BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: A WEEK OF CONTRASTS IN THE

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001275

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

(EMBASSY PARIS ADDED AS INFO ADDRESSEE)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV ELAB PHUM DR
SUBJECT: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: A WEEK OF CONTRASTS IN THE
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

REF: A. THE WHITE HOUSE "FACT SHEET: ADVANCING THE CAUSE
OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE WESTERN
HEMISPHERE" 03/05/07

B. 06 SANTO DOMINGO 3282

C. SANTO DOMINGO 1119

D. SANTO DOMINGO 0732


1. (SBU) Two distinctly different faces of the Dominican
Republic were on display this week. The week saw record
sales at the Cap Cana resort development, an enterprise
which, based on the draw of world-class beaches, promises to
bring considerable investment and job growth to the country.
At the same time, a bleak side of the Dominican Republic --
the poor working conditions of Haitian sugarcane workers --
has received a good deal of attention here because of an
exhibit taking place in Paris. These events have once again
highlighted the severe income inequalities in this country,
as well as the challenges ahead as we tackle the issue of
social justice in Latin America (ref A).

THE GOOD
--------------


2. (U) On May 16, the Dominican elite turned out to
inaugurate the first phase of development of Capa Cana
Marina, which is part of the larger Cap Cana resort complex.
To kick off the project, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held,
with the honors done by President Leonel Fernandez's wife,
Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez. Three days later, Donald
Trump was on hand as Trump Farallon Estates (another sub-unit
within Cap Cana) sold 62 plots of land, for a total value of
over US$300 million, in less than four hours.


3. (U) Cap Cana's promotional materials describe a 6,200-acre
development, which is the first stage of a total of over
30,000 acres, overlooking five miles of fine, white-power
sandy beaches. Many plots sit 200 feet above sea-level on
limestone bluffs with magnificent views of the Caribbean Sea.
The resort will eventually include three Jack Nicklaus
Signature Golf Courses, the largest marina in the Caribbean
(with over 500 slips),and a dizzying array of shops,
restaurants, and spas.


4. (U) Cap Cana is located in the eastern Dominican Republic
and, according to the developers, only 10 minutes away from
the Punta Cana International Airport. Non-stop flights to
Punta Cana are available from numerous North American and
European cities. This will provide Capa Cana an advantage
over its principal rival for international sales in the
Dominican beach condominium market, Casa de Campo, which is
served by the smaller La Romana airport. (Casa de Campo is
likely to continue to do well in the smaller domestic market
due to its proximity to Santo Domingo -- two hours by car
versus the four-hour drive to Punta Cana.)


5. (U) Cap Cana is sure to bring a good deal of tax revenue
to the Dominican economy, and local suppliers are likely to
do a brisk business with the large resort. Job growth is
another likely result of the Cap Cana investment. While many
of the new positions will be at the low minimum wage, US$230
per month, skilled customer services jobs will pay higher
wages.

THE BAD
--------------


6. (SBU) The poor working conditions of Haitian sugarcane
cutters, as well as human rights violations and
discrimination suffered by other persons of Haitian descent
in the Dominican Republic, have been well documented, e.g. in
refs B-C and our Human Rights Report. In March 2006, Amnesty

International wrote an open letter to President Fernandez in
which the organization alleged a "deteriorating human rights
situation of Haitians migrant workers and Dominican nationals
of Haitian descent." The lengthy letter goes on to detail
collective and arbitrary expulsions, a climate of xenophobia,
mob violence, and harassment of human rights defenders.


7. (SBU) This week, while the elite deservedly celebrated the
success of their large investment in Cap Cana, back in Santo
Domingo sugar companies and government officials fended off
renewed accusations of abuse of Haitian workers. The latest
criticism comes from Paris, where a group of activists,
including the Paris city hall and Amnesty International, have
organized an exhibition about sugarcane cutters in the
Dominican Republic titled "Slaves in Paradise." Photos and
recordings are available on the Internet at
www.esclavesauparadis.com.


