Govt gives Aristide go-ahead
2004-05-13 09:31
Johannesburg - The cabinet has given deposed Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide permission to visit the country, a government official said on Thursday.
The government also said that the United States and France had agreed that Aristide should stay in South Africa.
"I must add that this matter was also discussed with the political leadership of America and France ... and everybody has agreed that we should offer a temporary home to president Aristide," Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad told SABC radio news.
"We are going to do (that) and president Aristide will be officially informed about our agreement for him to come to South Africa," he said.
Aristide, 50, who is currently in Jamaica, fled Haiti in late February for the Central African Republic following an armed revolt against his rule in the poor Caribbean country.
The United States and France applied heavy pressure on Aristide to step down to avoid a bloodbath, but he later contended that he was forced out of office.
Deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad said earlier this week that Aristide would be a "guest of the South African government" pending further consultations on granting him asylum.
- AFP