NewsWhore
11-05-2010, 05:10 PM
On Thursday, a furious mob of Haitians halted the passage of loaded trucks and freight trailers that were heading into Haiti, and later, they burned several loads of live chickens that had been taken from Dajabon to Ouanaminthe. The protestors were apparently reacting to the suspension of the bi-national market because of the risk posed by the cholera outbreak in Haiti, as reported in Diario Libre. On market day, access to the DR is free for Haitians, regardless of whether they have visas or not.
The protestors shouted from the other side of the frontier that they would burn the trucks if they continued to cross. They also said that if they (the Dominican authorities) do not allow merchandise for Haiti to cross into the bi-national market, they (the Haitians) would not receive anything from the Dominican Republic.
Members of the blue-helmeted UN Minustah forces arrived on the scene to control the violence.
The Haitian and Dominican authorities have yet to reach an agreement on setting a date for the market day - held on Mondays and Fridays - that moves millions of pesos.
Last week an agreement was reached to hold the market in the site where the new market is being constructed at the edge of the new bridge over the Masacre River, but Haiti, through the Haitian consul in Dajabon, Jean Batiste Bien-Aime, refused to operate under those conditions.
Hoy reported that traders from the southwestern border town of Anse-au-Pitre in Haiti are building shacks alongside the river that divides the two countries to install their stands for an improvised market day. In response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, the Monday and Friday market days have been suspended for health reasons. Supplies have been trucked to Haiti, but traders are insisting on holding the market days to sell to Dominican customers. Local authorities have banned sales of goods from Haiti in DR territory as a temporary preventive measure during the initial days of the cholera outbreak in Haiti.
As reported in Hoy, local authorities say the restart of market days depends on the Haitian authorities. The local authorities want to hold the market day in an area where the European Union is building a new border bridge, rather than in the towns of Dajabon, Elias Pina and Pedernales.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
The protestors shouted from the other side of the frontier that they would burn the trucks if they continued to cross. They also said that if they (the Dominican authorities) do not allow merchandise for Haiti to cross into the bi-national market, they (the Haitians) would not receive anything from the Dominican Republic.
Members of the blue-helmeted UN Minustah forces arrived on the scene to control the violence.
The Haitian and Dominican authorities have yet to reach an agreement on setting a date for the market day - held on Mondays and Fridays - that moves millions of pesos.
Last week an agreement was reached to hold the market in the site where the new market is being constructed at the edge of the new bridge over the Masacre River, but Haiti, through the Haitian consul in Dajabon, Jean Batiste Bien-Aime, refused to operate under those conditions.
Hoy reported that traders from the southwestern border town of Anse-au-Pitre in Haiti are building shacks alongside the river that divides the two countries to install their stands for an improvised market day. In response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, the Monday and Friday market days have been suspended for health reasons. Supplies have been trucked to Haiti, but traders are insisting on holding the market days to sell to Dominican customers. Local authorities have banned sales of goods from Haiti in DR territory as a temporary preventive measure during the initial days of the cholera outbreak in Haiti.
As reported in Hoy, local authorities say the restart of market days depends on the Haitian authorities. The local authorities want to hold the market day in an area where the European Union is building a new border bridge, rather than in the towns of Dajabon, Elias Pina and Pedernales.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)