Was Jean Bertrand Aristide kidnapped by the US?

[theyeti]

Aristide is the ousted leader of Haiti who is now in exile in the Central African Republic.

He claims that his removal from power was anything but willing - that the US military forced him on to a plane, refused to tell him where it was headed until 20 minutes before landing, and denied him even a phone call. He claims his letter of resignation was altered.

Here's a list of articles from Google news (http://news.google.com/news?q=aristide+kidnap&num=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&edition=us&filter=0).

Here's Aristide's interview with Lou Dobbs of CNN. (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/03/01/cnna.aristide/index.html) Beware that he doesn't speak awesome English, so it's a tad confusing. Nevertheless, I don't think he was kidnapped by force - no one put a gun to his head and said get on the plane, or else. But it wasn't entirely willing.

Whatever's going on, there's something we don't know about. If we did "forcefully encourage" him to leave, why? If not, why is Aristide making these accusations?

I tried to find a good article from Haiti, but that appears to be useless. The first one I saw was titled, "Aristide: Super-Liar." Doesn't sound like he has many friends there...

[jamesglewisf]

It doesn't seem likely that he was kidnapped. I'm more inclined to believe the US military than a guy whose country was being overrun by rebels.

Wasn't Aristide pretty awful?

[Alec]

No. Apparently, he's on vacation.Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said yesterday the letter he signed before his departure on Sunday was not a "formal resignation" and he plans to return to his country soon.

U.S. officials, however, urged Haiti and the international community to focus on "moving forward." While they noted that only the Haitian people can choose their leaders, officials said Mr. Aristide has proven incapable of good governance.

They also said it was clear from his letter that he was stepping down and leaving the country voluntarily to prevent further bloodshed.

"The fact remains that Mr. Aristide resigned for the best interests of Haiti and the Haitian people, and he did so freely and of his own accord," said National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack.http://www.washtimes.com/world/20040304-114549-5318r.htm

[theyeti]

Apparently there's different versions of this resignation letter depending on who you ask... the logical conclusion is that it's quite possible there was more than one.

And it's not like the US military has never lied to us before, so who knows.

Yes, Aristide was pretty awful, if you ask the right people. Some people believe he did a lot of good. After all, he was elected by the people, and he raised the minimum wage and some other things - it's just that he did so corruptly.

Edit: Der! I can't believe I didn't think about this yet: If Aristide left under his own power, why would he go to the CAR instead of South Africa??

Here's a column (http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20040304T190000-0500_56608_OBS_POOR_HAITI___POOR_ARISTIDE___POOR_ALL_OF_US.asp) from Jamaica with their take (the first half is about Aristide, the last part has nothing to do with it). Even if you don't agree, it's worth a read because while it's not in Spanish, you could definitely say it's in Jamaican ;)

[jamesglewisf]

His bodyguard says he wasn't kidnapped. http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040306-125636-3574r.htm"We left with him; (but) I won't talk about where we went," Refinger said Friday. "We escorted him safely out.

"Everything was done with the full knowledge and cooperation of the president. There was no forcing the president to go anywhere. We protected our principal without a shot fired and he is safe."

Refinger works for Steele Foundation, a global security firm based in San Francisco.

[theyeti]

Uh, wait a sec... that's basically the whole article, and his quotes aren't exactly a ringing endorsement. Plus based on the fact that he's employed in the US, it probably wouldn't be smart of him career-wise to say anything to the contrary...

[Lisa]

Yes - he was kidnapped. It's all part of a larger conspiracy to overthrow the world! ;)

LOL
Lisa

[theyeti]

Well, overthrowing the world is a bit too far. A conspiracy is nothing more than a clever plot kept on the downlow. If we did play a role, this certainly fits the billing.

Having him out of Haiti makes the situation there better, which in turn makes pressure on the US government to send help decline. Of course, now we have sent help - a few marines, and they've shot demonstrators... great PR, huh?

[theyeti]

Now Nigeria is offerering Aristide asylum at the request of 15 Caribbean nations who, I guess, think he has BO or something and really don't want him...

Human Rights Watch is saying that the interim PM is detaining former Aristide officials and journalists who supported him. Amnesty Intl. agrees.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NIGERIA_ARISTIDE?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME

EDIT - Just as I was about to say "no wonder I can't find any stories supporting the guy!".... check this out: From Venezuela. (http://www.petroleumworld.com/SDY032104.htm) I'll have to read it more in-depth later.

[theyeti]

Now the Caribbean Bloc is refusing to acknowledge the US-controlled temporary government in Haiti. Gee.