20558: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel-Editorial-No Third Time For Aristide (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

No Third Time For Aristide

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
Posted March 18 2004

    Email story
  Print story

Don't blame Haiti's interim leaders for being annoyed with their neighbor
Jamaica. Trying to settle a political crisis is hard enough, and now they
have to look over their shoulder.

That's because, just across the Caribbean Sea, ousted President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is ensconced in a rural villa outside of Kingston.

Officially, Jamaican leaders allowed Aristide to come to their island for
humanitarian reasons, to be reunited with daughters he has not seen since
fleeing to Africa in late February.

Still, it's hard not to fault Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue for
being upset with his counterparts in Jamaica. On Monday, Latortue recalled
Haiti's ambassador to Kingston in protest.

He's not the only one leery of Aristide's arrival. Members of Jamaica's
parliament have criticized their prime minister, P.J. Patterson, for giving
Aristide refuge.

The bloody rebellion that ousted Aristide left hundreds dead, and the desire
for retribution remains strong. Without a military to defend his new
government, all Latortue has is a couple thousand U.S. Marines and a
demoralized police force to keep the peace.

Haiti remains a powder keg waiting for a spark to set off another bloody
explosion. Now a possible trigger, Aristide, is back -- not in Haiti, but
close enough.

Jamaica is among the Caribbean Community countries that express concerns
about the way Aristide's departure was handled by U.S. diplomats. Caricom,
and Aristide's allies in Congress, are right to pursue an investigation of
why diplomatic efforts in Haiti failed so miserably.

Aristide, who must shoulder much of the blame for his own undoing, should be
a star witness in that probe. And it makes sense for him to be close by in
Jamaica, rather than the Central African Republic, for whatever testimony he
must give.

The problem is, Aristide isn't just looking to tell his side of the story.
He insists he is still the rightful leader of his country. There are many in
and outside Haiti, including members of Congress, who openly support him.

Jamaica and Caricom leaders must make it clear to Aristide that the
Caribbean is not a launching pad for a second attempt to return to power
from exile. To call for Aristide's reinstatement, or to give him hope of
returning as president, as he did in 1994 following an earlier ouster, is a
mistake. Aristide's friends in Congress should also cool the rhetoric.

A new leadership team in Port-au-Prince is struggling to restore order. They
must be given a chance. Haiti must move forward, not backward.

_________________________________________________________________
Get rid of annoying pop-up ads with the new MSN Toolbar – FREE!
http://clk.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200414ave/direct/01/