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7315: Govt of Haiti clarifies point on negotiating a repatriation agreement (fwd)
From: MKarshan@aol.com
On March 6, 2001, Ira Kurzban, Esq., the General Counsel for the Government
of Haiti issued a press release clarifying one of the points contained in the
8-point agreement which pertains to the question of negotiating a
repatriation agreement:
"In December, 2000, President Jean Bertrand Aristide, in cooperation with the
United States Government, established eight points of agreement that would
remove obstacles to the future development of Haiti for the benefit of the
Haitian people. Included in the eight points was an understanding that the
governments of the Untied States and Haiti would negotiate an agreement for
the repatriation of illegal migrants.
"There has been substantial confusion over President Aristide's pledge to
negotiate an agreement for the repatriation of illegal migrants. Some members
of the international community and Haitians in the Tenth Department are under
the mistaken impression that the Government of Haiti has already entered into
an agreement for the repatriation of Haitian citizens. This is not so. No
agreement to repatriate Haitian citizens has been made by the government of
Haiti.
"Any agreement over repatriation will undoubtedly involve other immigration
issues including the treatment and manner of return of Haitian citizens who
were convicted of crimes in the United States and the treatment of Haitians
who are repatriated generally. Because the eight point pledge calls for
negotiations over such an agreement that will likely involve other
immigration issues including the method of repatriation of persons with
criminal records, no agreement has been reached to date. In fact,
negotiations over such an agreement have not yet begun as other issues, such
as the formation of the government that will conduct the negotiations, have
been a priority.
"The Government of Haiti looks forward to negotiating with the United States
on a range of immigration issues that will be beneficial to the Haitian
people as well as the United States."
Ira Kurzban, Esq. can be reached at 305-444-0060