Lawyer says US is Preventing Aristide from Returning to Haiti before Election

From [HERE] and [HERE] PORT AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Three weeks after the Haitian government gave a diplomatic passport to Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the country’s exiled former president, his planned return appears to have stalled amid unresolved security and logistical concerns.

Mr. Aristide’s longtime lawyer, Ira Kurzban of Miami, accused the United States and France of interfering with his client’s efforts to go home, while in Port-au-Prince, the mood at Mr. Aristide’s refurbished residence has been dampened.

On February 24 American actor Danny Glover, Reverend Jesse Jackson, African-American lawyer and author Randall Robinson, as well as several prominent figures from the American anti-apartheid movement, addressed an appeal to South African President Jacob Zuma, regarding the return of Aristide.

"Many in Haiti have been greatly inspired by the news of the issuance of president Aristide's passport, some even travelling miles to the airport to greet his return," they wrote in the appeal. "Any delay to the Aristides' prompt travel to Haiti would be yet another disappointment to a people that have already experienced a long list of tragedies, disasters and heartbreak," runs a portion of the appeal.

A diplomatic passport was handed to Aristide's lawyer, Ira Kurzban, on February 7. In January Aristide expressed his readiness to return: "Today, tomorrow, at any time."

The US government, however, has made no secret of its opposition to Aristide's intended return. During a February 9 press briefing, US assistant secretary of state for public affairs, Philip Crowley, was tackled on the issue of Aristide's return:

Asked: "Are you discouraging him from returning? Is he a prisoner of South Africa?" Crowley replied: "We would be concerned that if former president Aristide returned to Haiti before the election, it would prove to be an unfortunate distraction. The people of Haiti should be evaluating the two candidates that will participate in the run-off." 

Wikileaks cables

Mark Weisbrot, the co-director of the Centre for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, said that the apparent pressure on Pretoria in regard to Aristide's return was underscored by a series of Wikileaks cables, one of which suggests that the South African government has been under pressure from Brazil to curtail Aristide's activities, and several others that indicate that Brazil has in turn been under much pressure from the US about Haiti, particularly in regard to maintaining its role as head of the United Nation's "stabilisation" mission there.

The South African department of international relations and cooperation has denied any co-option on the Aristide matter, however. "Aristide has asked to go back home; we've agreed with him. We are consulting all the role-players to work out the ideal conditions for him to go back. We can't keep him here against his will," said International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. 

The department would not confirm or deny the belief of a number of civil society organisations that Aristide is being held back until after the March 20 elections at the US's behest. 

The US government, with Brazil, which leads the UN peacekeeping force there, has been criticised for massaging Haiti's electoral process. Aristide's party, Fanmi Lavalas, was excluded from participation in the November 28 2010 elections by the electoral council. The results of the election were then modified according to the findings of a report made by an Organisation of American States Expert Verification Mission, perceived by many as Washington-controlled. 

A letter to the Foreign Ministry from Mr. Kurzban requesting that Haiti work with South Africa to ensure Mr. Aristide’s return has received no response. And last Thursday and Friday, several Haitian officials either refused to talk about Mr. Aristide or insisted that other issues were more important.

“This country needs to be rebuilt and that needs to be the priority right now,” said Alice Blanchet, a special advisor to Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.