Aristide's Caribbean Trip Causes Concern
Some Worry Arrival May Spark Violence
POSTED: Monday, March 15,
UPDATED: 7:07 am EST March 15,
2004
MIAMI -- Ousted Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide is scheduled to land in Jamaica later today.
Late Sunday he boarded a flight out of the Central African Republic where he has been staying since fleeing Haiti. He's returning to the Caribbean to be reunited with his daughters, and that is not going over well with Haitian or U.S. officials who think his return to Carribean will spark more violence. Many Aristide supporters plan more protests today in Haiti to demand his return.
Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has warned that Aristide's return to the Caribbean could threaten a fragile stability. Latortue is expected to name the new members of his cabinet later today. Under a U.S. backed plan, he is to form a transitional government that unites former enemies from Aristide's party and opposition coalition members.
French troops are now patrolling a slum where U.S. Marines killed at least two people this weekend after they claim they came under fire. Angry residents in that area resent U.S. troops because they believe Aristide's claims that the U.S. government forced him from office. The White House has repeatedly denied those claims.
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