NewsWhore
10-09-2007, 01:30 PM
Yesterday's apology released by Bishop Diomedes Espinal for the massacre of more than 15,000 Haitians at the border in 1937 has sparked a debate among historians. Historians Hugo Tolentino Dipp and Franklyn Franco, speaking in Hoy, consider the apology a great gesture. Dipp said that it raises the stature of Dominicans when a Dominican institution is capable of expressing a mea culpa. Both historians backed the petition for pardon of bishop Diomedes Espinal de Leon of Mao-Montecristi in the name of the Catholic Church and Dominicans, saying that the Dominican people did not support the order by Trujillo and have never felt hatred to the Haitians. The bishop made the statement on occasion of the 70th anniversary of the killing, as reported in Hoy.
Historian Manuel Nunez disputes the asking for pardon from the Haitian people for the mass murder of thousands of Haitians called for by Dictator Trujillo in 1937, in further comments in Hoy. Nunez says that the blame for the event is solely that of the dictator. He said that previously, Haitian dictator Dessalines carried out a mass murder in 1805 in Moca, for which Haiti has not asked pardon from the Dominican people. He said that the bishop asked for the pardon because he was not familiar with historic details. "What happened in 1937 was due to failure on the part of Dominicans and Haitians. Trujilllo called several times for Haitian President Stenio Vincent to control the en masse migration at the border that occurred after Cuba expelled 85,000 Haitians. Nunez commented that the flow of Haitians was such that five border province would have been lost to Haiti.
Moreover, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez considered that the Dominican people do not have to ask pardon for the killing because the person responsible for the killing, Trujillo, is dead. He said that the Dominican people were not to blame. "In that case, it is Trujillo who we have to hold accountable, he was the criminal. Honestly, I do not think the Dominican people are to be blamed," said the Cardinal.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)
Historian Manuel Nunez disputes the asking for pardon from the Haitian people for the mass murder of thousands of Haitians called for by Dictator Trujillo in 1937, in further comments in Hoy. Nunez says that the blame for the event is solely that of the dictator. He said that previously, Haitian dictator Dessalines carried out a mass murder in 1805 in Moca, for which Haiti has not asked pardon from the Dominican people. He said that the bishop asked for the pardon because he was not familiar with historic details. "What happened in 1937 was due to failure on the part of Dominicans and Haitians. Trujilllo called several times for Haitian President Stenio Vincent to control the en masse migration at the border that occurred after Cuba expelled 85,000 Haitians. Nunez commented that the flow of Haitians was such that five border province would have been lost to Haiti.
Moreover, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez considered that the Dominican people do not have to ask pardon for the killing because the person responsible for the killing, Trujillo, is dead. He said that the Dominican people were not to blame. "In that case, it is Trujillo who we have to hold accountable, he was the criminal. Honestly, I do not think the Dominican people are to be blamed," said the Cardinal.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)