EXTERNAL (for general distribution)AI Index: AMR 27/01/94

Distr: UA/SC

UA 218/94"Disappearance"7 June 1994

DOMINICAN REPUBLICNarciso GONZÁLEZ, university lecturer, journalist and political activist

Narciso González is reported to have "disappeared" after being detained on 26 May 1994. Eye-witness accounts and other reports tell of his arrest in the streets of Santo Domingo, by members of the army and his subsequent confinement in a military base known as J-2, on the outskirts of the capital. However, the authorities have neither acknowledged his detention nor confirmed where he is being held.

Presidential elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 1994, in which President Joaquín Balaguer was one of the candidates. A few days before the elections Narciso González published an article in La Muralla magazine entitled: "10 pruebas que demuestran que Balaguer es lo más perverso que ha surgido en América" ("10 reasons which show that Balaguer is one of the most perverse figures who have existed in the Americas").

As well as being a journalist and political activist, Narciso González is a lecturer at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. After the presidential elections, Narciso González urged the University's Council and Chancellor to close the University in protest at the elections, which have allegedly been marred by fraud.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

According to official results issued by the government's Central Election Board, President Joaquín Balaguer, who is seeking a seventh term of office, and his party, the Partido Reformista Social Cristiano, Social Christian Reform Party, won by a narrow victory over José Francisco Peña and the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, PRD, Dominican Revolutionary Party. Following allegations by national and international observers that some 200,000 supporters of the opposition party PRD could not vote because their names had been removed from the electoral register, the two sides agreed to review the results. By 7 June the outcome of the review was not known.

The international community has been interested in the Dominican elections because the Dominican military forces, allegedly under President Balaguer's acquiescence, are said to have assisted in the smuggling of oil into neighbouring Haiti, thus weakening the international embargo imposed by the UN Security Council against that nation.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/faxes/express and airmail letters either in Spanish or in your own language:

- expressing concern at the reported "disappearance" of Narciso González, following his detention by members of the army on 26 May 1994, in Santo Domingo;

- urging the authorities to immediately and thoroughly investigate his "disappearance" and that the results be made public;

- asking that if in custody his whereabouts be disclosed and that he be either brought before a judge and charged with a recognizable criminal offence or be released immediately;

- urging that if he is in custody he be humanely treated and given access to an independent lawyer, his relatives and a doctor.

APPEALS TO

1. President

Dr. Joaquín Balaguer Ricardo

Presidente de la República

Palacio Nacional

Santo Domingo

República Dominicana

Faxes: + 1 809 682 2341

Telegrams: Presidente Balaguer, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Salutation: Señor Presidente/Dear President

2. Attorney General

Sr. Efraín Reyes Duluc

Procurador General de la República

Centro de los Héroes de Constanza

Santo Domingo

República Dominicana

Telegrams: Procurador General, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Salutation: Sr. Procurador General/Dear Attorney General

3. Secretary of State for the Armed Forces

General Francisco Javier Núñez

Secretario de Estado de las Fuerzas Armadas

Plaza de la Independencia

Avenida 27 de Febrero

Santo Domingo

República Dominicana

Telegrams: Secretario de Estado Núñez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Salutation: Sr. Secretario/Dear Secretary

COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:

Comité "Por la Vida de Narciso González"

Committee for the Defence of the life of Narciso González

IPECP

(no address available)

Faxes: + 809 536-5486

and to diplomatic representatives of Domincan Republic accredited to your country

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 19 July 1994.