US embassy cable - 05SANTODOMINGO1801

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 001801 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR, WHA/AND; STATE PASS USAID AND OFDA; 
NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON; 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD; 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, DR 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN POLITICS # 17: HELICOPTERS, FOREST 
FIRES, HELP FROM ABROAD 
 
REF: A. DAO IIR 6827-9897-05 OF 01 APRIL: VENEZUELA 
        CONTRIBUTES TASK FORCE SIMON BOLIVAR TO 
     B. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FIREFIGHTING EFFORT 
 
1. (SBU) This is #17 in our current series on politics in the 
Dominican Republic: 
 
HELICOPTERS, FOREST FIRES, HELP FROM ABROAD 
 
With forest fires continuing to burn along the mountaintops 
in the Dominican Republic, Hugo Chavez has won a lot of 
Dominican good will with his dramatic and largely useless 
gesture of sending two Venezuela Cobra helicopters with water 
buckets to fight the fires.  On March 28 the Dominican House 
of Representatives unanimously voted a resolution calling the 
fires a "National Disaster," asking for extensive 
investigations for possible arson, urging Dominicans to 
prevent forest fires, and "thanking eternally the sister 
Bolivarian republic of Venezuela personified by President 
Hugo Chvez, for the selfless solidarity for our people, 
providing equipment for a more efficient solution of the 
problem." 
 
The immediate irony is that the Cobras are not much use for 
fire fighting, since they carry a load of only about 
600 gallons per trip.  Beyond that, however, although the 
Dominican administration sent this Embassy a diplomatic 
note last week requesting assistance with the fires, it 
refused to take the step of declaring a national disaster, 
the administrative action that can open access to U.S. 
disaster assistance.  Political considerations were 
certainly part of this - - as they were in late 2004, when 
the same administration worried about its tourism profile 
and declined to declare a disaster after Hurricane Jeanne had 
passed over the Dominican Southeast.  At that 
time the bridge on the Rio Chavon - - linking the South with 
the beach resorts - - was completely destroyed. 
 
Early on in the current drama, the presidential spokesman 
made the blunder of declaring that U.S. aircraft 
were on the way - - without having checked that statement 
with anyone in the USG.  This caused some confusion. 
Environment Minister Max Puig, who has had a grimly 
optimistic outlook toward the fires, accurately explained 
to journalists on March 29 the fact that United States 
assistance is not available except when national 
disasters are declared.  He said then that the fires were 
"under control" and should be completely extinguished 
within two days.  At that time pine forests covering 14,800 
acres were alight.  Under Secretary for Forestry 
Ernesto Reyna, who had flown over the area the previous day, 
said that there would be no need to bring in 
fixed-wing aircraft from Miami.  But even today, April 1, the 
fires continue and the official prognosis is 
the same -- perhaps another 48 hours. 
 
Papers on March 31 carried the story that Dominican Air Force 
helicopters couldn,t help because the "Bambi 
buckets" like those used by the Venezuelan helicopters were 
sitting in Miami.   That is true, strictly 
speaking - -those are excess defense articles donated to the 
Dominicans by the United States.  For more 
than a year the Dominicans have been unable to make available 
the costs of transportation and demurrage, 
which by now amount to more than USD 200,000.  This is of no 
great significance for the fires, however, 
because the Dominican helicopters are small ones with two-man 
crews, incapable of carrying enough water 
far enough or high enough to be of any use. 
 
Following the Ambassador's notification to Washington of a 
disaster, the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance 
has provided USD 50,000 that can be applied to help the 
Dominicans recover.  The funds will 
probably be used to train local populations to fight fires. 
With the change of administrations in mid-2004, 
almost all of the recently trained staff of the Council for 
Emergencies (COE) lost their jobs to make way 
for Fernandez supporters. 
 
The cartoonist in daily "El Caribe" had its own commentary 
about the situation, referring both to the 
fires and to grandstanding and hot political rhetoric from 
the opposition PRD over the last three weeks 
that blocked  Senate action on vital legislation.  A cartoon 
helicopter labeled "USA" is shown dragging 
a squirting garden hose, hovering over a flaming mountain. 
Says one pilot to the other: "Now what else 
was it that they wanted us to quench?  His partner replies, 
"The hotheaded spirits of the politicians!" 
 
2. (U) Drafted by Michael Meigs. 
 
3. (U) This piece and others in our series can be consulted 
on our classified SIPRNET site 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/  along with 
extensive other material. 
HERTELL