Dominicans widen anticorruption protests

San Cristobal,Dominican Republic.- Forming a human chain, several social and communityorganizations n southern Haina town and similar protests in Santiago and Santo Domingo on Wednesdaydemanded an end to corruption and impunity.

"We demand transparencyin the use of public funds that belong to each citizen in Haina not anyone´s inparticular," the protesters chanted.

They rebuked the acquittalof senator Felix Bautista by the Supreme Court and demanded that the JusticeMinistry file an appeal. "We demand that president Danilo Medina strip thepresidency´s shield from the senator from San Juan de la Maguana."

They condemned the allegedcorruption in the State Works Supervisory Engineers Office (OISOE), uncoveredafter the suicide of David Rodriguez, one of its contractors. "That´s whywe demand the closure of this office and be subjected to court action to determinethe real perpetrators of the theft in that agency."

Santiago

In Santiago residentsplaced pictures of government officials on a coffin to protest against corruptionand blackouts, which they say are getting longer in addition to a lack of water.

The protesters held amock funeral for government officials including province governor Aura Toribioand Public Works deputy minister in Santiago, Porfirio Brito."What crap,blackouts all day," chanted inhabitants of the Jacagua sector.

In the capital

On Wednesday protestersalso picketed at Delgado St. and México Av., near the OISOE offices in front ofthe National Palace.