VZCZCXYZ0007
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #1258/01 1491532
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291532Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8366
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PRIORITY 2060
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 0770
RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN PRIORITY 0972
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON PRIORITY 2745
RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO PRIORITY 1106
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 4619
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN PRIORITY 1806
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY 1665
RUCOWCV/CUSTOMS CARIBBEAN ATTACHE MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUEFHLC/HQS DHS WASHDC PRIORITY
RUMISTA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001258 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, INR/IAA; USSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD; 
TREASURY FOR OASIA-JLEVINE; DEPT PASS USDA FOR FAS; 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: 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