20489: (Chamberlain) U.S. criticizes Aristide's Jamaica visit (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

      By Saul Hudson

     WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday criticized
Jamaica's decision to allow ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
to enter its country as unhelpful in resolving political turmoil in
neighboring Haiti.
     "Our view is that it is certainly not helpful to moving forward in
Haiti," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
     Aristide arrived in Jamaica on Monday, returning to the Caribbean just
two weeks after he left Haiti for exile in Africa on Feb. 29 in the face of
an armed revolt and U.S. pressure to quit.
     The new Haitian government is concerned Aristide's visit to Jamaica
may stir dissent. Some Aristide followers, who see him as a champion of the
poor, hope his presence 115 miles (185 km) from Haiti's shores may set the
stage for his eventual return.
     While in exile in the Central African Republic, Aristide said he was
still the president of Haiti and he was abducted by U.S. forces. Washington
dismissed the claim as nonsense.
     The decision by Jamaica was sure to affect relations between
Washington and Kingston, diplomats said.
     A State Department official said that over U.S. objections, Jamaica
was determined to make a gesture of solidarity with the democratically
elected Aristide, who had accepted the terms of the Caribbean CARICOM
bloc's mediation plan during a revolt.
     "Jamaica is trying to have it both ways: it wants to support the new
government in Haiti but does not want the unceremonious sidelining of a
former president," the official, who asked not to be named, said.
     "The Jamaican leadership may feel ... Aristide should be in a position
to play a role. We don't." he said. "By being nearby he is in a position to
negatively impact what is going on in Haiti, serving as a symbol for those
Haitians who are not with the (transition) program."
     Diplomats, however, played down any lasting fallout for Jamaica, which
is influential in the Caribbean but has little diplomatic weight beyond the
region. One CARICOM diplomat described the U.S. disappointment with
Jamaica's decision as a bump in the road in their bilateral relations.
     "It is nothing big. We can work on this and we are very confident in
the CARICOM community that we will get beyond it," the diplomat said. "The
fundamental relationship between the United States and Jamaica is very,
very sound."
     Last month, Jamaica spearheaded diplomacy by CARICOM and worked
intensively alongside the United States to mediate a political solution to
help defuse the revolt.
     But Kingston's position notably began diverging from Washington's when
the Bush administration reversed course and began pressuring Aristide to
resign.
     Days before Aristide quit, Jamaica lobbied the United Nations to
immediately send a stabilizing force despite U.S. insistence foreign troops
could only be sent to Haiti after a political settlement.
     Jamaica later called for an international investigation into
Aristide's resignation and on Monday welcomed him for a weeks-long visit to
meet his children.
     A Jamaican diplomat said his government, whose decision was also
criticized by Haiti's new prime minister, had assured the United States
that Aristide's stay would not be politicized.
     "While he is temporarily residing in the country, the Jamaican
government has made it clear Jamaica will not be used as a launching pad
for his reinstatement," he said.