20368: (Chamberlain) Haiti's Arisitide due in Jamaica on Monday (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     KINGSTON, Jamaica, March 14 (Reuters) - Ousted Haitian President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was due to arrive on Monday in Jamaica for an
extended visit opposed by Haiti's new government, a Jamaican government
official said on Sunday.
     Aristide, the first democratically elected president of Haiti, fled
the Caribbean nation two weeks ago amid an armed revolt and U.S. pressure.
He is now in the Central African Republic and had been expected in Jamaica
on Tuesday.
     His most fervent supporters, who are mostly poor Haitians, still
strongly back him, and political opponents of the former priest fear his
presence just 115 miles (180 km) from Haiti's shores could fuel discontent
in Haiti's slums.
     A delegation, including Jamaican Member of Parliament Sharon Hay
Webster, were on their way to the Central African Republic to escort
Aristide and his wife, Mildred, to Jamaica, according to the official, who
spoke on condition of anonymity.
     The Miami Herald reported on Sunday that other Aristide supporters
traveling to the Central African Republic included U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters,
a California Democrat, and Sidney Williams, a former U.S. ambassador to the
Bahamas.
     Haiti's new prime minister, Gerard Latortue, last week said news of
the planned Aristide visit to Jamaica had already fed tensions in Haiti and
that he might fly to Jamaica to lobby the government there to keep
Aristide's stay short.
     But a senior government official in Kingston told Reuters on Sunday
that Latortue's visit was "off for now" and was not likely to be
rescheduled for three months or more.
     Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has been critical of how
Aristide was removed from office. He has said Aristide has not been granted
political asylum in Jamaica and was expected to stay on the island for
eight to 10 weeks.