ARTICLE - HAITI - D.R. BORDER SOLUTIONS

AUTHORITIES SEEK SOLUTIONS AFTER WEEK OF UNREST AT HAITI-D.R. BORDER
(Defend Haiti) -

OUANAMINTHE - The Haitian and Dominican Republic governments are meeting to take measures to normalize hostilities seen in the border region over the past few days, even leading to the evacuation of the Dominican Consulate in Ouanaminthe.

On Wednesday, March 7, a Dominican businessman named Carmen Matias claimed in the Listin Diario of having been detained by police in Cap-Haitien and told to return home for not having a passport or visa. Matias told the paper that police in Haiti, "have no mercy for Dominicans, provoking attacks, death threats, and attempted kidnappings for ransom."

Matias said "we were told that the next time we enter undocumented into the Haitian territory, we are going to be processed and sent to the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince." But in December 2011, the Haitian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that visas would not be required for Dominicans in Haiti.

On Thursday, March 8, Dominican truckers began protesting by blocking a major border near the Haitian town of Fond Parisien. Dominican truck drivers were demanding safety provisions because of media reports of abductions, robberies, and the shooting of a cement truck driver - all Dominicans.

Haitians on the border protested as well. In the town of Trou du Nord, Haiti, citizens protested the lack of electricity and water, an issue that has plagued the region for more than a year, when construction had begun, but was unfinished in the area.

According to Dominican Today, truckers that passed through the town were stopped by protesters, and stones were thrown in their direction. One driver was injured, and forces from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) were called on to the scene to escort drivers.

There were no new reports as of Saturday evening, March 10, but it seems as though more efforts could be made to secure the borders of both countries.

In December 2011, Haitian Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, Daniel Supplice, was a victim of an armed robbery by four gunmen disguised as police officers. It was later found out that one of the gunmen was indeed a Dominican police officer at the time of the incident.