HAITIAN INCIDENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 80, 5 April 1938, Page 20

HAITIAN INCIDENT

DOMINICANS PAY DAMAGES

Representatives of Haiti and the Dominican Republic have signed an agreement settling the controversy between the twrf nations on the West Indian Island- of Hispaniola,; says the "Christian Science Monitor."

Haitian officials had charged that their, nationals in the Dominican Republic were_the victims of "wholesale massacre." The Haitian Minister Elie Lescot recently asserted that more than 12,000 of his countrymen had been slain by Dominicans.

The Dominican Government agreed to pay the neighbouring country 750,000 dollars (£187,000) as indemnification —one-third of it in a lump sum and the remainder in five equal annual instalments.

The accord stipulated it would become effective immediately upon ratification by the Congresses of both countries. The first payment of 250,000 dollars would be delivered to Haiti immediately after such ratification.

. The agreement consisted of fourteen articles. The Dominican Republic stipulated that it did not recognise the responsibility of the State, but would abide by the findings of the Dominican tribunals which \yere to continue their investigation of the incidents that led to-the friction .between the two countries. ■■'■ '■•. •■.■•• •■■ ■ -'■ The Dominican Government agreed to fix the responsibility of .those guilty of instigating the incidents/and to give the results of the investigation full publicity. In addition, both Governments agreed to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. .■ The first annual payment of 100,000 dollars would be made on January 31, 1939 the remainder in similar instalments on the identical date of subsequent years. The1 representatives of Ham ana the Dominican Republic signed ■ the agreement in a meeting at the Pan American Union with the tfcree members of the Permanent Committee of Inter-American Conciliation. The Permanent Committee entered into the negotiations late last year under the terms of the Gondra Treaty of 1923, which Haiti invoked in an effort to speed a solution of the dispute.