US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO2580

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