NewsWhore
07-22-2008, 04:40 PM
The cartel of tanker owners, the Petroleum Tanker Transporters Union (SACPTA) that for more than 40 years has had a monopoly on transporting fuel to Texaco stations in the DR, is again counting on the government to come through for them. The Fernandez administration gave them hope yesterday when it asked its Legal Advisory Department to study the legalities of the SACPTA request before the President takes a stand or intervenes.
The announcement comes after a San Cristobal court ruled that their blockade impeding Chevron Caribbean-selected tankers from loading fuel from the Dominican Petroleum Refinery is in violation of Dominican laws and established a RD$100,000 penalty for each day that the blockade continues. SACTPA announced that it would be appealing to the Supreme Court.
As reported by Diario Libre, yesterday the cartel's authorities met with President Leonel Fernandez at the Presidential Palace to push their position of keeping their monopoly. The newspaper reports that following the meeting, Vice President Rafael Alburquerque, recognized as one of the nation's leading labor crisis mediators, requested legal advice on the grounds that the transport of fuel is a vital service and as such the government could step in to regulate who can transport the fuel.
Chevron Caribbean argues that Dominican law stipulates that companies are free to choose who will transport their cargo and that this is a case of business interests. They point to articles in the DR-CAFTA trade agreement and World Trade Organization rules, as well as to the Dominican Constitution to support their stance. Chevron says that SACTPA has decided to take the law into its own hands.
Meanwhile, Homero Figueroa, writing in Diario Libre, comments today that "principles guide decisions." He continues: "The government is trapped in an absence of firm principles. By being concerned solely with its popularity, when it comes to social conflict, the government finds it hard to make fair decisions. Governments, no matter how good they are, cannot please everyone. The principle that should rule all decisions is the defense of the general interest above individual interests".
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
The announcement comes after a San Cristobal court ruled that their blockade impeding Chevron Caribbean-selected tankers from loading fuel from the Dominican Petroleum Refinery is in violation of Dominican laws and established a RD$100,000 penalty for each day that the blockade continues. SACTPA announced that it would be appealing to the Supreme Court.
As reported by Diario Libre, yesterday the cartel's authorities met with President Leonel Fernandez at the Presidential Palace to push their position of keeping their monopoly. The newspaper reports that following the meeting, Vice President Rafael Alburquerque, recognized as one of the nation's leading labor crisis mediators, requested legal advice on the grounds that the transport of fuel is a vital service and as such the government could step in to regulate who can transport the fuel.
Chevron Caribbean argues that Dominican law stipulates that companies are free to choose who will transport their cargo and that this is a case of business interests. They point to articles in the DR-CAFTA trade agreement and World Trade Organization rules, as well as to the Dominican Constitution to support their stance. Chevron says that SACTPA has decided to take the law into its own hands.
Meanwhile, Homero Figueroa, writing in Diario Libre, comments today that "principles guide decisions." He continues: "The government is trapped in an absence of firm principles. By being concerned solely with its popularity, when it comes to social conflict, the government finds it hard to make fair decisions. Governments, no matter how good they are, cannot please everyone. The principle that should rule all decisions is the defense of the general interest above individual interests".
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)