PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Former prime minister, Claude Joseph, says he welcomes the decision of President Luis Abinader “to arbitrarily prohibit” him from entering the Dominican Republic, insisting that he would still be speaking out against “anti Haitiansim” in the Spanish-speaking country.
Former Haitian prime minister, Claude JosephOn Wednesday, President Abinader, in a note addressed to the Director General of Immigration, invoked article 15 of law 285-04, of the immigration and its implementing regulations, preventing the entry into the country of foreigners who have a criminal record or who, in the opinion of the competent authorities, constitute a type of threat against national security and the interests of the Republic.
As a result he ordered that Joseph, a former foreign affairs minister and who briefly served as prime minister following the July 7, 2001 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, be banned from entering the country. The order was also issued against 12 suspected Haitian gang leaders.
But in a statement, Joseph says he views the decision “not as a sanction but as an honor” describing the ban also as “arbitrarily” given his former positions in the Haitian government.
He said the actions falls within the “anti-Haitianism” carried by the President and “considers this decision taken against” him “as a malicious attempt on the part of Mr. Abinader to attack the honor of the former Prime Minister and to intimidate him in its fight for respect for the sovereignty of Haiti and the dignity of fellow Haitians living in the Dominican Republic”.
Joseph said he is convinced that the decision had been taken by only by Abinader, but remains committed to the “preservation of relations of friendship, respect and cooperation between the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic”.
Meanwhile, political leaders and other stakeholders in the Dominican Republic have welcomed the decision to ban Joseph from entering the country.
The Mayor of Santiago, Abel Martinez Durán, said that Joseph was supportive of illegal migration
And that Haitians were engaged in criminal activities, not only in their country but in the Dominican Republic.
Some members of the Congress say they are worried that Joseph is only trying to win the support of Haitians for political purposes, “on the basis of hate speech directed against the Dominican Republic”.
The Commander General of the Dominican army, Major General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre said the army is tightening its controls and the surveillance, particularly at the Dajabón border.
