[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [SRRTAC-L:12995] RE: A "MODERN KIDNAPPING"---HAITI'S ARISTIDE ON CNN (USA) (fwd)

[Alfred Kagan]

>Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 01:59:52 -0600 (CST)
>From: Dale Wertz <dwertz at mc.net>
>To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l at ala.org>
>cc: PLGNet-L at listproc.sjsu.edu
>Subject: [SRRTAC-L:12995] RE: A "MODERN KIDNAPPING"---HAITI'S 
>ARISTIDE ON CNN (USA) (fwd)
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>	Passing this on as it was sent to me.  dw
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 08:53:40 -0600
>From: David Peterson <davidpet at mindspring.com>
>To: 'David Peterson' <davidpet at mindspring.com>
>Subject: RE: A "MODERN KIDNAPPING"---HAITI'S ARISTIDE ON CNN (USA)
>
>     ( * FYI: What follows are (a) a transcript of the relevant parts of
>CNN's original March 1 telephone interview with Haiti's ousted President
>Jean-Bertrand Aristide from the Central African Republic (i.e.,
>Transcript # 030100CN.V98), in which Aristide repeats the charge that he
>was forced out of Port-au-Prince early on the morning of Sunday,
>February 29 by U.S. military forces (i.e., "modern kidnapping");
>followed by (b) three subsequent instances of CNN's coverage of its this
>same interview as they've aired through the morning of the next day,
>March 2.  (See also "I was kidnapped," on the DEMOCRACY NOW! website, at
>http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/01/1521216 (March 1).)
>
>
>
>CNN
>SHOW: ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES 19:00
>March 1, 2004 Monday
>Transcript # 030100CN.V98
>HEADLINE: Interview With Jean-Bertrand Aristide; Eyeing Super Tuesday
>GUESTS: Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Drew Pinsky, Carolina Buia, Terry Holt
>BYLINE: Anderson Cooper, Lucia Newman, Candy Crowley, Kelly Wallace,
>Deborah Feyerick, Jeanne Meserve, Susan Candiotti, Kimberly Guilfoyle
>Newsom
>
>HIGHLIGHT: Interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Then, Senator John
>Kerry is focusing on the states with the closest races, with one eye on
>tomorrow's contests and the other on the long road ahead. Finally, John
>Edwards is vowing to remain in the race even if he loses every state
>tomorrow.
>
>(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
>
>ANDERSON COOPER, HOST (voice-over): Aristide's gone, but the chaos
>continues. Haitian rebels storm the capital, U.S. Marines guard the
>palace.
>
>........
>
>ANNOUNCER: Live, from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is
>ANDERSON COOPER 360.
>
>COOPER: Good evening. Welcome to 360.
>
>........
>
>But first, breaking news. Ousted leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide has said
>he is the victim of a coup d'etat in Haiti. He joins us now on the phone
>from the Central African Republic.
>
>Mr. Aristide, thank you for being with us. There have been some very
>strong allegations made by representatives of you. I want to try to get
>to the bottom of it. Are you alleging that you were kidnapped by the
>United States and sent to Africa?
>
>JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE, FMR. PRESIDENT, HAITI: As I said, I called this
>coup d'etat in a modern way, to have modern kidnapping. And the way I
>described what happened...
>
>COOPER: Who are you saying has kidnapped you?
>
>ARISTIDE: Forces in Haiti. They were not Haitian forces. They were
>(UNINTELLIGIBLE) and Americans and Haitians together, acting to surround
>the airport, my house, the palace. And then, despite of diplomatic
>conversations we had, despite of all we did in a diplomatic way to
>prevent them to organize that massacre which would lead to a bloodshed,
>we had to leave and spent 20 hours in an American plane. And not knowing
>where we were going with force, until they told us that 20 minutes
>before they landed in Central African Republic.
>
>COOPER: Mr. Aristide, Mr. Aristide, the night you left, you signed a
>document in which you said, "For that reason, tonight I am resigning in
>order to avoid a blood bath. I accept to leave with the hope there will
>be life and not death."
