20124 (Chamberlain) African Union head visits Aristide in exile (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     BANGUI, March 9 (Reuters) - The head of the African Union (AU) visited
ousted Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide in his Central African
Republic exile on Tuesday, a day after the organisation said his removal
from power was unconstitutional.
     Aristide arrived in the country's capital Bangui last week as a
rebellion to depose him plunged Haiti into turmoil. The former slum priest
says he was forced out by U.S. troops while Washington insists he resigned
and left Haiti voluntarily.
     "Aristide is in Africa so this matter concerns us, as the African
Union," Alpha Oumar Konare, a former Malian president who is in charge of
the AU's executive arm, told reporters in Bangui.
     Konare is the first foreign dignitary to visit Aristide since his
arrival in the landlocked, impoverished African state.
     In a statement on Monday the AU called Aristide's ouster
unconstitutional. It called for a United Nations-led investigation into the
circumstances surrounding his exile and urged African countries to grant
him asylum.
     Aristide was elected president of Haiti for the second time in
November 2000. Hailed by supporters as a champion of democracy, he has been
accused by critics, including his former backer the United States, of
ruling autocratically and tolerating corruption.
     "Our clear and unambiguous stance is in support of constitutional
legality," Konare said.
     "This is not about supporting one person, it's a principle -- even if
we're also aware that this respect for constitutional legality must go hand
in hand with good governance. You can't be allowed to do everything just
because you're elected."