Aristide heads back to Caribbean

Haitian police arrested supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, launching the crackdown as the ousted leader flew back to the Caribbean on a private jet from exile in Africa.

Officials detained at least six Aristide partisans for suspected involvement in criminal activities, opposition politician Evans Paul said.

A police log book showed that among them were Harold Severe, a former deputy mayor of Port-au-Prince, and Jacques Nazaire, a former security chief at the National Palace.

Police said they and others were detained at the station in suburban Petionville and then transferred elsewhere.

Aristide’s decision to head to the region has increased tensions in Haiti, where his followers plan more protests to demand the return of Haiti’s first democratically elected leader.

Aristide was expected to arrive for a temporary respite in Jamaica this afternoon, according to officials there to be reunited with his two daughters while he seeks permanent asylum in a third country.

But the Haitian leader indicated he had not abandoned his desire to return to govern Haiti.

“For the time being, I’m listening to my people,” Aristide said before boarding the plane in Central African Republic. “The more we listen to them, the more we serve them, the more we will know what to do at the right time.

“We all have to do what we can to promote peace.”

US and French troops are helping to restore order in Haiti, and an interim prime minister is working to set up a transitional government under a US-backed plan.

Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has warned Aristide’s return to the region could threaten a fragile stability.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told CNN television that “the hope is that he will not come back into the hemisphere and complicate the situation”.

Aristide was scheduled to stay eight to 10 weeks in Jamaica.

Jamaican officials said Aristide had been warned not to use the visit to promote his campaign to return to Haiti. The temporary asylum was offered to reunite Aristide with his family.