EMBASSY BANS STAFF FROM NIGHTCLUB AFTER

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001859

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ASEC DR
SUBJECT: EMBASSY BANS STAFF FROM NIGHTCLUB AFTER
DISCRIMINATORY INCIDENT



1. (U) On July 30, the Charge Roland Bullen directed all
resident official U.S. Embassy employees to refrain from
patronizing &The Loft,8 a popular Santo Domingo nightclub.
The decision was made public in a press release, in which the
Charge noted that the decision was taken in response to the
actions of Loft management in selectively denying entry to
African-Americans Embassy employees on July 22. The Charge
also noted that the recent selective denial of entry was only
the latest such action by the discotheque. In 2005, the
Charge,s predecessor, DCM Lisa Kubiske, met with executives
of several nightclubs seeking changes in admission policies
following repeated denials of entry to African-American
Embassy employees.


2. (U) The Charge telephoned Deputy Foreign Minster Trullols
to inform him of the decision to refrain from patronizing the
Loft, and the Embassy sent a diplomatic note on the subject.
Notice of this action was also placed on the Embassy,s
website to advise U.S. citizens visiting the Santo Domingo of
the Loft,s discriminatory actions. (The full text of the
press release can be found at
http://www.usemb.gov.do/prelease/Loft Disco.htm. For the
diplomatic note, see para. 10.)

BACKGROUND


3. (U) As outlined in the Embassy,s human rights report,
there is significant racial prejudice against persons of dark
complexion in the Dominican Republic, and the government has
done little to address the problem. Acts of discrimination
are common, ranging from the petty to the more serious. In
particular there are strong prejudices against Haitians,
which disadvantage many Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian
ancestry, as well as other foreigners of dark complexion,
including African-Americans. Few government officials
acknowledge the existence of this discrimination; others
regularly and publicly deny that it exists.


4. (U) Darker-skinned Dominicans frequently report being
denied entry into stores, nightclubs, and restaurants. In
September 2006, a private security officer shot and killed a
22-year-old Dominican student at the popular Santo Domingo
nightclub &Praia8 after a security officer's refusal of
admission to her darker-skinned friend escalated into a
heated argument.

PRESS AND PUBLIC REACTION


5. (U) Following the Embassy,s press release, the Dominican
press gave wide coverage to issue. On July 31, the
country,s leading newspaper, Listin Diario, carried
front-page coverage, as did other morning dailies. Local
radio and television news and commentary programs devoted
significant time to the decision. The local Associated Press
reporter and the Miami Herald published stories on the
decision made by the Charge.


6. (U) A number of newspapers have opined positively on the
decision. Several opinion articles were written which openly
criticizing not only the Loft, but also other discotheques
that routinely practice selective-entry policies. Of
particular note was the fact that even media outlets that are
often critical of the Embassy and U.S. foreign policy
congratulated the Embassy for their stance on this issue.
Pablo McKinney, poet, television/radio political analyst, and
daily columnist for the left-of-center tabloid El Nacional
wrote that, &For that dignified decision, we find ourselves
writing this early morning to the imperialists, with love.
Who could have imagined this...? I can only salute Mr.
Roland,s decision... and invite him to drink a couple of
cold beers at a local spot in order to show him the good will
of our simple people.8

GOVERNMENT REACTION


7. (U) On August 6, following the positive press and public
reaction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a supportive
press release: &(The MFA) agrees with the position of the
Embassy of the United States of America against the
discotheque Loft for allegedly being racist.... It is
incredible that these things occur in a country where 70

percent of the population is mulatto and 20 percent black....
Discrimination in public places violates multiple
international human rights treaties to which the Dominican
Republic is a signatory.8 Such a release by the MFA on a
domestic matter is unprecedented. EMBOFFs have also received
positive feedback from other government officials, diplomatic
colleagues and private sector contacts.

MEETING WITH LOFT MANAGEMENT


8. (SBU) On August 7, the Charge met with the general manager
of The Loft and the shift manager who was on duty the night
of July 22. The meeting was requested by the Loft owner. In
the meeting, the managers were defensive, claiming that
racial discrimination had not taken place, but rather blaming
the denial of entry on poorly educated doormen. The Loft
managers maintained that the reason for denial of entry was
hairstyle (specifically, braided hair),and then went into
some detail about what they considered to be acceptable
hairstyles. The managers further claimed that the doormen
did not contact management when they denied entrance to
Embassy staff. (Note: During the incident on July 22,
EMBOFFs witnessed several calls from the doormen to
management. In addition, one doorman stated to EMBOFFs that
his supervisor had said that he was not to allow entry to
&blacks.8)


9. (SBU) An apology was offered for the incident, but not for
racial discrimination. The managers suggested that Embassy
staff call in advance so that they would not be denied entry
in the future (note: this is moot given the ban on The Loft).
The Charge concluded the meeting by stating that he does not
intend to lift the ban.

PRESS RELEASE AND DIPLOMATIC NOTE


10. (U) Begin text of diplomatic note.

No. 166

The Embassy of the United States of America presents its
compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Government of the Dominican Republic and notes the decision
of Charg d, Affaires a. i.- Roland W. Bullen of prohibiting
all Embassy employees from patronizing &the Loft discothque
in response to the actions of it,s management in selectively
denying entry to African-Americans on July 22, 2007.

The Embassy notes that this recent selective denial of entry
was only the latest such action by the club. In 2005 Embassy
personnel met with Loft officials seeking a change in its
admission policy following denials of entry to African
American Embassy employees.

The Embassy of the United States considers it necessary to
take this action to place the Loft venue off-limits to its
employees, because of the consistent and repeated
discrimination towards US Embassy employees of African
decent. The US Embassy condemns such discrimination, which
violates Dominican law and U.S. norms of equal access and
non-discrimination towards all.

The Embassy of the United States avails itself of this
opportunity to renew to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Government of the Dominican Republic the assurances of
its highest consideration.

Embassy of the United States of America,
Santo Domingo, July 31, 2007

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