In a speech to the CELAC summit in Havana Wednesday, Dominican Republic addressed the ongoing controversy over the country’s high-profile immigration ruling.

Medina said he was responding to statements made “by some CARICOM” countries that he said sought to paint the Dominican Republic as “racist, discriminatory and a violator of human rights.”

He said he did not accept that “anyone, either big nor small, could threaten the sovereignty of the Dominican Republic.”

The citizenship ruling made by the country’s Constitutional Court in September 2013, effectively stripped the citizenship of as many as several hundred thousand Dominicans of Haitian descent.

The ruling, which addressed those born to parents who were considered “in transit” and not Dominican nationals, applied retroactively to 1929.

It led to strained ties between both Haiti and the rest of CARICOM, which suspended consideration of the Dominican Republic’s bid for membership in the regional grouping.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic held talks on the issue in Haiti earlier this month, although it was not clear how much progress was made.

“Our country has made it clear from the first day its total openness to receive international support in the implementation of this process and so we are doing that,” Medina said. “However, I must also point out that, as a free and sovereign state, we do not accept that anyone, tiny or large, threatens our national sovereignty.” CONTINUE READING

Medina: “We Do Not Accept” Threats to Dominican Republic’s Sovereignty