The spokesman for the Presidency, Homero Figueroa said President Luis Abinader repeated to visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman the position of the Dominican Republic regarding the multidimensional crisis in Haiti. “There is no Dominican solution to the Haitian crisis,” the President would have stated.
Likewise, Figueroa said that President Abinader insisted that the international community must reach a consensus to intervene in Haiti and pacify it. He called for international support for a plan to reorder that nation and for free and democratic elections in Haiti.
Figueroa said that President Abinader stressed the great weight in solidarity the Dominican public health system is already carrying regarding Haitians that come to receive free medical care services. Thousands of Haitians also study for free in Dominican public schools.
In a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Figueroa stated: “The President of the Republic repeated that for a developing country like the Dominican Republic, no more can be demanded or asked of it in the effort it makes to cooperate with Haiti. The President repeated the Dominican position that there is no Dominican solution to the Haitian problem and insisted that the international community reach a consensus to pacify Haiti, to give institutional stability that will allow the development of free and democratic elections.”
Figueroa said the closed-door meeting was “cordial and fluid” and lasted about 55 minutes.
Sherman, President Abinader nor Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez were not available for questioning during the announcement following the meeting.
Following the meeting, there was no mention of the request for the US Secretary of State to remove the alert for Afro-Americans traveling to the Dominican Republic. The alert was issued in November 2022. The Ministry of Tourism says this has affected travel plans of around 34,000 US citizens. The Dominican Republic is the main destination for US travelers in the Caribbean.
Before the meeting, Sherman met at the US Embassy with executives of non-governmental organizations that carry out efforts to benefit the Haitian migrant population in the Dominican Republic. The ONG representatives included Beneco Enecia, Noemí Mendez and Luis Cirito Carmelo (Obmica). Diario Libre reports that Noemi Mendez is a close collaborator of father Christopher Hartley. Years back, the Roman Catholic Church distanced itself from this priest on grounds of irregularities in his actions. On the meeting with the ONG representatives, Sherman tweeted: “A true privilege to meet with members of the Dominican Republic’s dynamic civil society to discuss their vital work to create a more democratic, equitable, and inclusive DR.”
Meanwhile, US congressman Adriano Espaillat expressed his confidence the US State Department travel alert will soon be revoked, as reported in Diario Libre.
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13 April 2023