Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Haiti: Aristide is preparing return home

After "Baby Doc" is preparing another ex-president before his return to Haiti: The authorities in the Caribbean region the exiled Jean-Bertrand Aristide from a diplomatic passport. He had been chased from office in 2004. Port-au-Prince - Jean-Bertrand Aristide has appointed a lawyer in preparing his return to Haiti.

And just this lawyer, Ira Kurzban, will now have already received a diplomatic passport for the former president, told the authorities in Port-au-Prince. The Miami-based lawyer, said although he knew nothing about the issue of a passport. When asked about the possibility of Aristide's early return from his South African exile Kurzban said however: "I think we are getting closer, but we are not yet at the point." Kurzban had recently traveled to Port-au-Prince and will travel again in the coming days in the Haitian capital.


A date would not call it. The Haitian government had said last week that it would comply with Aristide's request for a passport. The former head of state among the poorest in the country still enjoys great popularity, had expressed his desire for a mid-January return from the South African exile.

He was given medical reasons and also expressed a desire to help his people "as a simple citizen in education". In mid-January, the former Haitian dictator was already Jean-Claude Duvalier, known as "Baby Doc" after 25 years, returned from exile in France. He had taken over in 1971 as a 19-year-old power from his father and ruled the country until 1986 with a heavy hand.

Aristide was under Duvalier's rule in the opposition. The former priest was first elected president in 1990 and eight months later overthrown in a military coup. In 1994 he was a U.S. military intervention using to power again, leaving the government in 1996 to the current president, René Préval.

In January 2000, Aristide was again elected president, but in 2004, under threat of military force and by international pressure - particularly from the United States and France - fell. Préval renewed his term of office is going through a political crisis in Haiti. After the first round of the presidential election in November for weeks there was dispute about the result.

A few days ago, gave the Election Commission announced the official results, after which the former First Lady Mirland Manigat and the popular singer Michel Martelly in the runoff election on 20 March face. The government candidate Jew Célestin was so out of the race. Due to delays in the electoral process extended the current President Préval's term, which was to expire on Monday.

Front of the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince on Monday called for some 200 protesters are privy Préval. Some protesters threw stones at security forces. The police used tear gas to auseinderzutreiben the demonstrators.

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