NEWS: Aristide Claims Abducted By U.S.

Haitian president in exile, Aristide just claimed he was forced out against his will by the U.S. goverment, telling this by phone from his temporary exile in the Central African Republic. He did this towards the news channel CNN and sympathetic U.S. lawmakers. Aristide calls it kidnapping and a "coup d'etat". The U.S. goverment denies and calls it "absolute nonsense".

www.reuters.com
Quotes:
"No one should force an elected president to move in order to avoid bloodshed while they are still killing people,"
"The Bush administration denied the charges."
"He was taken by force from his residence in the middle of the night, forced on to a plane, and taken away without being told where he was going. He was kidnapped. There's no question about it," Robinson said. "The president asked me to tell the world that it is a coup, that they have been kidnapped. That they have been abducted."
"He did not resign. He said he was forced out," Waters told "Democracy Now!." "He said it over and over again, that he was kidnapped, that the coup was completed by the Americans, that they forced him out."
"Powell said U.S. authorities did not force Aristide onto the leased plane, that he went willingly and was not kidnapped. He expressed irritation at members of Congress claiming otherwise."


Links to other related news:
-Link to CNN story:
www.cnn.com...
-Link to BBC story:
news.bbc.co.uk...
+Links to BBC EXTRA articles:
Q&A: Crisis in Haiti
news.bbc.co.uk...
Analysis: Unease over Aristide fall
news.bbc.co.uk...
-Link to Scotsman.com story:
news.scotsman.com...

Related ATSNN Articles:
- U.S implicated in Haiti debacle (INTERESTING)
www.atsnn.com...
- Aristide Out; U.S. Marines In
www.atsnn.com...


Man that was a bad phoneline... Looks like an interesting development in Bush's dirty presidency.
But is it true? Hmm, I don't know yet, could be he's just really pissed off at the U.S. for not helping him out this time. I think, I'm being reminded of the Chavez coup attempt in 2002.

I am waiting for further developments.





[Edited on 4-3-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

Yeah, umm, i believe Aristide...whats with Bush and making leaders leave their countries?

Taking somebody against their will is kidnapping. I imagine this is what happened and Aristide is telling the truth.

it is strange how Aristide just up and left, especially since he was so adamant about remaining in office. see link;

Aristide Says He's Ready to Die to Defend Haiti; U.S. Urges Americans to Leave the Country

Why was aristide forced out anyways?

[Edited on 1-3-2004 by T-B0]

Posted some further developments on the next page, didn't want to make a new topic.


[Edited on 4-3-2004 by Hoaks]

Damned if ya do, Damned if ya don't. The same folks that pillory the US for going in would excoriate the US for staying out

So I have to wonder, what would he have to gain, by making such a claim.

His country was already in chaos and lawlessness.

If he is right, what does he have to lose, or stand to gain.

I cant see much of anything either way.

I lean toward believing him for the moment based on current news.

All I know is, if he stayed he WAS going to DIE. PEROID

Originally posted by smirkley
So I have to wonder, what would he have to gain, by making such a claim.

His country was already in chaos and lawlessness.

If he is right, what does he have to lose, or stand to gain.

I cant see much of anything either way.

I lean toward believing him for the moment based on current news.

This guy has slipped out of the noose many times. He has every reason to lie because he believes this is just another in series of setbacks and when order is restored his power will be too. The sad thing is, bloody as they are, his hands are the cleanest . Haiti is a deforested, erodedl, corrupt, and violent cesspool of doom. It can't be ignored but what are ya gonna do?

I'm sure the US pushed and prodded him to leave. But I doubt he left with a Marine's gun to his head. He had enough rebel one's pointed at it.

Look at where Hati is in the first place it is right off the coast of florida. The U.S. of course has gotta have a puppet government set up there, they put Aristide back in power in the first place. Maybe Mr. Insane Bush is wanting a foothold next to cuba since he is so obsessed with regime change. All he's gotta wait for next is for Castro to kick the bucket, then hello Haiti and Cuba the 51st and 52nd state?

I saw Powell on C-span a few hours ago talking about this. The US has been in contact w/ Aristade, him and his cabinet were concerned w/ their safety and didn't think they had enough security.. He [Powell] said Aristade left w/ US reps. around 6am, sunday morning. His security force and family was with him. When the plane left they didn't even know the location yet as the US was trying to find him a spot. Powell denied all of the kidnapping allegations saying they were baseless.

- The US and France both agreed that Aristide should leave (Is that not amazing?!?! The US and France agreed on something!)
- The rebels approaching the capital would have kill Aristide; he's lucky to be alive
- The US/France/etc probably did push him to leave because they didn't want to support him if he stayed.



[Edited on 1-3-2004 by Bob88]

Originally posted by SpittinCobra
All I know is, if he stayed he WAS going to DIE. PEROID

Exactly. I do indeed believe that US 'agents' showed up (with marines in tow for their own protection), and I do believe that they told him he was going to die if he didn't leave. I think the missing info here is that it wasn't they who were going to kill him, but his nation full of PO'ed Hatians who were moving on him at that very moment. I find it infinitely more likely that we came up and offered him an 'out' that would end up with both he and his family living, rather than hanging from a tree like Mousollini. When presented with these options, I'd say it became pretty clear which was the wiser choice.

Insofar as the accusations of kidnapping, I believe that's just a pathetic attempt at revenge on the US for not stepping in and supporting him. He did go to the airport under his own security, and as Colin Powell commented "there was no gun to his head" making him get on the plane.

I also find it kinda funny that once they got him up in the air, they had to find another country to host him. "Noooope! Don't want you here!"

I think most US citizens vastly underestimate the popularity of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in his country. Many of us remember that the Clinton administration restored Aristide but few seem to know why.

This isn't the first US sponsored coup d'etat against Aristide. He was ousted before by CIA asset General Raoul Cedras. Cedras' military dictatorship was so unpopular, and his people were such psychotic butchers that the situation became an embarassment to the US. The vast majority of Haitians have continually supported Aristide. In the previous coup some of the Cedras supporters wanted to murder Aristide but decided against it, apparently because he was too popular and the nation would have become ungovernable.

The people now replacing Aristide's government seem to be involved in narco trafficking. If US citizens did a little research into our past Haitian "interventions" I think they be suprised what they find.

I think if justice is to be served properly on this kidnapping, the U.S. has every obligation to answer the charges by providing a free flight back to Port au prince for Aristide as soon as possible.

Aristide is a little weasle of a man. Just to watch how fake and contemptuous he is toward commoners and his contemporaries is to see what a coward he must be.

He's got some serious emotional baggage left over from childhood that he still needs to deal with. Just because he's of above average intelligence and an eloquent speaker, he was able to dupe those poor people into believing he was a real leader.

What a coward.

DeltaChaos

Officials in the Central African Republic have told Aristide to take a chill pill, stop making accusations against the U.S.A and to hurry up and move on to his final destination. Central African Repulic doesn't want to jeopardize its relationship with the US.

Aristide's Claims That He Was Forced From Power in Haiti Cause Problems With His African Host

Why exactly would he lie about U.S. involvement? It only hurts him if it's untrue (hell, even if it's true).

Condorcet, Aristide also has connections to the drug trade.

Something better suited for the mudpit:
I also think it's amazing to see crap like this: www.philly.com...

That's just a long line of people who claim Aristide was 'democratically elected' riiiiigghht. Just like Saddam. YET don't think Bush was. It is after all election season, what do I expect?



[Edited on 2-3-2004 by Bob88]