22207: Esser: Aristide in SA, vows to return, announces book (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Club Haiti
http://www.telepark.de/clubhaiti/start.html

May 31, 2004

Aristide in SA, vows to return, announces book 

Jean-Bertrand Aristide has arrived in South Africa to a red-carpet
welcome, greeted by the country's President Thabo Mbeki and
diplomatic representatives of several other African nations. Aristide
was accompanied by his American wife, Mildred, their 5-year-old and
7-year-old daughters and a delegation from the Congressional Black
Caucus. The ousted leader and his family will stay in a private home
at the expense of the South African government "until the situation
normalizes in Haiti," the government said. Before leaving Jamaica he
told reporters South Africa would "be our temporary home until we are
back in Haiti ... There is one elected president of Haiti, not two,
and it's me," he said. During his absence, "the level of suffering
has dramatically increased in Haiti," Aristide said, citing recent
floods blamed for 2,000 deaths and what he said were killings
sanctioned by the current government. Asked to describe details of
his ouster, Aristide said he had almost finished writing a book about
it that would reveal "the full answer" to what happened. Meanwhile,
he urged those Haitians seeking a return to democracy to be peaceful.
"Facing violence, we don't answer with violence," the former Catholic
priest said. Asked when he would return to Haiti, Aristide said, "We
don't have a date." Aristide accused the current Haitian leadership
of using violence to quell its critics -- "they kill them or they
arrest them or they push them in hiding." [Source: CNN, CBS]
.