Haiti refuses to reopen a border crossing with the Dominican Republic

Haiti refused on Thursday to join its neighbor Dominican Republic to reopen a key commercial border crossing, leaving some trade paralyzed and prolonging a diplomatic crisis generated by the construction of a canal on Haitian soil.

Dominican President Luis Abinader had closed all borders, including the crossing in the northern city of Dajabón, for almost a month in protest against the construction of the canal, which he claims violates a treaty and will take water that is necessary to Dominican farmers. For its part, Haiti pointed out that it has the right to build the canal and that it is extremely necessary due to a drought.

Abinader’s government partially opened the borders on Wednesday, including that of Dajabón, a city that houses an important market for trade between the countries, but limited commercial activity and maintained the restriction on the entry of Haitians to the Dominican Republic for labor reasons. , educational, tourist or medical. He also left in place a restriction on the issuance of visas for Haitian citizens.

Haiti refused to do the same at its border crossing in the nearby community of Ouanaminthe, and its government did not immediately give a reason. But Moïse Charles Pierre, delegate of Haiti’s northeast region, said the Dominican side had to apologize and fully resume border operations.

“Abinader needs to respect the Haitian people and apologize publicly”Pierre pointed out.

Meanwhile, the other two border crossings in the towns of Elías Piña and Independencia opened on both sides.

The dispute over the canal was the center of attention Thursday at a meeting of the Organization of American States in Washington, where there were acrimonious exchanges between Roberto Álvarez, foreign minister of the Dominican Republic, and Léon Charles, permanent representative of Haiti before the OAS.

“The construction of the canal is not going to stop,” Charles said, adding that Haiti remained open to dialogue but was not “under the threat of a solution being imposed on the Haitian population.”

In response, Álvarez unearthed centuries-old history by mentioning the 22 years of Haitian occupation in the Dominican Republic during the 19th century and said that the Dominican Republic was not taking up arms over the canal dispute.

“We are not intimidating anyone. “Our intention is to protect our border, our natural resources,” he said, while criticizing Charles’ response as “a reckless position.”

During the meeting, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro offered to send a technical team specialized in water resources and legal affairs to examine the site and offered to facilitate a meeting between both parties.

The canal being built in Haiti has the objective of taking water from the Masacre River, which flows along the border on the island of Hispaniola that both countries share. The Haitian government has said farmers urgently need the water to alleviate a drought that has wiped out the region’s crops.

Abinader has said construction of the canal violates a treaty signed in 1929 and could affect local farmers and nearby wetlands.

On Thursday, former Haitian prime minister and presidential candidate Claude Joseph issued a statement rejecting accusations by a Dominican ambassador that he had ordered work on the canal to provoke a crisis with the Dominican Republic.

However, Joseph insisted that Haiti has the right to build the canal.

Since Wednesday’s partial reopening in Dajabón and other border cities, vendors on the Dominican side are limited to selling products such as food and medicine, and are prohibited from selling construction items such as concrete and metal rods. Dominican officials maintained that the sale of these items would help the construction of the canal.

Pierre said that in addition to keeping the border closed, authorities are developing a plan to allow Haitian vendors to recover their goods that have been left in the Dajabón market since the closure.

A fire broke out early Wednesday in the Dajabón market, and 26 of the 28 stalls destroyed belonged to Haitians, according to Dajabón Mayor Santiago Riverón. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, Riverón said that he met with the Haitian consul in Dajabón and later planned a meeting with the mayor of Ouanaminthe to talk about the fire and the reopening of the border.

Source: AP