8. (SBU) The Slaves in Paradise event features seminars, a
photo exhibit, and the premier of the documentary film "The
Price of Sugar." Our impressions, based on an extended
preview posted on the website You Tube, are that The Price of
Sugar details the poor working conditions of persons of
Haitian descent working in sugarcane fields owned by the
Vicini Corporation. The film, produced by Bill Haney and
narrated by the actor Paul Newman, features the advocacy
efforts of Father Christopher Hartley, who also ministered to
the sugarcane cutters and their families. Hartley left the
country last October, when his advocacy tactics went further
than the church hierarchy could allow.


9. (SBU) The Vicini Corp.'s response to the Haney film has
been swift. The firm has hired the premier Washington law
office Patton Boggs which, according to press reports, is
sending a warning to Haney and the production company
Uncommon Productions that any presentation of the film will
result in a defamation law suit. The Vicini Corp. has also
joined the battle on the Internet, having posted a short film
on You Tube titled "The Truth About the Price of Sugar."
Vicini publicists provided anti-Hartley versions that
dominated local press accounts.


10. (SBU) The lower house of congress also recently got into
the act, passing a resolution condemning the Paris exhibit.
Upon delivering a copy of the resolution to the French
Ambassador, the author of the declaration, Victor "Ito"
Bisono of the PRSC party, declined to provide a response to
the allegations in the exhibit. Instead, in a common refrain
here, the congressman told reporters that Slaves in Paradise
was part of a defamatory campaign against the Dominican
Republic that "seeks to harm the image of (our country)
abroad."


11. (SBU) The executive branch of the Dominican government
has been largely silent this week, which is unusual given the
tendency of Foreign Minister Morales Troncoso to speak out
strongly on Haitian issues. However, all of the congressmen
from the ruling PLD party voted in favor of Bisono's
resolution (it passed unanimously in the lower house). In
addition, representatives of the PLD and the largest
opposition party, the PRD, accompanied Bisono to the French
Embassy.

AND THE UGLY
--------------


12. (SBU) Defenders of the rights of persons of Haitian
descent face an uphill battle in the Dominican Republic.
Father Hartley was unexpectedly transferred out of the
country, which he says was due to the Dominican Church's
leadership being unable to stomach his advocacy work. The

papal nuncio (protect) tells us that Hartley had been found
to have exceeded his mandate in some unexplained but clearly
unacceptable fashion. In 2005, another activist priest,
Pedro Ruquoy, left the country after 30 years of missionary
work because of consistent harassment. The last straw was
the revelation by journalists that Ruquoy, a celibate priest,
had put his name onto birth registrations as father of two
Haitian boys he had taken into his care -- presumably because
they were unable to obtain identity documents. In March 2007,
an investigation by staff at the Central Elections Board
(JCE) recommended that the authorities strip the Dominican
citizenship of Sonia Pierre, a prominent advocate for the
rights of persons of Haitian descent. The next day, the JCE
President stated publicly that only a judicial tribunal could
take such a drastic step, but by that time the international
media had already spread the word of the harassment of Pierre
(ref D). Hartley, Ruquoy, and Pierre have all received death
threats.

COMMENT
--------------


13. (SBU) The contrast this week between the glitter and
shine of Cap Cana and the often ugly debate about Haitian
sugarcane cutters was striking. These are complex issues
that defy simple solutions. One way to look at them is in
terms of the old and the new in the Dominican economy.
Agriculture, with sugar in the lead, once dominated economic
activity here, but now makes up only 11 percent of GDP.
Services, including tourism, are the wave of future, and
already constitute 60 percent of the economy. The organizers
of the Paris exhibit may have lost some of their audience by
using the inflammatory title "Slaves in Paradise," but there
is no doubt that the Dickensian working conditions in the
sugar fields are all too real.

-- Drafted by Peter Hemsch

(U) This report and extensive other material can be consulted
on our SIPRNET site,
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/
MEIGS