South Africa, Caricom call for Aristide probe

South Africa backs Aristide probe
South Africa has joined calls for an independent investigation into claims that Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced out of office.

Accompanied by US soldiers, Mr Aristide left Haiti on Sunday as rebels neared his capital. He is currently in the Central African Republic.

The Caribbean regional body Caricom has also said Mr Aristide's departure should be investigated.

The US has denied Mr Aristide's claim that it forced him on to a plane.


The Central African Republic (CAR) said on Thursday it will offer Mr Aristide permanent asylum if he asks for it.

In Haiti itself, a commission has been formed of government and opposition members as part of an international plan to end the crisis in the country.

The three member commission is to begin selecting a seven member council, which in turn will name a new prime minister and government.

'Serious consequences'

In a statement, South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma expressed concern at reports Mr Aristide was forced to quit.


"The suggestion that President Aristide may have been forced out of office, if true, will have serious consequences and ramifications for the respect of the rule of law and democracy the world over.

"... we join in the call for an investigation under the auspices of the United Nations to clarify these circumstances leading to the departure of President Aristide," he said.

The circumstances of Mr Aristide's departure have been shrouded in mystery since he left Haiti on Sunday.

The former president said he was the victim of a coup d'etat, forced to leave by "American agents".

Officials in the CAR now say Mr Aristide only knew of his destination 45 minutes before the plane touched down, and that he and his entourage were guarded by 60 US marines.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell strenuously denied the allegation, saying said Mr Aristide had gone into exile "willingly, and that's the truth".

Close relations

The BBC's regional analyst Martin Plaut says South Africa has said it is willing to consider giving him asylum.

He says President Thabo Mbeki was one of the few heads of state to attend Haiti's bicentennial celebrations earlier this year - and the two men are known to be close.

But, he says, South Africa will only say it has received no formal request for asylum.

Meanwhile, the political fallout from Mr Aristide's sudden departure is continuing.

Caricom has called for an independent inquiry into the claims he was forced from office and it has announced it will not participate in a peacekeeping force in Haiti.

In the Caribbean nation, increasing numbers of US marines have begun patrolling the capital, Port-au-Prince, and aid is beginning to arrive.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3534085.stm



Posted on Thu, Mar. 04, 2004

CARICOM
Caribbean countries demand inquiry into Aristide's exit

Caribbean countries urge inquiry into the departure of Haitian President Aristide and rule out participation in an interim security force in Haiti.
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles [at] herald.com


The 15-member Caribbean Community Wednesday called for an independent investigation into the resignation of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and said it will not participate in the interim peacekeeping force in Haiti.

The CARICOM decision, prompted by Aristide's allegations that he was kidnapped by U.S. military personnel, appeared to be a blow to international efforts to forge a coalition government in Haiti and return the nation to normalcy.

SHARING POWER

CARICOM mediated the power-sharing plan that is at the root of current plans for a transitional Haitian government, and its withdrawal is likely to complicate the already tangled efforts to select a new prime minister and Cabinet.

Leaders of the regional bloc, which includes Haiti, also criticized the U.N. Security Council for its failure to respond to Aristide's appeals for an international police force to help him restore law and order in Haiti following a violent rebellion.

''We believe that we put forward a very compelling case before the Security Council on Thursday of last week. The Security Council failed to respond then,'' Jamaica Prime Minister and CARICOM Chairman P.J. Patterson said Wednesday at the conclusion of a two-day emergency meeting on Haiti in Kingston, Jamaica.

Patterson and the other Caribbean leaders Tuesday got a chance to speak by phone with Aristide, who is in the Central African Republic. While leaders did not elaborate on their discussions with the exiled president, they did not put to ease concerns about his resignation.

''The situation calls for an independent investigation of what occurred and we believe it should be done under the auspices of some independent international body such as the United Nations, which would clarify the circumstances leading to the relinquishing of the presidency of Haiti by President Aristide,'' Patterson said during a press conference.

He was joined by leaders and senior representatives from eight other CARICOM countries.

The independent inquiry would look into Aristide's charges that he was forced to resign and then ''kidnapped'' and taken to the Central African Republic -- charges vehemently denied by U.S. officials and the San Francisco security firm that provided his bodyguards.

If Aristide were indeed forced to leave office against his will, it would set a dangerous precedent for democratically elected leaders in the regional bloc, Patterson said. Leaders, he fears, could be removed from office at the first onset of unrest in the region.

Next to Haiti, for instance, Jamaica is perhaps the most volatile island in the Caribbean region where elections have often sparked civil unrest and violence among opposing parties.

Patterson also added that plans for a transition government no longer follow the CARICOM proposals because their plan called for Aristide and his opponents to share power in a new Cabinet.

Bahamas Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell said in a telephone interview Wednesday that many of the police officers in the region lack the technical expertise and training to participate in the three-month international security force approved for Haiti by the U.N. Security Council.

HOSTILITY

The current hostile environment in Haiti is a far different climate than in 1994 when CARICOM countries participated in an international peacekeeping force, patroling Cap Haitien.

''We will continue to work on behalf of the Haitian people and remain engaged to improve their welfare,'' Mitchell said.

CARICOM leaders did not rule out future involvement once the situation in Haiti becomes less chaotic and more stable.