>
>This is a document you have signed. I have a copy of it here. Are you
>saying -- did you, in fact, sign this? And what does it mean?
>
>ARISTIDE: Well, I should see what they give to you, because these people
>lie. And when they lie, I need to see the paper before saying this is
>exactly what I wrote. And in what I wrote, I explained that if I am
>forced to leave to avoid bloodshed, of course I will leave to avoid
>bloodshed. But as I said, I should see the kind of paper they give to
>you, because they lied to me, and they may lie to you, too.
>
>COOPER: Well, I have it in French, the document. I could read it to you
>if you'd like, but it basically, says that "I took an oath to respect
>and have the constitution respected. This evening, February 28, I'm
>still determined to respect and have the constitution respected."
>
>It goes on. Are you saying that you wish you were still -- that if it
>was up to you, you would still be on the ground in Haiti, that you did
>not leave of your own free will?
>
>ARISTIDE: Exactly that.
>
>COOPER: I have a statement from Secretary of State Colin Powell, who
>earlier today said, in regards to you, he says, "He was not kidnapped.
>We did not force him on the airplane. He went on the airplane willingly.
>And that is the truth."
>
>Are you saying that Colin Powell is lying?
>
>ARISTIDE: He said what he wanted to say. And I told you the truth. If
>you pay attention to all what I described, you'd see the truth. You will
>see the huge difference between the two versions.
>
>COOPER: Are you going to seek refuge in the Central African Republic?
>
>ARISTIDE: Well, I am here. So far, I don't have contact with the highest
>authority in the country. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ministers to meet with me,
>and I'm very delighted the way they welcomed me here. But I need to have
>contact with him to know exactly what I should be doing.
>
>COOPER: Why did you go with the Marines? If you are saying you did not
>go of your own free will, you had your own security detail, quite an
>extensive security detail. I've seen it up close myself. Why did you
>leave?
>
>ARISTIDE: I made that point for you. I had 19 Americans providing
>security to the government, and that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). They were all
>told and forced to leave based on what (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on February 28.
>
>They were supposed to have the day after 18 of 25 American agents to
>reinforce (ph) them, based on an agreement which was signed with the
>Haitian government. They told me that night the U.S. prevented them to
>go to Haiti.
>
>So on the American side, as on the Haitian side, we all have the same
>picture. People, foreign people with arms in the streets in
>Port-au-Prince, surrounding the airport, the palace, my residence, and
>ready to attack, which would lead to the bloodshed. And we would have
>thousands of people killed.
>
>We couldn't let that happen. We had the responsibility to protect lives
>and not to let people kill thousands of people. When now you compare
>Haiti to what they told me before, they still continue to burn houses,
>my house, killing people, and waged what they intended to do.
>
>COOPER: Mr. Aristide, was your departure in the best interest of Haiti?
>
>ARISTIDE: Of course not, because no one should force an elected
>president to move in order to avoid bloodshed. Why they are still
>killing people, burning houses? And the contradiction in talking is very
>eloquent.
>
>COOPER: Mr. Aristide, I am having trouble reconciling the two
>statements, the statements that you have made and the statement the U.S.
>government has made through Secretary Colin Powell, who, again, has said
>that you were not kidnapped, that we, the United States, did not force
>you on to the airplane, that you went on to the airplane willingly. And
>they say that is the truth. You say -- your story is categorically the
>opposite of that.
>
>ARISTIDE: Of course, because I am telling you the truth.
>
>COOPER: Why do you believe the American government -- or why are you
>saying the American government is lying about this?
>
>ARISTIDE: You could ask them the same question, and you can find the
>answer of your question through the answers I cautiously shared with
>you.
>
>COOPER: We also want to welcome our international viewers. This is now
>being aired on CNN International.
>
>Mr. Aristide, I want to read a statement. The document I have, which is
>a signed document, it's in Creole with your signature on it, I'm going
>to read a translation to you. And I want you to tell me if this is the
>document that you signed.
