[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [SRRTAC-L:13007] RE: A "MODERN
KIDNAPPING"---HAITI'S ARISTIDE ON CNN (USA)
Alfred Kagan
akagan at uiuc.edu
Wed Mar 3 16:25:19 CST 2004
>Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2004 13:44:05 -0800
>Subject: [SRRTAC-L:13007] RE: A "MODERN KIDNAPPING"---HAITI'S ARISTIDE
> ON CNN (USA)
>From: Noel Peattie <nrpeattie at earthlink.net>
>To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l at ala.org>
>X-MailScanner: Found to be clean, Found to be clean
>Reply-To: srrtac-l at ala.org
>Sender: owner-srrtac-l at ala.org
>X-MailScanner-Information: Please contact the ISP for more information
>
>A few titles on Haiti, everyone should have.
>
>Aristide, Jean-Bertrand.
>In the parish of the poor; writings from Haiti. Translated and edited by
>Amy Wilentz. Maryknoll, NY, Orbis Books, 1991, c1990.
>
>Farmer, Paul Edward, 1959-
>The uses of Haiti. Monroe, ME, Common Courage Press, 1994.
>
>The Haiti files; decoding the crisis. Edited by James Ridgeway.
>Washington, DC, Essential Books/Azul Editions, 1994.
>
>Richardson, Laurie.
>Feeding dependency, starving democracy: USAID policies in Haiti. A report
>from Grassroots International. Boston, MA, Grassroots International, 1997
>
>These are from cards in the Davis, CA, Friends Meeting. See how much fun
>this is? - Noel Peattie.
>
>> From: Dale Wertz <dwertz at mc.net>
>> Reply-To: srrtac-l at ala.org
>> Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 01:59:52 -0600 (CST)
>> 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)
>>
>> 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
More information about the Peace-discuss
mailing list