Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santiago de los Caballeros (Agenzia Fides) - Three Dominican Bishops have specifically asked the authorities of Santo Domingo and Haiti to restore harmonious, social and commercial ties between the two countries.
According to the note sent to Fides by local sources, the Bishops spoke out on Saturday, after a week marked by political and economic tensions between the two countries. From the latest information we learn that the Dominican government filed a complaint to WTO (World Trade Organization) against Haiti after the latest restrictions imposed by this country with regards to imports from Santo Domingo. In fact, Haiti banned the import of 23 Dominican products, thus breaking the free trade agreement signed in 2014. The economic value of exports of these products amounts to about 500 million dollars a year, a figure that damages Dominican trade. Besides the military and Haitian financiers confiscate goods at the border, creating protests among the population.
There has been tension between the two countries since the Dominican government launched the National Plan for the regularization of undocumented foreigners in the country (see Fides 29/05/2015), which provides for the forcible return of Haitians.
On Saturday, October 3 His Exc. Mgr. Fausto Ramón Mejía Vallejo, Bishop of San Francisco de Macoris, His Exc. Mgr. Freddy Antonio de Jesús Bretón Martínez, Archbishop of Santiago de los Caballeros and His Exc. Mgr. José Dolores Grullón Estrella, Bishop of San Juan de la Maguana, launched an appeal to the state authorities so that they may accept immigrants. Mgr. Mejia said that the reception should begin in the Dominican Republic by lowering the levels of violence, because there are Dominicans who kill other Dominicans, and it is urgent to invest more in public education. Mgr. Grullon Stella reported that there are groups in society who "sow discord" among Dominicans and Haitians, for political purposes. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 06/10/2015)
AFRICA/MALAWI - Vice President of Malawi dies in a plane crash
ASIA/INDIA - Narendra Modi's party loses votes: "Pluralism and democracy are guaranteed"
AFRICA/KENYA - Bishops address young protesters: "Your hopes are our hopes"
ASIA/CHINA - Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang takes up office in Hangzhou: He had been appointed by Pope Francis on June 12