Dominican Republic: Odd Reconciliation

The Dominican government of reconciliation led by Héctor Garcia-Godoy is now seven weeks old, and thus far it has reconciled no one. In the bullet-pocked capital of Santo Domingo ex-President Juan Bosch, in whose name the original civil war was launched returned home talking about “strikes demonstrations and appeals” to “drive out” the 10,300 U.S. paratroopers and Latin American soldiers of the OAS peace-keeping force. Bosch’s presence has inflamed the left and enraged the right—to the point where the only thing that stands between Garcia-Godoy and renewed civil war is those same 10,300 foreign soldiers.

Two weeks ago, a band of leftist students started demonstrating outside the National Palace, taunting loyalist Dominican army guards. With anger and bitterness all around, one soldier shot an 18-year-old in the back, killing him instantly. That led to a series of flash-fire fights between rebels and loyalists resulting m four dead, 14 wounded. Last week the city rumbled with bomb blasts five in all, damaging a bar popular with U.S. troops, the plant of a noisily antimilitary magazine, and a drive-in movie Death toll: another two Dominicans.

Despite all appeals, the rebels have openly defied Garcia-Godoy’s order to surrender their stolen arms. In turn the President is under increasing pressure from the loyalist military, which is talking coup and accuses him of loading his Cabinet with leftists. The President does not deny that he has leftists in his Cabinet—along with conservative bankers, engineers and landowners. “We have had a revolution,” he says, “I must reintegrate the country, so I use so-and-so, and people cry, ‘My God, he’s a leftist.’ Of course he’s a leftist. I want him to do a job no one else can.”

For the moment, Garcia-Godoy is determined to do the job of “reconciliation” his way—with one hand on his hot line to the U.S. 82nd Airborne.