Aristide travelling to Jamaica

Ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is today expected leave Central African Republic on a long-haul flight to Jamaica, returning to the Caribbean for the first time since fleeing into exile weeks ago.

A five-member delegation of American and Jamaican officials left the Miami, Florida, late yesterday on a chartered Gulfstream jet that will retrieve Aristide and reunite him with his family in Jamaica tomorrow.

The plane is due at Bangui’s international airport, said Foreign Minister Charles Wenezoui.

Asked if Aristide would later return to Central African Republic, where he has been since March 1, Wenezoui said: “No, he’s leaving. But if he expresses the need to return here, the government will see what it can do.”

Delegation members flying to Bangui include US Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who said yesterday that bringing Aristide to Jamaica was not an attempt for the former leader to regain power in Haiti.

She called their mission “humanitarian”.

Aristide fled Haiti on February 29 as Haitian rebels were closing in on the capital, Port-au-Prince. He arrived in Bangui where he has been staying in a presidential palace apartment.

Aristide will leave Bangui with those he brought with him – his wife Mildred, two bodyguards and a brother-in-law.

In Jamaica, he will be reunited with his two young daughters, who had been sent to New York City for their safety.

Sharon Hay-Webster, a representative of the Caribbean Community who is also travelling on the jet to Bangui, said Aristide would spend up to 10 weeks in Jamaica and would stay out of politics.

“Jamaica is acting as host in response to Mr. Aristide’s request,” Hay-Webster said before boarding the plane in Miami.

She said Jamaica would provide a “secure and safe” location for Aristide to reunite with his family.

Haiti’s new prime minister, Gerard Latortue, has warned Aristide’s return to the region would increase tension in Haiti.

Aristide claims he is still the legitimate leader of Haiti, and accuses the US government of forcing him from office.

US officials say Aristide asked for help and that they saved his life by arranging his departure aboard a US-chartered aircraft during a bloody rebellion.