Aristide: SA 'temporary home'

2004-05-30 21:19

Kingston, Jamaica - Ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said on Sunday that South Africa will be his "temporary home" until he can return to Haiti.

Speaking shortly before his planned departure for South Africa, he didn't say how soon he hoped to return to Haiti. He referred to himself as the "elected president" and urged his supporters not to resort to violence.

South Africa, he said, "will now be our temporary home until we are back in Haiti".

"The Haitian situation must be normal. Peace must be restored through democratic order," he said, without elaborating.

When asked, he declined to say when he would return or what role he would have in Haiti's future, saying he would address that in a book that he has almost finished writing.

"There is one elected president of Haiti, not two, and it's me... We've had 33 coups. That is enough." Aristide said. He accused the "so-called government" and other people of orchestrating violence against his supporters.

"Thousands were killed just because they were supporting the elected president," he said. "They killed them, put them in bags and dropped them in the sea. It's like you were in Iraq or another century."

Security tight

Security was tight as Jamaican troops guarded the hotel where he spoke.

Aristide, his family and their bodyguards were scheduled to depart Jamaica on a South African government jet to Johannesburg on Sunday afternoon.

South Africa agreed to take in the former leader until his personal situation "normalises" and he can to return to Haiti, though when that might be is unclear. With Aristide gone, Haiti's US-backed interim government has launched an investigation into corruption under his government.

Aristide also denied allegations that he had been involved in drug trafficking and embezzlement as "lies and allegations," adding: "It's totally false."

Aristide also called rebel leader Guy Philippe a "drug dealer" and criticized the Haitian government for dealing with other rebels with records of political killings.

'Silence can be very eloquent'

He dismissed plans for fresh elections next year, saying: "How can they talk about elections when they don't allow people to say how they feel."

Aristide also declined to say if he would be allowed to speak freely while in South Africa. "You can be silent, and your silence can be very eloquent," he said.

Aristide was largely restricted from making public comments since he arrival in Jamaica on March 15, where he arrived after an initial stay in the Central African Republic.

Once in South Africa, Aristide will live under tight security in the capital of Pretoria at the South African government's expense - a move that has angered opposition groups.

In Jamaica, Aristide and his wife, Mildred, were reunited with their two young daughters. They lived in a secluded, tightly secured government villa on a palm tree-lined street in northern Jamaica.

- SAPA