Priest leads Dominican Republic children in push for a National Park

Santo Domingo.- Dozens of children some as young as one, headed by radical priest Rogelio Cruz rallied in front of Congress Friday to demand that lawmakers pass the bill to created Loma Miranda National Park.

The children hailing from various parts of the country called "Soldiers for Loma Miranda" carried green flags and wore t-shirts with messages such as "I’m Loma Miranda National Park" and "Educational Summer 2014, discovering my national park land."

La Vega native Anthony Leonardo, 10, read a document addressed to the lawmakers and the President, reminding them that they, the children, are the future and damage inflicted on the environment today will impact them the most tomorrow.

Around 300 police agents watched over the demonstration, but didn’t carry weapons to avert mishaps.

Rogelio said the children live in the cities of El Seibo, Nagua, Villa Arriba, Cabrera, Moca, Santiago, San Francisco, Bonao and the capital.