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| The candles and flowers were used against them. DL |
The President of the Dominican Republic was afraid that the Devil himself could cause problems for him after he vetoed a resolution declaring a mountain range as a national park.
According to the large-circulation Dominican daily Diario Libre, Col. Jorge García Lebrón caught three members of the Pilgrim Popular Movement black handed as they were lighting candles and "preparing flowers" around an image of President Danilo Medina, who in the past has been accused of making a deforestation pact with the devil.
Colonel García Lebrón told Diario Libre that the three accused members of the Pilgrim Popular Movement were apprehended in possession of "flowers for the dead, large candles, lit candles, and some 'other elements' wrapped in black."
The large-circulation Dominican daily Hoy reported that the three accused individuals were to be charged with "satanism and offending the good customs of society" in the precedent-setting case, but before an indictment could be filed, a large crowd of supporters successfully demanded their release.
In the time since the members of the Pilgrim Popular Movement were led out of prison by their supporters, the residents of Moca, where the arrest took place, complain that arbitrary arrests and harassment by the police continues, especially after President Medina re-wrote the Constitution to make himself eligible for yet another presidential term.
In July of this summer, Mr. Medina's party introduced legislation targeting groups like the PPM. The new law will regulate the use of religious symbols during political rallies, raising the penalties for placing a satanic curse on the president to supernatural levels.
