Aristide awaits news of fate
2004-03-04 11:08
Bangui, Central African Republic - In a crumbling palace ringed by barbed wire, ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide passes his days by watching television and sleeping, officials say.
The Central African Republic has put Aristide up temporarily in an apartment in the presidential residence - a boxy 1960s building that has seen better days, despite a fresh coat of white paint and its promising name, the "Renaissance Palace".
"We're a country in difficulty," Foreign Minister Charles Wenezoui said on Wednesday. "We offered the basics. There's no marble, but it's adequate."
The local food probably reminds Aristide of home - chicken, bananas, spices. And he's been given a television to keep up on what's going on in Haiti, officials said.
Permanent exile
Such small comforts will likely keep him going as he awaits news of which country will offer him permanent exile. The priest-turned-president resigned on Sunday and arrived here on a flight arranged by the US government.
Aristide, Haiti's first freely elected president, had become deeply unpopular. Observers say he failed to fight poverty, and human rights groups accuse him of using police and armed militants to stifle dissent.
Officials in Bangui said they did not know when Aristide would actually leave.
South Africa repeated on Wednesday that it wasn't opposed to taking in Aristide, but that it hadn't received any formal asylum request.
Both African nations are thought to be troubled by claims Aristide has made since he arrived in Bangui. He has accused the US military of forcing him to leave - an allegation denied by US officials.
His hosts worry that the allegations could compromise their relations with the United States, and they asked him - "nicely" - to stop speaking to the press, the foreign minister said. Officials said they could not immediately put Aristide in contact with AP, although they said he has phone access.
Another official was clearly annoyed by Aristide's remarks.
Shouldn't start singing/B>
Alexandre Kouroupe, a top adviser at the Communications Ministry, cited an African proverb: "When a bird lands on a branch, it shouldn't start singing - it should look around for predators."
More generally, he added: "I don't care if he stays or not. Personally, I have other problems."
Outside the ministry, guards in camouflage dozed on rusty cots and kept watch over rocket launchers.
Aristide's temporary host country is nearly as troubled as the one he left. It's prone to unrest; the most recent coup came just under a year ago. The country is so impoverished that civil servants are owed 32 months of pay.
Aristide hasn't ventured out into the teeming streets, though officials say he is free to come and go. The foreign minister suggested Aristide probably has too much thinking to do.
"He has to take a step back. He has to ask himself, 'What could I have done so I wouldn't have had to leave?" the minister said. "That's human. He's a man."
AP writers Daniel Balint-Kurti and Nafi Diouf contributed to this report.
- AP