>
>This is what I have as the translation from the original Creole:
>"Jean-Bertrand Aristide" -- it is the letterhead -- "February 7, 2001. I
>took an oath to respect and have the constitution respected. This
>evening, 28th of February, 2004, I am still determined to respect and
>have the constitution respected."
>
>"The constitution is the guarantee of life and peace. The constitution
>cannot be drowned in the blood of the Haitian people. For that reason,
>tonight, I am resigning in order to avoid a bloodbath."
>
>"I accept to leave with the hope that there will be life and not death.
>Life for everyone, death for no one, in respect for the constitution.
>And in the fact of respecting the constitution, Haiti will have life and
>peace. Thank you." With your signature.
>
>Did you, in fact, sign this document?
>
>ARISTIDE: No. That's not right. They took out the sentence where I said,
>"If I am obliged to leave in order to avoid bloodshed." They took that
>off the document. That's why they are lying to you by giving to you a
>false document.
>
>COOPER: Well, I'm reading from a translated document. We will have this
>-- we have the Creole document as well, that we will have it translated
>as well.
>
>ARISTIDE: Read the Creole. Please, please, please tell the truth. Read
>the Creole if you can, because they took off the Creole version, exactly
>what we refer to falsely use...
>
>COOPER: So you are saying on Saturday evening, Marines came to your
>compound. You did not know they were coming. What exactly happened?
>
>ARISTIDE: Should I say this story again and again? Because I think that
>I already answered that question.
>
>COOPER: I still am not clear, though. And we have many viewers who have
>just joined us from around the world. And it is still unclear.
>
>What did you say to them? Did you say, no, I do not want to go? No, I
>refuse to go? And did they force you into a vehicle? What happened?
>
>ARISTIDE: I will try to answer your question to help people to
>understand it, but I do believe if you refer to the document you just
>read, when I told you they refused to translate the central part of it,
>where I said, "If I am obliged to leave in order to avoid bloodshed."
>You see, they doctored (ph) the document you have, and the version which
>you have, because they don't want people to know the kind of forces
>which were used to make that coup.
>
>COOPER: Well, we can't make any sort of allegations. It is simply a
>translation of a document. The translation just could be incorrect. I
>don't really want to go down the road of saying that somebody has
>altered this document, because we don't know that.
>
>ARISTIDE: OK. They gave you a false document, obviously. When you have a
>false document in hand, you should not use it, because it is a false
>document.
>
>COOPER: But again, could you please try to explain what exactly went on?
>How was it that you were, in your words, kidnapped?
>
>ARISTIDE: OK. When I said that Friday night American military, foreign
>-- Saturday night, February 28, American military, foreign military,
>Haitian, well armed, accompanied those foreign forces, surround (ph) the
>airport, to the palace, my residence. Most of them were in the streets.
>
>And when I could see with my own eyes, it was when I was on my way to
>the airport and I saw them. The American plane who came straight -- we
>were in that American plane because Americans had the total control.
>
>When we spent 20 hours in that plane, without knowing where we go,
>without having the right to contact our people -- and the first lady is
>an American lady, she didn't have the right even to look through the
>windows. They told her, "You don't have that right."
>
>When we were (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the plane, we spent 20 hours on the plane.
>You can't imagine this kind of terrible situation. And that's why, again
>and again, I am telling the truth. I call it a coup d'etat in a modern
>way to have modern kidnapping.
>
>COOPER: And Mr. Aristide, you join us from the Central African Republic,
>where you are staying in the capital in Bangui. Apparently South Africa
>has said that they would counteroffering you entry to that country as
>well. Obviously, the future at this point is very unknown.
>
>We appreciate you joining us on CNN and CNN International. Thank you
>very much, Mr. Aristide.
>
>And again, the statement from Colin Powell earlier today at odds with
>what Mr. Aristide has just said. Secretary of State Colin Powell said,
>"He was not kidnapped. We did not force him on to the airplane. He went
>on to the airplane willingly. And that is the truth." Certainly in the
>coming days we'll be hearing more and more about this as the details
>emerge.
