[A-List] Fw: Venezuela Offers Haitian President Aristide Asylum

["Christopher Black" <bar@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Rozoff" <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 9:18 PM
Subject: Venezuela Offers Haitian President Aristide Asylum


> http://www.hindu.com/2004/03/18/stories/2004031800791700.htm
>
> The Hindu
> March 18, 2004
>
> Chavez offers Aristide asylum in Venezuela
>
>
> -Diplomatic wrangling between Haiti's new government
> and Jamaica, which has provided temporary refuge to
> Mr. Aristide, continued on Tuesday. Mr. Aristide spent
> the day in a heavily guarded house in a retreat owned
> by the Jamaican Government in the hills near the
> resort town of Ocho Rios, and Jamaican officials said
> they would not recognise Haiti's new government until
> the issue was discussed at a meeting of the 15-member
> Caribbean economic bloc, the Caribbean Community,
> later this month.
> -Since fleeing Haiti, Mr. Aristide has claimed that he
> was forced from power by a U.S.-backed coup and
> whisked into exile against his will.
> He says he is still president of Haiti.
> -The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, who has grown
> increasingly hostile toward the United States in
> recent speeches, jumped into the regional diplomatic
> fray on Tuesday, saying he would not recognise the new
> Government of Haiti and offering Aristide refuge in
> Venezuela.
>
>
>
> PORT-AU-PRINCE (HAITI), MARCH 17. Haiti's Interim
> Prime Minister, moving quickly to prevent the country
> from devolving into further disarray, reportedly
> settled on a list of Cabinet members on Tuesday amid a
> regional quarrel over Jamaica's decision to receive
> the exiled President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
>
> The Prime Minister, Gerard Latortue [from Florida],
> who was appointed to the post last week, is faced with
> the task of forming an interim government that can
> begin the process of reactivating the public and
> private sectors and winning the confidence of the
> Haitian people, who have suffered through months of
> political uncertainty. Mr. Aristide fled into exile on
> Feb. 29 under pressure from armed rebels and the U.S.
> and French Governments.
>
> Officials involved in the Cabinet selection process
> said Mr. Latortue had decided on at least 10 Cabinet
> posts on Tuesday and might add others, depending on
> how many Ministries he creates. The Prime Minister is
> expected to make the formal appointments as early as
> Wednesday.
>
> The 10 Ministers selected so far, according to
> officials close to the selection process, are mostly
> technocrats who have not been deeply involved in
> politics; the exclusion of politicians has reportedly
> angered some of the country's political parties on
> Tuesday. Mr. Latortue has said he intends to build a
> government of national reconciliation. The Cabinet
> will run the country until elections are held.
>
> Diplomatic wrangling between Haiti's new government
> and Jamaica, which has provided temporary refuge to
> Mr. Aristide, continued on Tuesday. Mr. Aristide spent
> the day in a heavily guarded house in a retreat owned
> by the Jamaican Government in the hills near the
> resort town of Ocho Rios, and Jamaican officials said
> they would not recognise Haiti's new government until
> the issue was discussed at a meeting of the 15-member
> Caribbean economic bloc, the Caribbean Community,
> later this month.
>
> On Monday, Mr. Latortue said he was withdrawing his
> Ambassador from Kingston and suspending diplomatic
> relations with Jamaica and Caricom over their
> decisions to side with Mr. Aristide.
>
> The Haitian Ambassador had actually left Jamaica last
> week, part of a mass recall of Ambassadors undertaken
> after Mr. Aristide left Haiti, officials in Jamaica
> said.
>
> Since fleeing Haiti, Mr. Aristide has claimed that he
> was forced from power by a U.S.-backed coup and
> whisked into exile against his will.
>
> He says he is still president of Haiti. American
> officials deny the accusations and say they acted at
> Mr. Aristide's request and probably saved his life as
> rebels closed in on the capital.
>
> The Caribbean Community, known as Caricom, has called
> for an investigation into Mr. Aristide's claim.
>
> The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, who has grown
> increasingly hostile toward the United States in
> recent speeches, jumped into the regional diplomatic
> fray on Tuesday, saying he would not recognise the new
> Government of Haiti and offering Aristide refuge in
> Venezuela. - New York Times News Service
>
>
>
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