Aristide's former friends turn

2004-02-27 11:06

Port-au-Prince - Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide suffered a new blow when the United States and Canada gave the sign that it may be time for him to leave, even though they had defended a mediation plan under which he would finish his two more years in office.

"I hope President Aristide will examine his position carefully and that judgements will be made as to what is best for the people of Haiti in this most difficult time," said US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington.

"He is the democratically elected president, but he has had difficulties in his presidency, and I think, as a number of people have commented, whether or not he is able to effectively continue as president is something that he will have to examine."

'Aristide should go'

France has already said that Aristide should go, and Canada also ended its support.

Canada's Foreign Minister Bill Graham said the worsening situation in Haiti had forced the international community to consider "other scenarios," but it must not force him to leave.

"So it is perhaps best for Mr Aristide to look at his responsibilities toward his people and say: 'Look it would be better that I, voluntarily, leave'," said Graham.

"If he said that, I have said that we, Canada, we would be ready to act with other countries to assure security and order in Haiti," he added.

Despite the pressure mounting around him, Aristide reaffirmed that he was determined to finish his term.

'good for our democracy'

"I will leave the palace on February 7, 2006, which is good for our democracy," he said.

"We have had 32 coups d'état and that is enough," Aristide told CNN television.

Meanwhile Caribbean nations asked an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to immediately authorise sending an international force to Haiti.

France and Canada have said they would contribute, but the Council only agreed to consider a force.

Remaining diplomatic efforts to broker an end to the crisis shifted to Paris, where the French government hoped to hold talks with representatives of Aristide on Friday, and to the UN Security Council meeting.

Jamaica's Foreign Minister Keith Desmond Knight asked the council to immediately authorise an international security force, saying the world could not stand by and watch Haiti descend into outright anarchy.

"The prevailing situation in Haiti can no longer be viewed as an internal matter," Knight said.

The council said in a statement after the meeting that it would consider a force but that it remained in favour of a negotiated political settlement to the crisis.

- AFP