Oxfam and Progressio make apology

[NewsWhore]

International development agencies Oxfam and Progressio have apologized for what they described as the "inappropriate" tone they used to refer to the relationship between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. They said that they made a "gross error" when referring to killings and persecutions of Haitians along the border. According to Diario Libre, in last November's report, "The role of the Dominican Republic in response to the Haitian earthquake", Oxfam and Progressio suggested that "the relationship between the Dominican Republic and Haiti is tarnished above all over the last five years by killings and persecutions of Haitian men and women on the border". It adds, "each year thousands of them are deported by the Dominican government, which, moreover, refuses to recognize the nationality of Haitians and of the Dominicans of Haitian origin". Barbara Stocking of Oxfam and Christine Allen of Progressio responded to a letter from the Dominican ambassador in Great Britain, Anibal de Castro, by saying, "the inclusion that refers to "killings and persecutions" was a crass error and we are in agreement with your comments on the issue. This paragraph does not reflect the opinion of Progressio or Oxfam and the tone is inappropriate". In an AM editorial, Diario Libre assistant editor Ines Aizpun had written that there had been no killings during that period and that the Dominican government had the right to establish its own immigration policies.

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