Santiago, Dominican Republic – Organizers of violent protests over poor public services in the northern Dominican Republic that left 22 people wounded and more than 100 under arrest announced Friday that they were ending their general strike.
The announcement was made by the spokesman for the FALPO, or Front for Mass Struggle, Victor Breton, who said the protests were ending thanks to the mediation efforts of Catholic clergy and of business leaders in the town of Licey al Medio.
Residents of Licey al Medio and at least a dozen other communities in the northern part of the country have been paralyzed since Monday by demonstrations calling for the repair of local roads and better electricity and drinking-water services.
Breton told EFE that his group agreed to relent so local residents, farmers and businesses could resume their normal activities.
The FALPO spokesman said that two military helicopters fired indiscriminately on protesters Friday morning while soldiers and police on the ground dragged youths from their homes, beating and shooting them.
Police, meanwhile, told reporters that two officers were wounded when demonstrators shot at them, but FALPO leaders denied the assertion and denounced what they called police repression against “defenseless citizens.”
The head of a group representing business-owners and farmers in Licey al Medio and nearby Moca, Ambiorix Taveras, hailed FALPO’s decision to end the protests, which he said had cost the region’s economy nearly $3 million.
