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DOMINICAN TROOPS IN IRAQ: HOSTAGE TO MEJIA RE-ELECTION?

Article Excerpt
Dominican Republic troops could be held in Iraq against their will, or that of their government, if President Hipolito Mejia decides to bring them home after six months while the US wants them to stay a full year. The soldiers could also be found to be in Iraq illegally under Dominican law, if it turns out that the deployment was unconstitutional (see NotiCen, 2003-07-10).

The opposition party Fuerza Nacional Progresista (FNP) sent out a press release on Dec. 12 charging that "the Dominican troops are in Iraq in flagrant violation of the Constitution of the Republic."

FNP spokesman and Deputy Pelegrin Castillo authored the communique. Castillo also criticized Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega for thanking the administration for the troops, given the questionable constitutionality of the deployment.

Noriega was in the Dominican Republic for two days last week, met with Mejia, and spoke before the Congress, where he thanked the government, calling the contribution of soldiers a demonstration of "friendship, sacrifice, and courage that will not be forgotten."

Castillo found it "irritating" that the US "proclaims so much its interest for the preservation of the state of law and...

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