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Haiti - FLASH : The DR will continue to expel Haitians and will not authorize refugee camps on its territory
23/03/2024 10:04:31

Asked this week on the BBC's HARDtalk program by British journalist Stephen Sackur, about possible changes in the Dominican Government's policy in the face of the humanitarian crisis that Haiti is going through, Dominican President Luis Abinader was direct and declared that his country will continue to expel Haitians and will not authorize refugee camps on its territory, ignoring demands from international organizations asking him to stop expulsions and welcome Haitians fleeing violence.

"No, we won’t. We will continue to develop and enforce our laws and our Constitution. I think it is the UN that must act more [...] this is what we have been asking for since 2021. I think the United States has wasted a lot of time helping Haiti [...] And we have been saying for more than three years since Haiti entered chaos; we were the first to use the word 'Somalization' of Haiti [...] they cannot ask the Dominican Republic to solve the Haitian problem [...] We will not do it and we cannot do it. I think the UN needs to work more and that is what we have been asking for since 2021."

Stephen Sackur asked : "Millions of Haitians are facing a food crisis and, according to the UN, 350,000 people have been displaced in recent months due to gang violence. Would you be ready, in the short term and as an emergency humanitarian gesture, to allow some of these displaced people to enter your territory? For example, in temporary refugee camps."

"No, we won't because we have many historical reasons not to do it. I think they have a lot of possibilities on Haitian territory and in the Haitian islands. They have at least two islands, La Gonâve and La Tortue, that they can use for this. We will not authorize any refugee camps on Dominican territory for historical and security reasons."

"This is the same thing that other countries do, such as the Bahamas, Jamaica, the United States and Canada. We simply apply our laws, and we are the country that has really helped the Haitians the most, as I have already said, particularly in our health system […]"

Furthermore, at a press conference, Wayne Munroe, Head of National Security of the Bahamas, reported that a ship of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) repatriated this week to Cap Haïtien 263 Haitians (216 men, 44 women and 3 children) despite calls from Amnesty International (AI) for countries to suspend repatriations to Haiti. "We will continue with repatriations," Munroe declared, adding, "it is in the interest of the country."

S/ HaitiLibre