The Dominican Republic is losing territory to Haitian migration. As reported in the Listín Diario, a motion in the Senate presented by the senator Adriano Sánchez Roa for Elías Piña has called for an exhaustive review of the border markers to comply with the Dominican-Haitian Border Treaty of 1929 and its review dated 1936. There are reports the country has already lost around 6,200 square kilometers to migration. As reported, thousands of Haitians have occupied Dominican land illegally, where they have built homes, businesses and farms along the border.
As reported in El Caribe, the government of Haiti recently recognized that the area in Carrizal, Elías Piña where the government is building a gate is Dominican territory.
“An analysis of the geo-located cartographic surveys and the verification of the geographical references was carried out, in comparison with the border between the two countries. As a result, according to the results of these studies, the Dominican infrastructures that were being disputed, and that are located between terminals RH / RD 181 and RH 182, are on the east side of the border and are located in Dominican territory,” says the official statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Haiti.
A clash between violent Haitians and Dominican soldiers resulted in the death of one Haitian and injury of another last week. The Haitian authorities say it makes the matter public to avoid future clashes as that which occurred on Friday, 15 March 2019.
Senator Adriano Sánchez Roa said that the announcement by the government of Haiti opens the way for a strengthening of the bi-national trade and to continue combatting contraband between the two nations. He said El Carrizal is a place from where more Dominican exports can be made and where Haitians can source low-cost imports of food, construction materials and other needed goods.
The senator for the border province of Elías Piña congratulated Defense Minister General Paulino Sem and the Dominican soldiers for the defense of Dominican territory.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
El Caribe
Hoy
Listin Diario
20 March 2019