the Americas under the terms agreed to by the
United States and other countries of the Americas during
recent Trade Ministerial meetings and at the Summit of the
Americas held in Monterrey, Mexico.

The key objective of the new government will to be to
address the economic crisis and to establish the mechanisms
to provide a stable environment for US and all foreign
private investment. In this sense, the new government will
pursue sound economic policies that address the urgent need
to stabilize the economy. Along these lines, the government
will honor current agreements with the IMP and will remain
open to US government input on how best to move forward
toward a fast paced economic recovery.

The new government will support and actively collaborate
with the United States and the international community in the
ongoing efforts to bring peace and stability to Haiti. The
objectives of bringing peace, stability, economic growth, and
disarming the population are as important to the Dominican
Republic as to any member of the Haiti Friends Group and the
international forces present in Haiti. Of critical concern to
the Dominican Republic is the potential of an unrestricted
flow of immigrants fleeing Haiti as such an occurrence could
seriously erode social, economic. and political stability in
the Dominican Republic.

A new government presided by Dr. Leone! Fernandez wil1
actively cooperate with US efforts to stem the tide of
illegal human trafficking of Dominican nationals toward
Puerto Rico. The new government will seek to renew and deepen
joint efforts to prevent the trafficking of human beings,
drugs, and other illicit goods.

The new government will enforce all existing US-Dominican
money laundering and counter narcotics agreements. In
addition, a new government presided by Dr. Fernandez will
support all international efforts aimed at combating these
illicit activities.

The Dominican opposition believes that establishing an open
communications channel with US government officials will help
deepen and strengthen ties between our two countries and will
allow for the consolidation of a mature and stable
relationship over the long term that will promote the best
interests of our respective nations.


2. (U) Drafted by Michael Meigs


3. (U) This report and others in our elections series are
available on our SIPRNET site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/
along with extensive other material.
HERTELL