The president of the Constitutional Court, Milton Ray Guevara, honored the heroes of the Restoration, on the occasion of celebrating its 159th anniversary tomorrow.
Full letter from the President of the Constitutional Court
We commemorate one more anniversary of the Grito de Capotillo of that August 16, 1868 that started the Restoration War.
Once again, we honor those brave Dominicans who took arms against annexation to Spain.
After having fought for long periods of time to become independent from Haiti, we fell into the hands of a foreign force again, this time at the request of then President Pedro Santana.
The Grito de Capotillo was the awakening of the entire nation. From that moment on, each town in the Dominican Republic gradually rose up until they regained power over the national territory.
The war ended on March 3, 1865, the date on which the Queen of Spain, Elizabeth II, signed the annulment of the annexation and legally confirmed the independence of our country.
The Restoration War was the movement organized by the Dominicans that consolidated our independence from Haiti on February 27, 1844.
It was the immediate confirmation that the Dominican people were not going to fall back under the control and domination of another country without first giving their all on the battlefield. Santiago Rodríguez, Gregorio Luperón, Benito Monción, Juan Antonio Polanco, Pedro Antonio Pimentel and each of the liberators who fought in the Restoration War are eternal heroes for our nation and can never be forgotten.
That Cry of Capotillo evidenced the undeniable desire and dedication of Dominicans to self-determine themselves as a free and independent people from all foreign interference.
Not only did it highlight our firm decision to remain independent, but, as if that were not enough, it announced to the international community that we would do everything possible to ensure that our sovereignty, our individual and collective rights and the permanence of our Magna Carta be respected.
As constitutional servants and servants that we are, the Restoration War should serve as an example and motivation to assume the same struggle in the supremacy of the Constitution, the defense of the constitutional order and the protection of fundamental rights.
