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Residents of Barrio Libertad protest in front of the National Palace over threat of eviction
Santo Domingo. – This Friday morning, residents of the Libertad neighborhood, located in Andrés, Boca Chica, held a press conference in front of the National Palace to ask the Government to stop the evictions that, they claim, threaten to leave thousands of families who have been living in that community for years on the streets.
The activity was led by Manuel María Mercedes, president of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), who was accompanied by representatives of the UCD Urbana y Popular, as well as community organizations from La Caleta and other nearby areas.
Mercedes denounced that they intend to evict families who have occupied those lands continuously for 15 and even 20 years, where basic services such as electricity, water, schools and churches already exist. In her opinion, it is a persecution against the poorest and most vulnerable sectors.
“It seems that demons are loose in terms of persecuting the poor and vulnerable groups, because after a community has been occupying a piece of land uninterruptedly for 15, 20 years, then supposed owners appear who never during all those years had appeared,” he expressed.
The human rights leader criticized the actions of the State Attorney’s Office, which, he said, has been massively issuing eviction orders against humble families, despite the complaints filed with the Public Ministry Council.
He indicated that said dependency, attached to the Attorney General’s Office, would be lending itself to carrying out evictions without an appraisal having been carried out in accordance with the procedural rules of the real estate jurisdictions.
Mercedes revealed that in the coming days the eviction of at least 11 families is expected, already authorized with the use of public force, although they are willing to reach agreements with the alleged owners, whose ownership, she affirmed, has not yet been duly determined.
During the press conference, the president of the CNDH formally requested President Luis Abinader to declare the lands, which, according to his explanation, belong to the State or have been occupied by citizens in the last five years, to be of public utility. He pointed out that this request will be delivered via the Vice Minister of the Presidency for Social Affairs, Alexis Jiménez, in order for him to intervene in the conflict.
“If this doesn’t stop, there will be no peace for the families that are intended to be evicted, nor for the government. We are warning President Luis Abinader, who promised solutions and so far has been more froth than chocolate,” he stated.
Mercedes warned that, if a concrete response is not obtained, the convening organizations will intensify their protests and will go en masse to the National Palace. She even maintained that each evicted family could occupy nearby areas as a form of pressure.
The leader also questioned the lack of clarity regarding land ownership and requested the opening of specific real estate files to clarify the legal situation.
“How many owners are showing up? Who are they? There are different owners. What we are asking for is transparency and respect for due process,” he affirmed.
The community members reiterated their call to the Government to urgently intervene and avoid what they describe as an imminent social crisis in sectors such as Barrio Libertad, Nuevo Jerusalén and La Caleta, where hundreds of families could be left homeless in the coming days.
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