P-au-P, August 14, 2024 [AlterPresse] — Neither the Presidential Transitional Council (Cpt) nor the transitional government have, as of Wednesday, August 14, 2024, issued an official statement on the non-participation of a delegation from Haiti in the new inauguration ceremony, on Friday, August 16, 2024, of Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona (born July 12, 1967 in Santo Domingo) as President of the Dominican Republic for a new 4-year term (August 16, 2024 – August 16, 2028), observes the online agency AlterPresse.
The absence of air traffic between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, a measure decided several months ago by the Dominican authorities, would be the main reason for the refusal of the Haitian authorities to take part in the inauguration of August 16, 2024 in Santo Domingo, according to available information.
Any national with a Haitian passport is turned away from the Dominican Republic, several witnesses report to AlterPresse.
This “discriminatory” provision by the authorities of the Dominican Republic has led airlines to refrain from selling transit tickets in the Dominican Republic to Haitian nationals.
In response to the information that Haiti would not be participating in the inauguration ceremony of Luis Abinader on Friday, August 16, 2024, the Dominican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Álvarez, indicated on his X account that he “had a telephone conversation on Thursday, August 1, 2024, with the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Haiti (Maec), Dominique Dupuy, on the possibility of Haitian officials attending the event.”
Dominique Dupuy allegedly argued “that it was necessary to lift the closure of the airspace between the two countries, so that Haitian officials could travel to Luis Abinader’s inauguration,” Alvarez said on his X account.
Roberto Álvarez said he assured his counterpart Dominique Dupuy “that any flight request from the Haitian authorities would be authorized immediately, as well as the requests of other invited dignitaries.”
For security reasons, the airspace between the Dominican Republic and Haiti remains closed to commercial flights, but not to official, humanitarian or similar flights, according to Alvarez.
The Dominican Minister of Foreign Affairs reports that he has instructed the Dominican ambassador to Haiti to visit the MAEC, while reiterating the Dominican government’s willingness to facilitate the travel of Haitian authorities to the inauguration of Luis Abinader.
Álvarez said he gave assurances that there were no obstacles for Haitian authorities to attend Abinader’s swearing-in, and that the occasion would have been propitious to relaunch dialogue with Haiti’s transitional government.
Nowhere in Roberto Alvarez’s message on his X account is there any mention of reopening regular air traffic between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
For several years, Lus Abinader has been firing broadsides at the Republic of Haiti.
The Dominican authorities have not yet shown any willingness to put an end to discriminatory policies and violations of the rights of Haitian migrants in Dominican territory.
Members of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) and Prime Minister Garry Conille reportedly declined the Dominican Republic’s offer to attend Luis Abinader’s inauguration, journalist Jacqueline Charles wrote on her X account.
“The idea of crossing the border by plane, when the average Haitian cannot do so, even with a visa, or of going to Miami to go to the Dominican Republic, does not please the leaders of the transition,” she continued.
No official note from the Haitian transitional authorities has yet been communicated on this matter.
The Dominican authorities announced on Thursday, September 14, 2023, the closure of the entire Haitian-Dominican border. (land, sea and air), starting Friday, September 15, 2023, at 6:00 am (10:00 gmt).
This decision was made while discussions between the two countries to find a solution to the conflict, regarding the construction, in Ouanaminthe (North-East of Haiti), of a canal on the Massacre River, were underway with a delegation from Haiti present in Santo Domingo.
In an official statement in the middle of the evening of September 14, 2023, the government of the Republic of Haiti declared that it took note of the decision of the Dominican Republic to close its borders with the Republic of Haiti, starting Friday, September 15, 2023.
The Dominican government has unilaterally closed all borders with Haiti since September 15, 2023.
About a month later, the Dominican Republic decided to partially reopen, on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, its borders with Haiti, for commercial purposes. [mff emb rc apr 14/08/2024 10:30]
