8797: New briefs from DR

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Merrie Archer <MArcher@nchr.org>

Information from www.DR1.com 7/26 news brief
Haiti maneuvers to gain migration advantages?
El Siglo news commentator, Orlando Gil, says that apparently Haiti wants to
obtain migration concessions from the DR in exchange for its vote in favor
of the DR sitting on the UN Security Council. Mexico aspires to the same
post. 
Haiti's Minister of Foreign Relations Phillipe Antonio Joseph has said that
Haiti has not decided on its vote. He also says that Haiti would not use it
to press for an improvement of relations between both countries. 
Gil interprets this as a warning to Dominican authorities that Haiti wants
the concessions. Congress is studying a new Migration Bill, in general
favorable to increased Haitian migration. 
The migratory issue is the most difficult between the two nations. Haiti
wants the DR to legalize the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who live in
the DR. For years, the authorities have avoided the issue, fearing this
would only stimulate more immigration, increasing the burden on social
services in the DR. 
For more information on the DR's diplomatic efforts as of late to win the UN
Security Council seat, see Caribbean expert John Collins' recent report on
the DR's efforts to obtain the seat at
http://www.thecaribbeaninvestor.com/article.shtml?browser_query=varticle&fie
ld=249