>
>Right now in Haiti, rebels are in the capital. Marines are trying to
>restore order.
>
>Let's go live to CNN's Lucia Newman, who is witnessing both the chaos
>and some celebration in the streets of Port-au-Prince -- Lucia.
>
>LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Anderson.
>
>Indeed, a day of deja vus here. Ten years after U.S. forces had come
>here to help restore President Aristide to power, they're here to try
>and restore order now without him. Also, back in this capital are the
>rebels, led by members of Haiti's former army, the military that had
>been disbanded. But they were out in force today.
>
>They came in here to the city in a kind of victory convoy, driving
>through the streets, stopping off at different police stations, while
>thousands and thousands of Haitians gave them -- embraced them and
>welcomed them back. They were led, of course, by Guy Philippe, a former
>police chief of Cap-Haitien, as well as Louis- Jodel Champlain, a former
>paramilitary and death squad leader.
>
>Now, they were very peaceful. Right in front of them, however, was the
>palace that was being guarded by the U.S. Marines. Thousands of people,
>in fact, encircled the palace, and there were some tense moments there.
>But they did not try to break in. Eventually, the rebels came up here to
>Petionville, where I'm speaking to you from, and celebrated in a posh
>hotel in this area.
>
>In the meantime, there was looting in the city at the port for the third
>consecutive day. But the Haitian police and the international forces
>were not there -- Anderson.
>
>COOPER: Still a chaotic situation and fast-moving events on the ground,
>and internationally now as well. Lucia Newman, thank you very much for
>that.
>
>Moving on now to politics here in America....
>
>........
>
>COMMERCIAL BREAK)
>
>COOPER: A lot of people like to watch us tonight. Before we get going, I
>just want to thank the Reverend Jesse Jackson for organizing the
>conversation we had with President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, an exclusive
>interview live from the Central African Republic from Bangui....
>
>........
>
>(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
>
>COOPER: Time now to check some of our top stories in the "Reset."
>Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Cheering crowds welcome heavily armed rebels
>entering the capital after the departure of President Jean-Bertrand
>Aristide. U.S. marines are there, too. The vanguard of the U.N.
>peacekeeping force. Aristide is in the Central African Republic where he
>has confirmed just moments ago that he's accusing the U.S. of forcing
>him to leave Haiti in a coup d'etat. The White House and State
>Department vehemently deny the charge....
>
>........
>
>
>
>CNN
>SHOW: PAULA ZAHN NOW 20:00
>March 1, 2004 Monday
>Transcript # 030100CN.V99
>HEADLINE: Are Americans Supersized?; Closing Arguments Begin in Martha
>Stewart Trial
>GUESTS: John Lewis, Michael Duffy, Jayne Weintraub, Elder Claude Bowen,
>Gregory Daniels, Warren Strain, Ron Walker, Andy Borowitz, Kim France
>BYLINE: David Ensor, Joe Klein, Victoria Clarke, Paula Zahn, Jeffrey
>Toobin
>
>........
>
>COMMERCIAL BREAK)
>
>ZAHN: United States Marines are now manning positions at the
>presidential palace in Haiti's capital. That is just one sign of the end
>of the line for president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He is now in exile in
>the Central African Republic, while Haitians celebrate his departure.
>
>Lucia Newman reports from Port-au-Prince.
>
>(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
>
>LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Haiti, scenes from the
>past. A decade after coming in to restore President Jean- Bertrand
>Aristide, the Marines are back to try and restore order without him. And
>then this, the triumphant entrance into the capital of rebels led by
>leaders of Haiti's disbanded Army.
>
>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today is liberation day for Haiti.
>
>NEWMAN: It was a victory celebration, thousands embracing the return of
>Guy Philippe, the former police chief who came back from exile to force
>Aristide from power.
>
>(on camera): If there was ever a demonstration of how quickly political
>passions can sway, it's this one. Some of the very same people who until
>recently were vowing to fight for the death for President Aristide are
>now welcoming back his arch enemies.
