NewsWhore
06-12-2006, 01:10 PM
The violent death of Vanessa Ramirez Fana, an 18-year old medical student, at the hands of alleged robbers has stirred an emotional reaction from the citizens of Santiago and the Cibao region. The young girl was killed close to her home last Friday night, shot three times, in what was thought to be an attempted robbery. According to various reports in the national press, the police have detained at least four people for investigation.
Shock and incredulous stares marked the funeral of the young student as she was laid to rest in the 30 de Marzo Cemetery in Santiago. Headlines in Listin Diario and El Caribe accented the consternation of the local population.
While Vanessa was not the first, and sadly will probably not be the last victim of senseless violence, her death might have sparked a nationwide crusade. Today's headlines in Listin Diario carry the demand from two of the nation's highest clerics, the Archbishops of Santo Domingo and Santiago, that the violence be halted. Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez called the crime "a savage act" and Archbishop de la Rosa y Carpio said that the crime against Vanessa Ramirez may well become a symbol for a campaign against crimes of this nature.
In his A.M. column in Diario Libre, editor Adriano Tejada says that the huge quantity of messages received by the newspaper shows that the nation is terrified and feels impotent to face up to the criminal element and to struggle with a police department whose members seem to engage in criminal acts with too much frequency. Tejada says that the population smirks at the fact that the Minister of the Interior and the Police as well as the chief of police seem to come before the press when they are fighting over something. He says that this is a shame. Tejada ventures to say that what the people want are simple and rational actions that work, like prohibiting two people on a motorcycle, as was done in the Balaguer years, or obliging all motoconcho drivers to be well identified with special vests, as in Colombia. Another measure suggested by the editor, who is also a lawyer, is the authorization of "a neighborhood watch" (guardias jurados) with powers to stop and request identification and to arrest suspicious characters. At the same time, the police must reinforce its department of juvenile gangs, since these are taking over the barrios. As a jurist, Tejada suggest a modification of the new Penal Code that will permit the processing of juveniles as adults. He warns that if the police continue their current poor handling of the criminal element, things might well get completely out of hand, if they haven't already. The editorialist ends by saying that this crime may well have been the last straw. The President must take action.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#12)
Shock and incredulous stares marked the funeral of the young student as she was laid to rest in the 30 de Marzo Cemetery in Santiago. Headlines in Listin Diario and El Caribe accented the consternation of the local population.
While Vanessa was not the first, and sadly will probably not be the last victim of senseless violence, her death might have sparked a nationwide crusade. Today's headlines in Listin Diario carry the demand from two of the nation's highest clerics, the Archbishops of Santo Domingo and Santiago, that the violence be halted. Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez called the crime "a savage act" and Archbishop de la Rosa y Carpio said that the crime against Vanessa Ramirez may well become a symbol for a campaign against crimes of this nature.
In his A.M. column in Diario Libre, editor Adriano Tejada says that the huge quantity of messages received by the newspaper shows that the nation is terrified and feels impotent to face up to the criminal element and to struggle with a police department whose members seem to engage in criminal acts with too much frequency. Tejada says that the population smirks at the fact that the Minister of the Interior and the Police as well as the chief of police seem to come before the press when they are fighting over something. He says that this is a shame. Tejada ventures to say that what the people want are simple and rational actions that work, like prohibiting two people on a motorcycle, as was done in the Balaguer years, or obliging all motoconcho drivers to be well identified with special vests, as in Colombia. Another measure suggested by the editor, who is also a lawyer, is the authorization of "a neighborhood watch" (guardias jurados) with powers to stop and request identification and to arrest suspicious characters. At the same time, the police must reinforce its department of juvenile gangs, since these are taking over the barrios. As a jurist, Tejada suggest a modification of the new Penal Code that will permit the processing of juveniles as adults. He warns that if the police continue their current poor handling of the criminal element, things might well get completely out of hand, if they haven't already. The editorialist ends by saying that this crime may well have been the last straw. The President must take action.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#12)