Haiti: Minister attacked while visiting DomRep
Associated Press
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 8:35 PM
Updated today at 10:35 PM

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A presidential adviser in Haiti says that a government minister was attacked while visiting the neighboring Dominican Republic.
Presidential adviser Damian Merlo said late Friday that Minister of Haitians Living Abroad Daniel Supplice is doing fine but he had no other details.
The newspaper Le Matin reported that four members of the Dominican police force robbed Supplice and his family Thursday of his cell phone and valuables. The alleged incident happened in the city of Santiago while the minister was in the country for a wedding.
Supplice's Twitter account posted Friday night that he was "doing very well" and would speak to the press Monday.
Neither Supplice nor Dominican police could be reached for comment.

Here we go again.
AP is reporting that a Haitian "Minister of Haitians Living Abroad", monsieur Daniel Supplice, while visiting the DR for a wedding in Santiago, was robbed and attacked by four DR policemen.
He was apparently confined in a hospital in Santiago, recuperating from his injuries.
The DR government does not have an obligation and responsibility, for extraordinary protection of foreign government officials, when they come as ordinary tourists, attending social functions. They must provide for their personal security themselves.
If the above story confirms as true, then the uniformed policemen treated him without any discrimination, as they would treat an ordinary Dominican citizen, an robbed and assaulted him.
It is also possible that the assaulters where felons, masquerading as police officers, and until an investigation is completed, that possibility is wide open.
The Haitian minister did not follow normal diplomatic protocol, by inviting the news media, to portray him as "another victim" of Dominican lawlessness, instead of formalizing a complaint with the police authorities.
If the incident turns out as true, it would be an embarrassment to the DR police force, but this happens every day, not only to Haitians, but to many Dominicans as well, with our many criminal and corrupt felons wearing military and police uniforms.

brilliant posting, General. in a nutshell, it is not an indictment of the DR, even if it happened the way they represent it to have. it is an indictment of CRIMINALS. they are not one and the same.

Thank you Dread, and happy holidays to you.
PS: I am doing research for a thread that I will start new year, dealing with religion and I was surprised to learn that Jamaica used to be the first country to export marijuana to the US, when it was legal, before the law banning the use was enacted in 1937. They also mentioned that 70% of Jamaicans use mary jane themselves.
I have to double check that information, but it shows a connection between ritualistic herb use for spiritual and medicinal purposes, which was/is strongly objected by some fundamentalist Christian crusaders, that demonized the use of the drug, and motivated their banning.

marijuana is not legal in Jamaica, but you will never get busted for it, as long as some idiot cop does not have it in for you. in the early 70s, it was big business in Jamaica. i remember the first time i saw a v12 E Type Jaguar. it was owned by a guy from the hills of a province called St Ann, the home of the best weed.
he would roll into a bar, and ask everyone what they drank. if you drank beer, he bought you a case. if rum, it was a quart. then, he would leave, without drinking , himself. most people did not even know who he was. he invited me to his home, out in the outback, and i noted where he had installed an entire revolving wall, behind which he hid his stash. those were the good old days, before crack cocaine
God Bless, and have a wonderful Holiday Season, both to you, and yours.