Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05SANTODOMINGO2819
2005-05-19 11:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

DOMINICAN REPATRIATIONS TO HAITI HAVE ENDED

Tags:  PREL PHUM PGOV DR HA 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SANTO DOMINGO 002819 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/PPC, DRL;
NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON; SECDEF FOR OSD;
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR OASIA-LCARTER
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2010
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV DR HA
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPATRIATIONS TO HAITI HAVE ENDED


Classified By: DCM Lisa Kubiske. Reason: 1.4 (a) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SANTO DOMINGO 002819

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/PPC, DRL;
NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON; SECDEF FOR OSD;
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR OASIA-LCARTER
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2010
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV DR HA
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPATRIATIONS TO HAITI HAVE ENDED


Classified By: DCM Lisa Kubiske. Reason: 1.4 (a) and (d).


1. (U) Summary. The Dominican government has suspended the
rounding up and deportation of undocumented Haitian
immigrants from the northern border area, following conflicts
and threats of mob action in the town of Hatillo Mayor,
Montecristi Province. Operations were carried out under
supervision of Migration officials from the capital and
included formal review of documents. Dominican military
reportedly processed 1918 individuals May 13-15. Departing
Haitians lost property. Dominican Foreign Minister Morales
Troncoso received his Haitian counterpart in Santo Domingo on
May 17 shortly after announcing that deportations were being
suspended. End summary.

A Murder and Reprisals


2. (C) Early on the morning of May 9, a group of Haitian
males was in a neighborhood store in the town of Hatillo de
Palma in the northern border province of Montecristi when the
woman store owner was murdered and her husband was seriously
wounded Three Haitians were taken into custody and turned
over to the local police, while another, allegedly the
ringleader, appears to have escaped. Residents of the town
reacted angrily, threatening members of the community of
about 2000 Haitians in and near the town. The town mayor and
local police force appealed to the military, and by mid-day
Gen. Caceres, the commander of the region convened a meeting
at the municipality, where he urged calm, with little effect.
Dominicans threatened and robbed Haitians. As the Haitians
left the town, the Dominicans pillaged the abandoned
residences. A Dominican-Haitian contact of ours visited the
town the day following the incident and participated in
meetings with the mayor. Our contact found that Hatillo de
Palma was "very dangerous" with "vigilante" type behavior.
Residents of the small town were rounding up Haitians and

those who looked like Haitians in order to take them to the
border and force them out of the country. They were
expressing angry anti-Haitian and anti-black sentiments, in
keeping with rural custom of seeking retribution through
reprisal.


3. (C) Over the period May 11-13, the Dominican military
appeared in Haitian settlements in the area, beginning with
Hatillo de Palma. They arrived with buses, accompanied by
Migration officials from the capital, and carried out a
systematic sweep intended to repatriate illegal aliens.
Virtually all of the 2000 Haitians in Hatillo de Palma had
already departed. We understand that Haitians were prevented
from departing the sites after arrival of the military, even
if they had already loaded vehicles with possessions. They
were obliged to leave behind most possessions. Gen. Caceres
told Embassy officers on May 18 that the operation had been
previously scheduled. It was a routine operation, he said,
in which Haitians were detained, put on buses and taken to
the military garrison in Mao for review of documentation and
processing for deportation. The general said that migration
officials reviewed each case; some of the detainees presented
documentation that was judged to be false. Any with
legitimate residence documents or identity cards were allowed
to stay. He gave no indication how many, if any, were found
to be legal residents. The three Haitians accused of the
murder are being detained at the military garrison in Mao.


4. (C) Operations stretched over several days. According to
the general, the troops proceeded in good order, respecting
rules of engagement. They were fired upon three times during
the operations but did not return fire. Bishop Abreu in Mao
told Embassy officers that he deplored the attitudes of the
mob, including the widespread looting, but he questioned
whether the military had made any effort to differentiate
between the illegals and Dominicans of Haitian origin.


5. (C) Military authorities in the capital recorded the
following numbers repatriated through the border crossing at
Dajabon:

13 May: 698
14 May: 608
15 May: 612
16 May: 0

They commented that this type of activity is cyclical and in
the overall scheme of things, this incident was fairly
"normal.8 The situation at the border had returned to
normal as of Monday, May 16, and they do not anticipate any
additional violence, repatriations or other repercussions
based on the incident in Hatillo de Palma.

- - - - - - - - -
Legal Situation
- - - - - - - - -

6. (SBU) The Migration Law enacted last year appears to
provide adequate authority for these proceedings, since no
implementing regulations have been issued and the law is
subject to broad interpretation. We understand that a first
draft was prepared in February of this year but it has not
yet been provided to government agencies for consultation.
In addition, there are potential contradictions between the
Dominican Constitution and certain aspects of the law, such
as, for example, the legal definition of "transient" (the
Constitution does not provide citizenship for individuals
found to be "in transit" in the Republic).


7. (SBU) Acting chief of the local office of the
International Organization for Migration Fanny Polonia
provided to us a list of applicable international conventions
and treaties to which the Dominican Republic is party, but
she stressed that while these establish rights and
obligations, the contracting states have the responsibility
for creating mechanisms to assure observance. Polonia
indicated that IOM could offer technical assistance, if
requested, on assuring that regulations and procedures
elaborated by the Dominicans are in keeping with
international obligations, and IOM could provide training, as
it did recently with a well-attended seminar for migration
officers on trafficking in persons.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Commentaries and Bilateral Situation
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


8. (SBU) Newspapers have done reporting based on various
sources, including complaints from non-governmental
organizations, particularly catholic social organizations ,
active in the Dajabon area. Some claim that as many as 3000
persons were repatriated. Stories have focused on individuals
claiming that their legitimate documentation was not accepted
and on cases of hardship and family separation. There have
been no reports of any lynchings or murders. Senator Sucre
Munoz of Barahona province close to the southern border told
a journalist that a group of hooded vigilantes had hassled a
group of twenty to thirty Haitians and turned them over to
the police for repatriation by the migration service.


9. (U) Newspapers indicated that Haiti had closed the
border briefly, but we have no confirmation of this. On May
17 Dominican Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso met for
an hour in a Santo Domingo hotel with his Haitian counterpart
Herard Abraham and announced cessation of the repatriations
"for the moment." The two ministers announced plans to
reactive a binational commission to protect the rights of
persons on both sides of the border. They appeared in media
photos smiling and shaking hands, reaffirmed "harmonious
bilateral relations," and pledged to seek solutions to any
differences.


10. (U) Earlier that afternoon Morales Troncoso issued a
press release "lamenting the inconveniences and bad feelings
that the repatriations of Haitian citizens may be causing."
He pledged the Government,s "absolute adherence to the
constitutional order and Dominican migration law as well as
prevailing international norms on this subject" so that the
repatriation process is conducted in accord with national
migration law as well as international human rights norms to
which the Dominican Republic is a signatory. According to
the statement, Dominican authorities "have been instructed to
avoid actions that might harm the physical or moral integrity
of Haitian citizens that live in our territory."

- - - - - - - - - -
Next USG Steps
- - - - - - - - - -


11. (U) Embassy officials will pursue at all levels the
issue of repatriations of undocumented Haitians, pressing for
greater respect for international norms of humane treatment.
We will also follow up on our success last year in securing
passage of an updated Migration Law by pressing for
completion and decree of implementing regulations.






HERTELL