Finally, some clarity
The last paragraph of this quote nailed it for me.
Aristide says he's still president of Haiti
By Daniel Balint-Kurti, Associated Press, 3/9/2004
BANGUI, Central African Republic -- Insisting he's still Haiti's president, a defiant Jean-Bertrand Aristide appeared in public for the first time in exile yesterday, calling on supporters to wage a peaceful resistance against rebels he derided as "drug dealers" and "terrorists."
Looking composed, Aristide also criticized the United States, reiterating allegations denied by Washington that America helped remove him from power by force.
"I am the democratically elected president and I remain so. I plead for the restoration of democracy" in Haiti, Aristide told reporters in Bangui, seated on an armchair next to his wife, Mildred, at the Foreign Ministry.
"We appeal for a peaceful resistance," he added.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Aristide resigned Feb. 29 and turned power over to his constitutional successor. "If Mr. Aristide really wants to serve his country, he really has to, we think, let his nation get on with the future and not try to stir up the past again," Boucher said.
Aristide spoke with reporters despite a pointed, public request by Foreign Minister Charles Wenezoui that he avoid talking about Haitian politics or unidentified "friendly countries."
The ousted leader has been in Bangui since March 1. As rebels advanced on the capital, Port-au-Prince, Aristide fled his homeland Feb. 29 on a flight arranged by the US government. He is housed in a presidential palace apartment.
Until the press conference yesterday, the Central African government had refused lawyers and journalists access to Aristide and his wife, saying that comments made directly and indirectly by Aristide to foreign media had created diplomatic problems.
Aristede's isolation was no rumor. And the couple hundred guys that are the "rebel army" had weapons that cost more than your average Haitian earns in a year. And when they appeared on TV, their cammy fatigues were all nicely pressed and starched.
In the comments here it's been said
The reality is that the Central African Republic's leaders must put the needs of their citizens before giving Aristide a platform for his propaganda, and that means preserving good relations with Washington no matter what party is in power. If Aristide can't appreciate the reality of how the world works, he ought to move on somewhere else that's quick to have him ASAP. The fact that Thabo Mbeki isn't so eager to take him in ought to tell you something about how Aristide is viewed in that part of the world.
But Mbeki had no choice. Understand that. If he didn't want Aristede taking asylum in C.A.R., why allow it?
Because he has to "[preserve] good relations with Washington no matter what party is in power." And, apparently, no matter what the party in power does. Who does this say more about, Aristede, Mbeki or the Bushistas?
Not Aristede. People who complain about his tactics forget the alternative. Aristede was the first to actually try to solve Haiti's domestic problems. And when you have a nation with no economic underpinning, where "the rule of law" means whatever those in power say it means today, change requires an iron hand inside the velvet glove. No one who supports what the USofA is doing in Iraq has any business complaining about Aristede's tactics.
Not Mbeki. As I said, what choice did he have? Although if he feels being a lackey prepares one for any other position, he's a fool.
