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Oust
ed Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide yesterday insisted he
was still the leader of the Caribbean island state, in his first
public appearance since fleeing to the Central African Republic
last week.
"I am and I remain the elected president, and it's in the name of
those who elected me that I plead for the restoration of
constitutional order," he told reporters and Central African
officials gathered at the foreign ministry.
He called for "peaceful resistance to restore constitutional order"
in Haiti, which he fled after weeks of violence that has claimed
hundreds of lives.
He also claimed to have been the victim of a "political
kidnapping," an accusation he has made on several occasions since
arriving here on March 1, blaming the US of orchestrating a coup
against him with France's complicity.
"There was a political kidnapping, I reiterate that. We were not
allowed to look out of the windows of the airplane. We had a
four-hour stopover during which we didn't even know where we were,"
he said.
Aristide, who has been given accommodation in a sumptuous villa
near the official residence of Central African President Francois
Bozize, also stressed that he did not feel he was being held
prisoner in Bangui.
"I have never been a prisoner in Bangui, I am not now," he
said.
Last week, Aristide raised hackles here, first by accusing Central
African ally Washington of ousting him in a coup and then
complaining that he was a prisoner in Bangui.
That brought a sharp response from the government, which told him
to show some respect for his host nation's hospitality and its
allies, without whose help Aristide "would be dead by now," in the
words of Central African government spokesperson Parfait M'bay.
– Sapa-AFP.
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