Spanish priest again smears Dominican Republic, official says

Santo Domingo.- Foreign Relations minister Carlos Morales on Sunday said he doesn’t imagine any friendly country joining the smear campaign headed by Spanish-born catholic priest Christopher Hartley, which in his view denigrates and belittles Dominican Republic.

The official’s affirmation comes in the heels of a complaint the priest filed before the U.S. Department of Labor on the Dominican Government’s alleged failure to implement labor laws in sugar cane plantations, as chapter 16 of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) stipulates. “The advances and improvements in the sugar industry’s labor conditions are evident, except for the Spanish priest.”

“Father Hartley’s animosity against Dominican Republic is very well known, especially after the circumstances which forced him to leave his ministry and the contradictions with the ecclesiastical hierarchy,” Morales said.

He said the absurdity of the accusations eliminates any concern regarding punitive measures. “We can’t imagine any friendly country joining such an ignominious campaign.”

“The topic of father Hartley doesn’t divide the country, it unifies it in the criterion that his nonsense in no way seeks accomplishments in the field of human rights, but to denigrate and belittle us instead,” Morales said.