>
>(voice-over): At the general police headquarters, people hugged the
>deputy rebel chief, a notorious former paramilitary leader, sentenced in
>absentia to life in prison for mass murder.
>
>"Whatever the bad things from the past, 99 percent of the people here
>support us," said Louis Jodel Jamblane (ph).
>
>Across the street, nervous U.S. Marines stood guard at the front door of
>the presidential palace.
>
>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. forces are here to secure key sites in the
>Haitian capital around Port-au-Prince for the purpose of contributing to
>a more secure and stable environment and to help promote the
>constitutional, political process.
>
>NEWMAN: Next to the morgue, hearses lined up to take away bodies of more
>than a dozen people murdered overnight, many of them executed.
>
>"We blame President Bush for allowing all of this to happen. Getting rid
>of Aristide is not the solution," said this man, who told us supporters
>of the former president are terrified, a well-founded fear in a country
>where calls for peace and reconciliation have so often been silenced by
>guns.
>
>Lucia Newman, CNN, Port-au-Prince.
>
>(END VIDEOTAPE)
>
>ZAHN: And earlier tonight, in a CNN interview, President Aristide said
>he was the victim of a coup by the United States.
>
>(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
>
>JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE, FORMER HAITIAN PRESIDENT: They told me in a
>clear and blunt way that thousands of people will get killed once they
>start, so I have to do my best to avoid the bloodshed. They used force
>to push me out. That's why I call it again and again a coup d'etat, the
>modern way to have modern kidnapping.
>
>(END VIDEO CLIP)
>
>ZAHN: For reaction from Washington, we turn to national security
>correspondent David Ensor.
>
>Colin Powell didn't like what he heard, did he?
>
>DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: He did not, and nor
>did the other officials we've been speaking to in this building today,
>Paula. They just say that is an absolute falsehood, that is not what
>happened, that Jean-Bertrand Aristide left under his volition. Here's
>how the secretary put it.
>
>(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
>
>COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Allegations that somehow we kidnapped
>former President Aristide are absolutely baseless, absurd. And it's
>rather unfortunate that, in this sensitive time, when we're trying to
>stabilize the situation in Haiti and when we're sending in a
>multinational interim force to help bring about that stability, and
>we're trying to put a political process on track, I think it's very
>unfortunate that these kind of absurd charges are leveled at us.
>
>(END VIDEO CLIP)
>
>ENSOR: They're angry about the charges and also rather annoyed about the
>heavy coverage that they've gotten since that may endanger soldiers on
>the ground in Port-au-Prince, officials say, if some Haitians believe
>that the U.S. kidnapped Aristide, which it most certainly did not,
>officials say.
>
>And, in fact, some sources have given us access to copies of the letter
>that Aristide signed when he left. This is in Creole. But in
>translation, it says, part of it says -- quote -- "I am resigning in
>order to avoid a bloodbath." So, again, sources are showing us a signed
>letter from Aristide that he planned to leave of his own volition.
>
>Now, critics of the administration, like Senator Dodd of Connecticut,
>are saying, yes, I don't believe he was kidnapped, but I do believe he
>was forced out because the U.S. said they would not protect him. The
>administration says that that's quite true. We warned him we would not
>protect him. He needed to make a political deal with his opposition, if
>it could be done. If it could not be done, we were not going to spend
>American blood in order to save President Aristide -- Paula.
>
>ZAHN: But if Mr. Aristide signed this letter that you have a copy of in
>your hand, how can he make the claim he was kidnapped?
>
>ENSOR: Well, indeed.
>
>And one official here this evening said that, frankly, in the past,
>President Aristide has made comments which are erratic, unusual, to be
>polite, and they just think he's not all accurate, shall we say.
>
>ZAHN: Well, that's, I guess, a generous way, from their viewpoint, of
>stating that.
>
>David Ensor, thank you so much for that report.
>
>........
