JAMAICA TO 'HOST' ARISTIDE AND FAMILY
Interim asylum may be South Africa
By Rickey Singh
Guyana Chronicle
March 12, 2004
BRIDGETOWN---In a dramatic development yesterday, the Jamaica Government disclosed that it has agreed to "host" the ousted Haitian President, Jean Bertrand Aristide, his wife and their two children for a period of six to ten weeks.
Jamaica's Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, current Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), in making the disclosure yesterday (Thursday), stressed that Aristide was not "seeking political asylum", and would be engaged in "finalizing arrangements for permanent residence outside of the Caribbean region".
Currently in exile in the Central African Republic (CAR), Aristide, who maintains that he was the victim of a coup engineered by the United States and France on February 29, insists that he is "still the lawful President of the Republic of Haiti".
There were conflicting reports as to whether Aristide wanted to be temporarily in Trinidad and Tobago or in Jamaica, the latter country which, like The Bahamas, is often the choice of Haitian refugees fleeing their homeland with the US as their preferred ultimate destination.
But yesterday, as lawyers for Aristide in France and the USA were moving to mount legal challenges to the circumstances of his removal from office amid widespread violence and chaos, Prime Minister Patterson was ready for a public statement.
The statement which, the "Guyana Chronicle' was informed, came after "close, high-level consultations" with Jamaica's CARICOM partners, explained:
"Mr. Aristide has expressed a wish to return to the Caribbean with his wife and to be reunited with their two young children who are currently in the United States.
"At his (Aristide's) request", the statement added, "arrangements are being made for his travel and accommodation in Jamaica. He is expected to arrive here early next week.
"We have communicated our decision to our CARICOM colleagues and to the Governments who were originally involved in working together to seek a solution to the Haitian crisis".
This was an implicit reference to CARICOM's earlier direct involvement with the USA, France and Canada when it was engaged in formulating a compromise 'Action Plan' on the governance crisis in Haiti, prior to Aristide's loss of power.
The plan, accepted by those foreign governments on February 13 at a meeting in Washington, chaired by US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, was predicated on Aristide remaining in office to complete his presidential term that expires in February 2006.
After the anti-Aristide opposition forces rejected the plan that coincided with shifting positions by the USA and France, followed by the surprised "resignation" and exile of Aristide, CARICOM has emphasized that efforts to have an interim governance arrangement in Haiti, should not be confused with the Community's original "Action Plan".
Prime Minister Patterson, having communicated to CARICOM, and other involved governments, his administration's decision to "host" Aristide and his family for the requested period, said:
"I wish to emphasize that Mr. Aristide is not seeking asylum in Jamaica. His stay in Jamaica is not expected to be in excess of eight to ten weeks. He is engaged in finalizing arrangements for permanent residence outside of the region."
While he gave no indication of where that may be, it has been widely reported that South Africa stands ready to grant the ousted Haitian leader political asylum once formally requested.
Aristide himself has, however, stated from Banqui, capital of the Central African Republic, that should he eventually move to South Africa, it would be "a stop on my way back to Haiti, where I rightly belong...I am still the lawful President of Haiti".
Prime Minister Patterson said that CARICOM remained "committed to the goal of restoring and nurturing democracy in its newest member state as well as to social and economic development of the people of Haiti".
`Meanwhile, the newly-installed interim Prime Minister of Haiti, Gerard LaTortue, has been in touch with Patterson and requested to meet with him to discuss the situation in Haiti--ahead of the forthcoming Inter-Sessional Meeting of Community Heads of Government in St. Kitts later this month.
LaTortue, who has been living in Miami, is a former Foreign Minister and United Nations official in the shortlived government of ex-President Leslie Manigat, who once headed the St. Augustine-based Institute of International Relations of the University of the West Indies.
The date for LaTortue's Jamaica visit has not yet been determined but it is expected to coincide with Aristide's stay in that CARICOM state.