Civil groups ask UN support for independent probe

CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS in the Dominican Republic  are moving along a road previously proposed for Panama by Roberton Eisenmann, founder of La Prensa.

On Sunday Feb 5  they began to collect signatures to demand an independent investigation into the bribes paid by the Brazilian  construction company Odebrecht.

They said the commission should be formed with the support of the United Nations.

The signatures are being collected in green books, the color chosen by the organizers of demonstrations to demand that those who received bribes from the Brazilian construction company are prosecuted.

Ico Abreu, a spokesman for the organizations, said that the collection of signatures will take place in different public squares and aims to ask the government to create a special commission of prosecutors not linked to the ruling party and supported by United Nations specialists .

The government ” is not showing signs of having an interest in furthering this research,” said

Manuel Jiménez, one of the organizers  who until last August was a deputy for the ruling party.Said  that the signatures will be handed over to President Danilo Medina.

He also pointed out  that Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez is the leader of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party. Most of the bribes were paid during administrations headed by that group.

Rodriguez reported earlier this month that authorities had reached an agreement with Odebrecht to repay $184 million as compensation for paying the bribes.

According to the Ombudsman’s Office, Odebrecht executives acknowledged paying $92 million in bribes since 2001.

Under the agreement, the Dominican government has pledged not to prosecute executives and  direct employees of the company, but can prosecute commercial representatives, local agents and public officials who took bribes.