By Garwin Davis, Assistant News EditorCLOSE FRIENDS of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the deposed Haitian president, say that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders should help him to find a permanent home in the region and should not allow themselves to be bullied by powerful external forces.
They see as 'very disappointing', the unwillingness of CARICOM heads to come out with a definitive statement that Aristide 'is welcome to stay anywhere in the region if he so chooses.'
"The way some people are behaving... the statements that are being made... one would think Mr. Aristide has the plague or some kind of sickness," notes Hazel Robinson, a close friend of Mr. Aristide and wife of author and prominent black activist Randall Robinson. "France was quick to grant asylum to 'Baby Doc' Duvalier and Biamby while Canada was quick to accommodate Cedras... all known criminals and convicts. Why is Mr. Aristide, the twice and only democratically elected leader of Haiti, being treated differently?"
The New York-based human rights group, Human Rights Watch, recently published a list of 'torturers living in comfortable exile' and who should face justice. The list includes Generals Raoul Cedras and Philippe Biamby of Haiti, Emmanuel 'Toto' Constant, the leader of Haiti's 'FRAPH' death squad, now in New York, and Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier, former Haitian President.
Mr. Aristide who fled to the Central African Republic, after resigning on February 29, is set to arrive in Jamaica this week according to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson. Speculations are that he will arrive here today.
Aristide had said that he was abducted by United States government personnel and forced to leave Haiti, a charge Washington has denied.
Prime Minister Patterson said last week that, at Aristide's request, arrangements were being made for his travel and accommodation in Jamaica for eight to 10 weeks to reunite with his children.
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), however, is of the view that accommodating Aristide here is setting Jamaica up to be a part of Haiti's internal squabbling. The United States is also concerned about Aristide's visit.
"Not a good idea," said U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on the CBS news programme 'Meet the Press' yesterday. "There is a new Presi-dent and a new Prime Minister in Haiti... they should be given the opportunity to bring back stability to that country."
But it is statements like these which have irked Mrs. Robinson. "Everybody has to be very cautious...nobody wants to offend anybody," she said. "What we have here is CARICOM leaders being deftly afraid to offend the super powers. If we can't stand up for democracy... for principle... what is it that we are going to stand up for? What we have going on here... and by design... is a divide-and-rule sort of thing. The United States, by its action, has not only destabilised Haiti but is now threatening to destabilise the region," she said.
Delano Franklyn, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told The Gleaner on Friday that he had no knowledge of whether Mr. Aristide had approached any individual Caribbean nation for asylum.
"I know he has not approached us," he said.
