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CAR prepared to give asylum
04/03/2004 19:10 - (SA)
Bangui, Central African Republic - The Central African Republic will offer ex-Haiti leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide permanent asylum if he asks, the government said on Thursday.
"I can't say definitively if Mr Aristide will stay here or if he'll go, but if he asks us, we won't refuse him," said Communications Minister Parfait Mbaye.
Since Aristide arrived here on Monday after his ouster a day earlier, officials have said he would only stay a few days while they sought a permanent home for him elsewhere.
Negotiations are under way to find a final destination for Aristide.
South Africa has said that in principle it is not opposed to taking in Aristide, but says it still hasn't received any formal asylum request.
There was no immediate indication whether Aristide would accept.
The Haitian leader has had no known direct contact with reporters since a flurry of phone calls on Monday in which he accused the United States of forcing him out of his office.
Mbaye hopes that if Aristide stays in this impoverished nation, the international community will help pay for his upkeep.
"The country's going through a very difficult financial situation," he said. "I'm convinced that the international community ... will also take this aspect into account."
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