23550: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Aristide blames interim leader for outbreak of deadly vi (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Oct. 21, 2004


HAITI
Aristide blames interim leader for outbreak of deadly violence

BY MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY
mottey@herald.com

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Wednesday said the
interim Haitian government is to blame for recent violence that has claimed
more than 50 lives since late last month.

In a statement issued from South Africa, where he lives in exile, Aristide
said interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue was trying to shift blame to
cover up his own failures.

Aristide said Latortue ''crossed the line'' by sending police to take on
demonstrators.

''He unleashed a new torrent of repression in Haiti and is now looking for a
scapegoat,'' Aristide said, days after Latortue accused the ousted president
of directing his supporters in Haiti to wreak havoc in the streets through
violence.

Since a demonstration on Sept. 30, 55 people have been killed, according to
The Associated Press, and hundreds more wounded. There was more violence in
the streets of Port-au-Prince, the capital, on Wednesday, with shots fired,
the AP reported.

Aristide's comments were his most extensive on Haiti since May 31, when he
arrived in South Africa after stops in the Central African Republic and
Jamaica. He left Haiti on Feb. 29 and has accused the United States and
France of kidnapping him, a charge both countries deny.

Latortue drove a deeper wedge between Haiti and South Africa after he
accused President Thabo Mbeki of allowing Aristide to incite violence from
exile. South African officials said Latortue had no proof that Aristide was
involved in the latest violence in Haiti and took offense at the
allegations.

''The South African government rejects with contempt the attack on the
integrity of President Mbeki and dismisses the insinuation that its
territory is being used as a springboard by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
to destabilize Haiti through violent means,'' Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz
Pahad said Wednesday.

In his statement, Aristide said Latortue was ``attempting to bury
self-incriminating statements with lies.''

He added: ``Latortue, stop the lying, stop the killings. True dialogue is
the only solution . . . Let us work to bring a tumultuous bicentennial year
to a close with a lasting political solution that is imperative to the
future of our nation.''

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