>
>
>CNN
>SHOW: CNN NEWSNIGHT AARON BROWN 22:00
>March 1, 2004 Monday 10:00 PM Eastern Time
>Transcript # 030100CN.V84
>HEADLINE: U.S. Marines Come to Haiti; Interim Constitution Agreed to in
>Iraq; Will Kerry Sweep on Super Tuesday?
>GUESTS: Tom Oliphant, Rob Christensen
>BYLINE: Aaron Brown, Lucia Newman, Jane Arraf, Candy Crowley; Susan
>Candiotti; Gary Tuchman, Allan Chernoff, Martin Savidge
>
>HIGHLIGHT: Rebels take capital in Haiti; looting continues in port.
>Then, interim constitution agreed to in Iraq. Finally, Kerry poised to
>sweep all 10 primaries on super Tuesday.
>
>AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again everyone.
>
>There probably was a time when Haiti was a happy place but not in a long
>time. Ruled by despots and death jobs, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was
>supposed to be a force for change for the good. Somehow it all went
>back.
>
>Be it through corruption or incompetence or subversion from the outside
>or a little bit of all of those, the former priest never lived up to his
>billing as the man who would lead his country out of misery.
>
>Tonight, he's gone amid questions about how he went. What remains is a
>country caught in the misery of poverty for most, greed for a few and
>much hopelessness. Haiti tops the program and begins the whip.
>
>CNN's Lucia Newman starts us off. She's on the videophone from
>Port-au-Prince, Lucia a headline tonight.
>
>LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A feeling of deju vu in this country
>today as the U.S. Marines again come to Haiti and so do members of
>Haiti's disbanded army, including a prominent death squad leader --
>Aaron.
>
>BROWN: Lucia, thank you. We'll get to you at the top.
>
>........
>
>We begin tonight with Haiti, which has a long troubled history of
>homegrown chaos and American intervention. Today, another chapter
>written, the president gone, U.S. Marines back taking up positions.
>
>We have two reports tonight, first, CNN's Lucia Newman.
>
>(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
>
>NEWMAN (voice-over): In Haiti, scenes from the past. A decade after
>coming into restore President Jean-Bertrand Aristide the Marines are
>back to try and restore order without him.
>
>And then this the triumphant entrance into the capital of rebels led by
>leaders in Haiti's disbanded army. It was a victory celebration,
>thousands embracing the return of Guy Phillipe, the former police chief
>who came back from exile to force Aristide from power.
>
>(on camera): If there was ever a demonstration of how quickly political
>passions can sway it's this one. Some of the very same people who until
>recently were vowing to fight to the death for President Aristide are
>now welcoming back his arch enemies.
>
>(voice-over): At the general police headquarters, people hugged the
>deputy rebel chief, a notorious former paramilitary leader sentenced in
>absentia to life in prison for mass murder.
>
>"Whatever the bad things from the past, 99 percent of the people here
>support us," said Louis Jodel Chamblain.
>
>Across the street, nervous U.S. Marines stood guard at the front door of
>the presidential palace.
>
>COL. DAVID BERGER, U.S. MARINE CONTINGENT CHIEF: The U.S. forces are
>here to secure key sites in the Haitian capital around Port-au- Prince
>for the purpose of contributing to a more secure and stable environment
>and to help promote the constitutional political process.
>
>NEWMAN: Next to morgue hearses lined up to take away bodies of more than
>a dozen people murdered overnight, many of them executed.
>
>"We blame President Bush for allowing all this to happen. Getting rid of
>Aristide is not the solution" said this man, who told us supporters of
>the former president are terrified a well-founded fear in a country
>where calls for peace and reconciliation have so often been silenced by
>guns.
>
>(END VIDEOTAPE)
>
>NEWMAN: Aaron, adding insult to injury, President Jean-Bertrand
>Aristide's house, his villa here in Port-au-Prince was looted and
>trashed. At the same time, there was continued looting at the Port-
>au-Prince port for the third day running. The police and the U.S.
>Marines were nowhere to be seen -- Aaron.
