Pedernales senator Dionis Sanchez says there are perhaps 100 military stationed in Pedernales. He doubts there is anywhere near the 12,000 men the government has announced has sent to patrol the border with Haiti.
During a TV interview on Telesistema, Channel 11, Dionis Sánchez said: “As far as Pedernales is concerned, I reiterate, there is no such control, a single additional agent has not been sent to back up the men already there that are only about 100 soldiers in the province,” says the senator.
“There are posts where for a soldier to leave, he has to find a Haitian to hold his post,” he denounced.
During the Telematutino 11 news interview, Sanchez recommended President Luis Abinader deploy the Dominican military throughout the entire border with Haiti.
In his opinion, 60% to 70% of the Dominican army should be stationed on the border.
Sanchez has serious doubts the Dominican government has deployed 12,000 military agents as announced a few weeks ago as part of the actions to protect the border with Haiti.
“There is no such shielding of the border. When I asked what happened that in Pedernales they had not sent a single agent when the government announced it had 12 thousand men to the border, the answer I was given was that the men were stationed at the most vulnerable points,” he said. “But for me all the points are vulnerable. If you overprotect a point and leave another you are opening up a new entrance,” said the Fuerza del Pueblo party politician.
He complained about the lack of men in Pedernales, and no one has come forth with information to prove he is wrong. “So, I understand that it is not true that they have stationed that amount of military border control,” he pressed. “What is most important is the controls be in place to stop Haitian migration,” he said.
Sanchez says the international community is betting on the Dominican Republic being able to resolve this issue. He wondered out loud if the international community is betting on the collapse of the Dominican Republic. “Haiti can already be said to be a failed state,” he said.
“They are betting that this country will also fall into a failed state, because we cannot bear the burden alone,” he said. He remarked it is a mistake for the international community not to consider a collective solution for Haiti.
“As a nation we cannot continue to cry for international aid, we need to talk of actions that we can take as a nation. There is no place more important for soldiers to be posted than on the border,” he said. “That is the main role of the army right now,” he observed.
Sanchez stressed: “The border control does not exist; it is a virtual border.”
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Telematutino 11
Hoy
17 November 2021