Civil society, environmentalists snowball Bahia de las Aguilas row

Santo Domingo.- The Institutionalism and Justice Foundation (Finjus), the Cibao Ecological Society (SOECI) and Citizen Participation (PC) on Wednesday joined the growing group of entities to voice a rejection to the government’s announced intent to strike a deal with holders of fraudulently obtained titles for the pristine 7-kilometer beach, Bahia de las Aguilas.

The now more than 16 organizations reject the Government’s proposed "agreements" to settle the disputed lands in southwestern Pedernales province.

in a statement PC called the proposed deal “illegal, immoral and unacceptable" and expects that president Danilo Medina won’t become an "accomplice" in the “long chain of legal and constitutional violations.”

It said the President’s decision to "reward" the illegal titleholders with 45% of the land sales breaks his oath to enforce the Constitution and the law.

For Finjus the executive branch would set a "serious" precedent if it unilaterally and without a court ruling, confers rights to owners of an illegal origin, and would undermine Dominican Republic’ s legal security.

Environmentalists

For Cibao Ecological Society, SOECI, president Andres Blanco, Medina’s proposal would jeopardize efforts to develop sustainable tourism in the impoverished Southwest.