From La nouvelliste translated from french

http://www.lenouvelliste.com/article.php?PubID=1&ArticleID=70345&PubDate=2009-05-22


Containers of goods Dominicans still do not have access to the territory of Haiti. An emergency meeting last Thursday between the Haitian and Dominican authorities on the issue has not produced the desired results.



Union members of Haitian-Dominican carriers (Syn-Trans-Haido) are inflexible. They prohibit Friday until the access of Haiti to the Dominican containers. The various meetings held between the authorities of both countries since the rebound of the conflict last Tuesday, did not permit the release of the situation. "Since the union Dominican refuses any idea of cooperation, the border will remain blocked until our demands are still unsatisfied, has hammered the responsible management of conflict in Trans-Syn-Haido, Dérissaint Lergo.

The Dominican ambassador accredited in Port-au-Prince, Silié Ruben Valdez, who was attending a meeting between the two parties, the current May 21, deplored the fact that an agreement has not yet been found. However, he emphasized the willingness of his Government to ensure the safety of Haitians often attacked by the Dominicans. "If a truck arrives Haiti is the victim of acts of aggression by the Dominicans, I give my resignation," said Silié adding that he is committed to the measures taken by his government.
As a first step, the diplomat met with the Haitian union which calls for a fair market share of freight transport between the two countries. This claim of Haitian carriers at the base of blocking some crossing points on the border, have been clearly exposed to the Dominican diplomat. No response, no guarantee has been given to the Haitians who decide to maintain the momentum. A meeting between the two groups of trade unions in conflict, moderated by Ambassador Rubén Silié Valdez, has not yielded the expected results.

In a press note dated May 22 in progress, the president of the National Federation of Dominican carriers (Fenatrado), Blas Peralta, accuses the senator of the West, Jean Hector Anacacis as one of the instigators of the conflict that erupted on the border between Haitians and Dominicans. On the other hand, it threatens to close the border to Haiti if the Haitian authorities do not find a lasting solution to the problems that affect the export sector. What he says will reduce the flow of trade between the two countries.

Jerry Mourra, Haiti importer and transporter, said he was concerned that the Haitian factories can procure raw materials if the crisis continues to the border. "Most raw materials come from the Dominican Republic. In addition, many goods passing through ports Dominicans because of a question of cost. "It is believed that the Dominicans have to make concessions to the Haitians. "Dominicans must allow Haitian carriers to access their ports, the same way they do in Haiti," he added.
Tons of goods from the Dominican Republic arrived in Haiti each week. But these are vehicles Dominicans, according to the spokesman for Trans-Syn-Haido, Pierre Nere Garot, which ensure the delivery of these products for about three years. He claims transactions balanced for the two unions operating in the Haitian-Dominican border Malpasse / Jimani. For now, many Dominicans containers filled with iron, cement, fertilizers and raw materials remain on the side of Jimani.

Several meetings have been scheduled since the closure of the border to Dominican containers. A further meeting between the two countries is scheduled for Saturday May 23 It is in this context that the government of Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis has reopened last Thursday the Joint Binational Haitian-Dominican who has the responsibility to find solutions to disputes between the two peoples of the island of Haiti .

There is also the problem of flight reprocity that need to be address Haitian commercial plane still do not have a renew license to flight over the Dominincans (tortugair).If we are going to trade a least let's be fair equal access is what needed, this stand off will benefit no one, and will cause price to increase, and need to be resolved immediately.

This exact same case happened in USA at the Mexican border just a couple of months ago. Where USA wanted to stop the Mexican trucks at the border and switch over to the US carrier and is just doesn't work and the Mexican carrier complained to the Mexican gov. and all they did was put higher temporary taxes on other item the USA exports to Mexico and within a couple of weeks problem was solve and Mexican trucks were allow to come in. The idea of the switch at the border is just to costly especially when the distance after the border is not that far in anyways. In my mind all that is going to happen here is prices with go up and anything lost by the Dominican trucker union is going to be recover by of course a change in prices. Every Dominican truck coming into Haiti already pays RD$4,000.00 pesos while we don't charge Haiti's trucks to come in.Anyways at the end of the day this is going to be reflected in prices for locals in Haiti and affect those business needing the raw material to produce.

Thank you for dropping the knowledge,about the tortugair issue ?

LATEST NEWS: I heard from a very good source in Haiti, that the man behind the demands on the Dominican truckers
and the marchand trying to cash in on the conflict is no less than Haitian senator Jean Anacassis (Department West).
Apparently he is also a rival of Preval and his intentions are destabilization as well as profiteering, because he has hopes of being president some day.
BTW anytime the joint Dominican-Haitian commission is getting close to a meeting, and outside event always disrupt the negotiations, as if the Haitians are doing this on purpose to create chaos.
There was also the same or another powerful senator involved in pushing the ban on Dominican chickens and eggs, because he was importing these from Venezuela and making a huge profit.
These "all out" political marchands profit from the hunger and famine of the poor Haitian people.
Between the mafiosi, the drug and arms dealers, the corrupt politicians and the indolent elite, the
Haitians are between the sword and the wall, with very few options.