22176: (Chamberlain) Haiti's Aristide begins South African exile (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Andrew Quinn

     JOHANNESBURG, May 31 (Reuters) - Ousted Haitian President Jean
Bertrand Aristide arrived in South Africa on Monday to a red carpet welcome
amid opposition protests that South African taxpayers should not be
bankrolling his exile.
     Aristide and his family were greeted by President Thabo Mbeki and most
of his cabinet at Johannesburg airport after arriving aboard Mbeki's
official plane on a flight from Jamaica, their home for the past 10 weeks.
     "I want to say welcome to President Aristide, Madame Aristide and the
children. Welcome to the African continent and to South Africa," Mbeki said
during a brief media appearance at the airport.
     Aristide's arrival in South Africa has stirred protest from opposition
parties, who say the country has no business offering support to the exiled
leader.
     "Haiti is far beyond our sphere of influence. Aristide should go
home," Douglas Gibson, a spokesman for the main opposition Democratic
Alliance, said in a statement this week.
     Aristide and South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma are to address a news conference on Tuesday.
     Aristide, who flew to South Africa accompanied by representatives from
Jamaica, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the U.S. Congressional Black
Caucus, thanked his hosts in both English and Zulu.
     "How grateful we are for the opportunity to thank President Mbeki, the
government and people of South Africa," Aristide said, saying his family
was happy to be on the "mother continent of Africa" until it becomes
possible to return to Haiti.
     Aristide insists he remains his country's elected leader and has
charged Haiti's new government with harassing and killing his supporters on
the Caribbean island.
     Faced with an armed revolt, Aristide left Haiti on February 29 and was
flown to the Central African Republic on a flight arranged by the United
States amid reports that he eventually hoped to settle in South Africa.
     He travelled to Jamaica to be reunited with his children and arrange
exile elsewhere. South Africa approved his asylum request two weeks ago
after a request from CARICOM and after consultations with the 53-member
African Union.
     Mbeki has been a strong supporter of Aristide and was the only foreign
president to attend Haiti's official celebration of its bicentennial
earlier this year.
     The asylum offer underlined South Africa's view that Aristide was
unconstitutionally removed from power in a "regime change" sanctioned by
U.S. President George W. Bush -- although officials stressed that they had
agreed to host Aristide only after consulting Washington and Paris.
     South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said on Monday the
government had agreed to host Aristide temporarily "as a contribution
towards stabilising the situation in Haiti."
     "South Africa has a responsibility as an African country and as part
of the international community to ensure that democracy and peace prevail
in Haiti and that the people of Haiti are able to choose who their leaders
should be," Pahad said.
     Aristide and his family will live in a mansion in the South African
capital Pretoria paid for by the government.