>
>BROWN: Lucia, what does this mean, if anything, to Haitians, to just the
>people of Haiti? How do their lives change because of this?
>
>NEWMAN: This means a lot of confusion for Haitians, although there's the
>hope that somehow normalcy can be returned, although this country really
>never has been normal, as you were saying at the beginning. It's the
>poorest country in the hemisphere.
>
>Basically, what most people say what we want to do is we want to eat. We
>want security. We want to live. We want our children to reach a ripe old
>age. That's what people really want and anybody who can give them that
>will be welcome.
>
>They had thought that President Aristide could achieve that for them but
>they're not so sure that necessarily the people who came to the town
>today will be able to do it either -- Aaron.
>
>BROWN: Lucia, thank you very much, Lucia Newman in Port-au- Prince, many
>uncertainties clearly on the ground tonight.
>
>While it's clear that President Aristide is gone the details of his
>departure remain somewhat in dispute. The former Haitian leader says he
>did not go willingly. Is this is a case of resignation remorse or
>something more sinister?
>
>He describes it as in effect a kidnapping which the White House called
>utter nonsense, which is not to say of course that the U.S. had no role
>in the end game.
>
>Here's our National Security Correspondent David Ensor.
>
>(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
>
>DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a
>bitter phone call with CNN from exile in Africa, the former Haitian
>president claimed he was hustled out of his country as part of what he
>called a coup d'etat involving he said American officials who lied to
>him.
>
>JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE, FORMER HAITIAN PRESIDENT: They told me
>(unintelligible) that thousands of people will get killed once they
>start. So, I had to do my best to avoid that bloodshed. They used talk
>to push me out. That's why I call it again and again a coup d'etat, the
>modern way to have modern kidnapping.
>
>COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The allegations that somehow we
>kidnapped former President Aristide are absolutely baseless, absurd.
>
>ENSOR: In fact, a senior State Department official said Aristide has a
>history of "unusual and erratic statements" and officials say while he
>may be having second thoughts now he left Haiti with 15 bodyguards of
>his own free will after requesting U.S. help to leave.
>
>He even signed this letter of resignation, made available to CNN by a
>source, in which he says: "I am resigning in order to avoid a
>bloodbath."
>
>POWELL: We did not force him onto the airplane. He went onto the
>airplane willingly and that's the truth.
>
>ENSOR: Aristide told CNN he and his wife were kept on a plane out of
>touch for nearly a full day and a night not told where they were going.
>
>ARISTIDE: We spent 20 hours in that plane. We stopped knowing where we
>go. We stopped having the right to contact our people.
>
>ENSOR: True said U.S. officials but that was because they could not
>officially find a country that would take him.
>
>POWELL: We went through about an hour and a half of difficult
>negotiations with various countries and with friends of ours to find
>alternative locations that he might go to while the plane was in the
>air.
>
>ENSOR: Some critics and other Caribbean governments charge even if the
>Bush administration did not kidnap Aristide it left him with no choice
>but to leave sending a disturbing message to other democratically
>elected leaders.
>
>SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: The fact of the matter is we
>said to President Aristide, look, you can stay and be killed or you can
>leave. You make the choice. That's hardly a voluntary departure.
>
>ENSOR (on camera): The critics say by refusing to protect Aristide, the
>U.S. becomes at least partly responsible for what follows. It must now
>undertake nation building in Haiti they say and should be rightly
>condemned if it gives up too soon.
>
>David Ensor CNN, the State Department.
>
>(END VIDEOTAPE)
>
>........
>
>
>CNN
>SHOW: CNN DAYBREAK 05:00
>March 2, 2004 Tuesday 5:00 AM Eastern Time
>Transcript # 030201CN.V73
>HEADLINE: Multiple Blasts in Baghdad, Karbala; 10 States Hold Primaries
>or Caucuses
>BYLINE: Carol Lin, Jane Arraf, Candy Crowley, Brent Sadler, David Ensor
>
>HIGHLIGHT: Arraf reports on the breaking news of an explosion in
>Karbala. Crowley examines the race for the Democratic presidential
>nomination as Super Tuesday dawns. Sadler reports live from the scene of
>the explosion in Karbala. Ensor reports on the allegations by former
>Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide that he was forced to leave
>Haiti by the U.S.
