|
Map of Haiti
Date & Place of Origin
U.S. Marines patrol the streets of Port-au-Prince on March 9, 2004.
Following the departure of Aristide, the rebels entered Port-au-Prince, declaring their intent to protect Alexandre and the
people from pro-Aristide militants, popularly known as "chimeres". In the days since, they have sent mixed messages about their
intentions: rebel leader Guy Philippe first declared himself the "chief" of a new Haitian military and vowed to arrest the
pro-Aristide prime minister, Yvon Neptune, but then promised to disarm his
forces. On March 3, at least three people were killed in a battle between rebels and
pro-Aristide militants. Supporters of Aristide have vowed to continue pressing their demands for his return, and on March 7, 6 people were reported killed at an anti-Aristide rally.
The death toll from the conflict is believed to have been at least 300. Prime Minister Neptune has estimated that the cost of
the rebellion from fighting and looting amounts to about U.S. $300
million.
CARICOM governments denounced the "removal" of Mr. Aristide from government. They
also questioned the legality of subsequent American-backed maneouvers to install a new president. The Prime Minister of Jamaica, P.J.
Patterson said that, the episode "sets a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere,
as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office by the power of rebel forces." [5]
As reported by the BBC, on March 3, CARICOM called for an independent inquiry into the departure of former Haitian President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide and says it will not send peacekeepers at this time. [6] . The Jamaican Prime
Minister Patterson said there had been no indication during discussions with the US and France that the plan which CARICOM had
put forward prior to Aristide's departure was not acceptable. "In respect of our partners we can only say this, at no time in our
discussions did they convey to us that the plan was unacceptable so long as president Aristide remained in office. Nor did they
suggest to us anything of a nature pertaining to the conduct of President Aristide in office that would cause us to come to the
judgement ourselves that he was unsuited to be the President of Haiti," Mr. Patterson said. The government of South Africa has also called for an investigation into the nature of Aristide's
departure.
After two weeks in the Central African Republic, Aristide departed for Jamaica and arrived there on March 15. The visit was ostensibly for the purpose of enabling Aristide to see his young daughters, but the
transitional Haitian government claimed that the visit could destabilize Haiti further by encouraging Aristide's supporters and
announced it was breaking off diplomatic relations with Jamaica in protest. In response, Jamaica announced that it would not
recognize the new Haitian government.
As of April 2004, the United States, France, Canada and Chile have
troops in Haiti as part of a force sanctioned by the United
Nations.
Aristide's claims
Aristide has repeatedly claimed that he was "kidnapped" or heavily pressured to leave the country.
- "They were telling me that if I don't leave they would start shooting, and be killing in a matter of time. They came at night
... There were too many. I couldn't count them."
Some have come forward to support his claim saying they witnessed him being escorted out by American soldiers at gunpoint.
[7]
[8] [9] The U.S. has unequivocally denied this
version of events.
Aristide has also denied that a letter he left behind constitutes an official resignation.
- "There is a document that was signed to avoid a bloodbath, but there was no formal resignation," he said. "This political
kidnapping was the price to pay to avoid a bloodbath." [10]
A translation of the letter from Creole by an Indiana
University linguistic professor reads:
- "If tonight it is my resignation that will avoid a bloodbath, I accept to leave with the hope that there will be life and not
death." [11]
Aristide insists that he remains legally president. On March 8, he issued the
following statement at a press conference in the Central African Republic: "I am the democratically elected president and I remain so. I plead for
the restoration of democracy. We appeal for a peaceful resistance."
Many prominent African-American political figures, including
Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee, as well as Randall Robinson, and Jesse Jackson, have
supported and publicized Aristide's claim that he was kidnapped by American-supported armed guards supporting an anti-democratic
coup.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and other U.S. officials strongly deny
the claims, saying they acted at Aristide's request. [12]
A spokesman for the Steele Foundation, the San Francisco-based
organization which supplied Aristide's bodyguards, denied that Aristide had been kidnapped, and pointed out that his employees
accompanied the former President to the Central African Republic. "If he was kidnapped, we were kidnapped, too," the spokesman
said.
However, the Steele Foundation declined to comment on a report that they were forced by U.S. officials to delay the flight of
a small group of extra bodyguards by one day. One day too late to help Aristide. [13]
External links
|