A La Romana court determined it was not true that on 14 April a Dominican flag was burned by a group of Haitians during a "gagá" religious ceremony. Olaya Dotel, a contributor to Hoy newspaper explains that the court determined that all resulted from the imagination of the xenophobia of journalist Julio Perello who was apparently bothered that the Haitians would wave the Dominican flag as part of their rite. The attorney general of La Romana, Dr. Elpidio Peguero released 87 that were accused after investigations could not show up a single witness to the burning nor remnants of the supposedly burned flag. On the contrary, police agents who witnessed the ceremony declared to the contrary, saying that if this had occurred they would have immediately denounced it to their superiors. Dotel criticizes that Brigade General Dario de la Cruz Consuegra sought to take advantage of the situation, declaring that police agents had seen remnants of the burned flag, the same ones that never could be presented during the court investigation. Likewise, Minister of the Armed Forces Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez also seemingly sought to take advantage of the situation in a ceremony to honor the Dominican flag organized shortly after the incident where he was critical of the Haitians. Dotel says that both De la Cruz and Soto Jimenez should publicly recognize their premature judgements and apologize.