>
>........
>
>(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
>
>CAROL LIN (CNN ANCHOR): It's about quarter past the hour and here's a
>quick look at our top stories in the DAYBREAK early briefing.
>
>Several deadly explosions in Iraq today have killed at least 100 people.
>Blasts in Baghdad and Karbala targeted the observance of a major Shiite
>Muslim holiday that had been banned for 30 years by Saddam Hussein.
>
>Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide claims the United States
>forced him to leave office and the country. The White House denies the
>allegation.
>
>The judge in the Kobe Bryant case has postponed today's expected
>testimony from Bryant's accuser. She may appear later this month.
>
>We update the top stories every 15 minutes and our next update is at
>5:30 Eastern.
>
>In the meantime, we want to go to the crisis in Haiti now and
>accusations by ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of U.S.
>skullduggery. Well, in his letter of resignation provided to the news
>media, Aristide wrote that he was resigning, quoting here, "in order to
>avoid a bloodbath." But Aristide tells CNN the letter he signed omitted
>a key phrase that read, "I am obliged to leave in order to avoid a
>bloodbath."
>
>The bottom line is Jean-Bertrand Aristide is making these claims and the
>U.S. says it's nonsense, he signed a piece of paper that explained why
>he was leaving. Anyway, the White House is calling the accusations that
>it orchestrated the forced Haitian leader out ridiculous, nonsense.
>
>More on this controversy now from our David Ensor.
>
>(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
>
>DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a bitter phone call with
>CNN from exile in Africa, the former Haitian president claimed he was
>hustled out of his country as part of what he called a coup d'etat,
>involving, he said, American officials who lied to him.
>
>JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE, FORMER HAITIAN PRESIDENT: They told me in a
>clear and blunt way that thousands of people will get killed once they
>start. So I had to do my best to avoid that bloodshed. They used force
>to push me out. That's why I call it again and again a coup d'etat, a
>modern way to have a modern kidnapping.
>
>COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The allegations that somehow we
>kidnapped former President Aristide are absolutely baseless, absurd.
>
>ENSOR: In fact, a senior State Department official said Aristide has a
>history of "unusual and erratic statements" and officials say while he
>may be having second thoughts now, he left Haiti with 15 bodyguards of
>his own free will after requesting U.S. help to leave. He even signed
>this letter of resignation, made available to CNN by a source, in which
>he says, "I am resigning in order to avoid a bloodbath."
>
>POWELL: We did not force him onto the airplane. He went onto the
>airplane willingly and that's the truth.
>
>ENSOR: Aristide told CNN he and his wife were kept on a plane out of
>touch for nearly a full day and a night, not told where they were going.
>
>ARISTIDE: We spent 20 hours in that plane without knowing where we go,
>without having the right to contact our people.
>
>ENSOR: True, say U.S. officials, but that was because they could not
>officially find a country that would take him.
>
>POWELL: We went through about an hour and a half of difficult
>negotiations with various countries and with friends of ours to find
>alternative locations that he might go to while the plane was in the
>air.
>
>ENSOR: Some critics and other Caribbean governments charge even if the
>Bush administration did not kidnap Aristide, it left him with no choice
>but to leave, sending a disturbing message to other democratically
>elected leaders.
>
>SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: The fact of the matter is we said to
>President Aristide, look, you can stay and be killed or you can leave --
>you make the choice. That's hardly a voluntary departure.
>
>ENSOR (on camera): The critics say by refusing to protect Aristide, the
>U.S. becomes at least partly responsible for what follows. It must now
>undertake nation building in Haiti, they say, and should be rightly
>condemned if it gives up too soon.
>
>David Ensor, CNN, the State Department.
>
>(END VIDEOTAPE)
>
>........
>
>
>


-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu