Santo Domingo.- The National Theatre burst into applause anda standing ovation when president Danilo Medina on Monday asked the Organizationof American States (OAS) to pay its historical debt to the Dominican people forrubber-stamping the military invasion of April, 1965.
The president’s request upon taking the stage overshadowedthat of his predecessor, OAS general secretary Luis Almagro’s speech to open the46th General Assembly, taking place in the country from June 14 to 15.
Medina said the OAS must recognize past mistakes and issuea resolution of apology to the Dominican people for having legitimized themilitary invasion headed by the US, which sent around 40,000 Marines.
He called on the OAS to adopt a reflective andself-critical attitude towards the past and confront past failures withoutbitterness and without fear, to ensure they won’t be repeated.
"Therefore, on behalf of the Dominican people and onmy own behalf, I propose to you all during this regular session, the approval ofa resolution of apology to the Dominican Republic for its role played by theOAS in the Revolution of April 1965," Medina said.
Apology a demand
In the press conference headed by Almagro on Sunday, DominicanToday asked him whether the OAS would publicly apologize to the Dominicanpeople for its role in the invasion. The head of the OAS declined a responseand relayed the question to Dominican Foreign minister Andres Navarro instead.
El Dia newspaper editor-in-chief Rafael Molina Morillo hasled the call by prominent Dominicans who demand reparation from the OAS.