#5060: President Mejía says DR cannot carry Haitian burden alone (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Yacine Khelladi <yacine@aacr.net>

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> DR1 Daily News -- Thursday, 7 September 2000
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> 
> 
> 1. President Mejía says DR cannot carry Haitian burden alone
> President Hipólito Mejía focused on his support to globalization with
> a human face and the plight of Haiti, and its burden on the Dominican
> Republic in his seven-minute address Wednesday, 6 September during the
> Summit of the Millennium of the United Nations.
> Speaking in New York City in the presence of 147 heads of state and
> government, President Mejía advocated that the charter of the United
> Nations, dating back to 1945, be modified so that it better responds
> to the needs of the developing world.
> Focusing closer to home, on the island of Hispaniola, he emphasized
> that the Dominican Republic and Haiti have a marriage where there is
> no divorce. Nevertheless, he said the Dominican Republic cannot bear
> the heavy costs of the migration of illegal Haitians. "The
> international community need to become aware that the DR does not have
> the means to bear the social burden of the presence of hundreds of
> thousands of our neighbors," he said.
> "I urge that the heads of state gathered here today receive my words
> as a dramatic call take responsibility for this serious reality. It is
> time for solidarity."
> He stressed that Dominican authorities are making extraordinary
> efforts to handle the migration phenomenon with the utmost
> comprehension and respect to human rights, He said that any incident
> on the frontier is not the result of a national policy of repression
> to contain the flow of illegal Haitians. He said that the Dominican
> government seeks to foster common develop programs with Haiti to favor
> the communities of both nations, in order to improve the living
> conditions of the population.
> To read the complete speech in Spanish, see
> http://www.elsiglo.net/nacionales/7e/11.htm