The Dominican Republic's ambassador to Haiti on Thursday described as "an exaggeration" a recent report by a human rights group accusing Dominicans of having a "xenophobic attitude" toward Haitians, according to reports from Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

Speaking at a press conference in Port-au-Prince, Ambassador Jose Serulle Ramia said that a "certain institution" had exaggerated some "erroneous actions of a few individuals" and wrongly taken them as being representative of the whole nation, referring to the human rights group Amnesty International(AI).

The London-based group had urged in a open letter to Dominican President Leonel Fernandez, currently on a European tour, to act in line with the International Convention on Human Rights, and tackle "all forms of discrimination and guarantee equality before the law of all residents regardless of skin color or origin."

Ramia argued that the bulk of Dominicans had feelings of solidarity toward Haitians living in the Republic, a Spanish-speaking nation which shares the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola with French-speaking Haiti.

"The fact that some people speak against Haitians on television does not justify a charge of racism," Ramia said.

Source: Xinhua