Dominican Republic intensifies Haiti border shutdown over canal row

Oct 9 (Reuters) – The Dominican Republic announced new measures to strengthen control at its border with Haiti, including an indefinite extension of the border shutdown it enacted last month plus boosting military forces as well as a new exports ban.

The Dominican Republic sealed its border with Haiti last month after it deemed construction work on a canal diverting water from the Massacre River a treaty violation, since it was launched unilaterally by Haitians without government support.

Haiti’s government responded to Monday’s measures by saying it backed the rights of its citizens to equitable use of binational waters and continued to favor dialogue with Santo Domingo.

“The government considers hostile and unacceptable any attempt to divert the waters in order to deprive Haitians of it, in violation of the 1929 treaty,” it said in a statement.

Last week, Dominican President Luis Abinader, who is seeking re-election next year, said a decommissioned canal on the Dominican side was ready to restart and that planning continued for construction of two dams off the shared river.

The Organization of American States has called for a resumption of dialogue and affirmed both countries have equal rights to the shared water resources.

Under the new measures announced by Dominican security officials on Monday, exports of electronics, cement and other building materials will be banned to prevent construction of structures that threaten the river or other related natural resources.

Authorities will also indefinitely extend suspension of visa issuances to Haitian citizens, and create a fund to finance an agricultural program to reduce hiring of undocumented immigrant workers.

The new measures will take effect on Wednesday.

The Dominican Republic has deported tens of thousands of Haitian migrants who have fled escalating gang warfare in their own country, drawing criticisms from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The parliament in Kenya – which has offered to lead a U.N.-backed international force requested by Haiti’s government a year ago – temporarily barred a deployment of 1,000 police officers to the Caribbean nation.

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