The RD-Haiti statement launched yesterday contains the most important agreement reached by the two countries in a long time, which strengthens President Luis Abinader as a leader of the region facing the problems of its neighbor and presents a new approach to the Caribbean nations. .
The agreement was to take place even if the situation in the neighboring country is unstable and his government, led by Jovenel Moïse, is shaking, with an active opposition that wants to hold elections as soon as possible and a constitutional reform with firm social bases.
As a relevant negotiation that preceded the statement, Abinader was very careful about its leak, but it is known to have been the product of talks held privately by Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez in Port-au-Prince and the two presidents last week in Port-au-Prince. Elías Piña.
The 9-point document is the most remarkable diplomatic action since the restoration of DR-China relations, but at the same time, it pleases the sectors that have complained about the saturation of Haitians in Dominican hospitals and the lack of border controls.
Perhaps the so-called nationalists and many Dominicans worried about the massive influx of Haitians into verifying that the two governments are willing to work on the process of identifying and registering all their citizens on Dominican territory in the Dominican Republic could be more satisfied. . (point 1).
It is certain that President Abinader wanted to reduce the weight of his many problems, to seek solutions to problems that can only be solved through negotiations involving the so-called “friends of Haiti” countries and international organizations.
Haitians have always been evasive when the Dominican side makes proposals to them, as it was a few years ago, when international organizations suggested the two governments come together to build hospitals on the Haitian side of the border.
Had this been done, the Dominican Republic would now be in better hospital conditions and would not have to bear the heavy burden of working women and other Haitian patients who need humanitarian treatment in Dominican hospitals.
The timing of the COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect opportunity to build these hospitals to become a reality in the near future with the support of the United Nations, the OAS, the IDB, the United States, France and Canada, who have interests. There.
Abinader does everything he can in very difficult circumstances for RD and when he can risk his prestige and popularity in the face of dizziness and what opponents who always have their proposals will say.
No more smuggling
One of the reserves that Haiti has had for a long time is the illicit trafficking of goods across the border. In 1983, the Haitian government closed the border for this reason and previously asked the DR embassy to watch over its consuls who crossed the line.
Illegal cross-border trade in goods has caused heavy losses in Haiti and left customs clear of revenue due to the high volume of bilateral trade. In Dr. Balaguer’s time and later the business was run by the military.
He was pampered with the Haitian side as part of the “all inclusive” package that was implicitly considered in the Dominican Republic’s payroll policy by several thousand Haitian workers who crossed the border to work in the CEA cane fields.
Then, during the crisis that followed the coup against President Aristide and which gave rise to the military regime of General Raoul Cedrás (1991-1994), fuel smuggling was intense across the border, sponsored by the Port-au-Prince regime and tolerated by RD.
This form of smuggling to evade sanctions imposed on the Haitian dictatorship by the United States government, as pressure to return to the constitutional regime, has enriched many senior officials of the two countries more than drugs.
The porous border is still a source of wealth for the upper and lower military sector, which the document addresses in point 4, which is a silent nuisance to the Abinader regime, although it has managed it since mid-August with great caution. . .
Through point 4 of the declaration, the two countries agree to use state-of-the-art technologies that facilitate the elimination of irregular migratory flows, smuggling and trafficking in human beings, the flow of weapons, drug trafficking and animal theft.
This part of the statement will also thank the US, while President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris will take office, both of whom are expected to re-emphasize their country’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.
In paragraph 7, the two countries agree to “continue negotiations in a sustained manner until a general trade agreement is reached, in order to establish transparent, stable, fair and predictable rules for both parties and to stop smuggling that erodes the tax base.” . from both countries ”.
Haiti resistance
Despite the country’s great problems stemming from ancestral poverty, pandemics, hurricanes and the earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince in 2010, Haiti has enormous resilience as ancestors of African countries that are slowly rising.
This is not the way to explain the desire of students to travel long distances to reach primary school, the determination of university students to read under the street lights in the parks in the center of the capital when the electricity service fails.
Haiti has one of the most famous jazz festivals in the region. This year, the Port-au-Prince Jazz Festival, despite street demonstrations, is scheduled to take place between 16 and 26 students, with the participation of local musicians from Cuba, Spain, the United States, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago. nordic. .
Four years ago, when the famous popular singer of the United States, Tony Bennett turned 90, one of the attractions of the huge televised party attended by great singers and musicians, was the presentation of tenor Andrea Boccelli performing Ave Maria by Shubert, with Haitian Children’s Choir.
With riots, kidnappings and armed men in all corners, Haitians manage to survive. I know that their politicians, eternal candidates for the presidency to rob public houses, will continue their speeches without offering solutions.