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Form er Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide began his stay in South Africa yesterday with a hug from President Thabo Mbeki and by thanking his hosts in Zulu for allowing him and his family to enter the country.

"Siyabonga, Siyajabula... (thank you, we are happy...)" said the former Catholic priest, who left Haiti in February half way through his term, amid growing civil unrest and opposition to his rule.

Earlier Mbeki and a host of government ministers and international diplomats gave him a high-powered red carpet welcome as they lined up on the tarmac of Johannesburg International Airport to greet him.

Dressed in navy blue suits, he and his wife, Mildred, slowly made their way down the line, which included Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe and Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

His two small daughters, Christine, 8, and Michaelle, 6, wearing matching dresses and clutching little handbags, were quietly led to a waiting car.

Before him and Mbeki were whisked off to a press conference, Aristide sent the heavy security contingent into a spin when he broke away from the wall of dignitaries and walked over to greet a crowd of vuvuzela-blowing African National Congress supporters who cheered in delight.

"Welcome, indeed, to the African continent and to South Africa," President Thabo Mbeki said.

In a quiet voice Aristide said he and his family were grateful for the opportunity to thank Mbeki, the government, and the people of South Africa for "a new unforgettable chapter in African history".

He also thanked the African Union and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), and the Jamaican government for hosting him for the last 11 weeks.

He said that in the second half of the 18th century, the Haitian revolution led to the emergence of the first black state in the new world and for the first time black people had the power to make life acceptable.

"A good number of slaves who fought in the revolution were born in South Africa and served in African armies prior to their enslavement," he said.

"Instead of Europe, we are welcome in Africa, our mother continent."

He added that peace and stability must be restored to Haiti, and broke into more Zulu, with a successful click, to the delight of the room, and requests for language lessons from Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad.

Earlier Pahad explained that the Cabinet had received a formal request from Caricom through the chairman of the African Union (AU) Mozambique President Joachim Chissano, for South Africa to accommodate Aristide.

The South African government acceded to the request, in consultation with the AU, Caricom, the US and France, "to contribute to the international effort to bring peace and stability in Haiti", Pahad said.

The Aristides would remain in South Africa until the situation in Haiti had stabilised and South Africans should handle the matter with "the requisite level of maturity, respect and dignity", Pahad said.

Also on hand to welcome Aristide were Mozambique's Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao, speaking on behalf of Chissano, Dolana Franklin, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jamaica, and Millard Arnold of the US's Congressional Black Caucus.

However, the opposition Democratic Alliance and the Freedom Front Plus have said they are concerned about his human rights record and that his stay would be funded by taxpayers' money.

The Inkatha Freedom Party said that it hoped his stay would contribute to a peaceful solution in Haiti, but also wanted to know how much it would cost South Africa.

Welcoming him, the SA Council of Churches said: "For a variety of reasons people can be made exiles, and the scripture is full of examples of exiles, including Jesus Christ himself who had to be exiled because of repression and injustice."

A few weeks before his departure from Haiti, Mbeki had joined Aristide for the 200th anniversary celebrations of the country, which became the world's first modern black republic after a successful slave revolt. South Africa also gave Haiti R10-million towards the cost of the freedom celebrations, a move which was trenchantly criticised by South African opposition parties as a waste of public funds.

Aristide was first elected in 1990, then ousted eight months later in a coup. He returned to power in 1994 with US backing and has claimed that his latest departure was actually a US-backed coup.

A United Nations "stabilisation force" takes over from the US military in Haiti on Tuesday, Agence France Presse reported. - Sapa

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