21543: Simidor: South African opposition says Aristide not welcome (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Simidor <karioka9@mail.arczip.com>

Foreign affairs playing with semantics on Aristide: DA

SABC News, April 25, 2004

The department of foreign affairs' line that it has received no application from Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former Haitian president, for asylum simply did not wash, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said today. "It is highly unlikely that Aristide's spokesperson would be speaking so confidently of his coming to South Africa if this prospect had not been raised with our government. To claim that he has not applied is just playing with semantics," the DA's James Selfe said in a statement.

It was unclear who Selfe was referring to and when the comments were made as Selfe was not available to explain this afternoon. However, a report by the Associated Press from Haiti on Friday indicated Aristide, currently in Jamaica, planned to take asylum in South Africa. "The ANC government's support for Aristide, including its call for an investigation of his claim that he was forced out of office by the US and France, seems to be based on the false assertion that he was 'duly elected'," Selfe added.

"In fact, Aristide won the presidency in November 2000, in an election that was boycotted by credible opposition candidates because of the government's failure to remedy the deeply flawed results of the May 2000 legislative and local elections.

"The Organization of American States (OAS) and other international observers refused to monitor the November balloting, in which Aristide faced no serious challengers."

Selfe said the DA maintained that the ANC government would be acting outside of its powers if it granted Aristide asylum. "It would also be morally reprehensible to provide a home to such a man. Whether or not it has received an official application, the government should simply state that, in accordance with our national laws on asylum-seekers, Mr Aristide would not be welcome here," he concluded. - Sapa