DR: Santo Domingo relents on Haitian repatriation

Migration director Miguel Vasquez has called a temporary freeze on repatriations of illegal Haitian migrants, as requested by the Jesuit Refugee Service in Santo Domingo yesterday. According to this morning's Listin Diario, the process is being suspended until the current unrest is over, and will be accompanied by continued reinforcements along the border. The other papers are saying that the decision is still under consideration and is subject to final approval by President Hipolito Mejia and Foreign Minister Frank Guerrero Prats. Under normal circumstances, up to 4,000 Haitians are sent back to their country every month. It is reported that the Haitian border town of Ouanaminthe (called "Juana Mendez" by Dominicans) is now under the control of the rebel forces, which burned down the police station in that town. Reports from the frontier region indicate that the rebels, who are calling for President Jean Bertrand Aristide's resignation, met with no resistance and no deaths or injuries were reported in Ouanaminthe.

Also, this:

The Haitian crisis could have serious repercussions on the Dominican Republic, according to the European Union's Ambassador in Santo Domingo, Miguel Amado. The main threats to the Dominican Republic, said Amado, were not just the military movements, but also increased migration, flight of political refugees and the humanitarian situation.