| Monday, March 8, 2004
 David
Irving comments: THIS reads like something out of the
Nuremberg trial -- the pre-trial
interrogations of 1945/1947. I see no
reason to doubt Aristide's version of
events, against that rendered by Colin
Powell and Donald Rumsfeld who
are proven liars. |
Amy Goodman
interviews ex-President Aristide on how and why he
left Haiti 
for audio click
image
AMY GOODMAN: We would like to know why you left
Haiti. PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: It was a kidnapping and
under the cover of coup d'etat. AMY GOODMAN: Who forced you out of the
country? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: I saw U.S. officials with
Ambassador Foley. Mr. Moreno,
[inaudible...] at the U.S. Embassy in
Haiti. I saw American soldiers. AMY GOODMAN: Secretary of State Powell
said that that is ridiculous. Donald
Rumsfeld said that is nonsense. PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Well, I understand they try
to justify what they cannot justify. Their own
ambassador, Ambassador Foley, said we were going to
talk to the media, to the press, and I can talk to
the Haitian people calling for peace like I did one
night before. And unfortunately, once they put me
in their car, from my residence, a couple of days
later, they put me in their planes full with
military, because they already had all of the
control of the Haitian airport in Port-au-Prince.
And during the night, they surrounded my house, and
the National Palace, and we had some of them in the
streets. So it's clearly something they planned and
they did. AMY GOODMAN: President Aristide, did you resign
the Presidency? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: No, I did not resign. I gave
a written note before I went to the press at the
time. And instead of taking me where they said they
were taking me -- in front of the Haitian press,
the foreign press, to talk to the people, to
explain what is going on, to call for peace -- they
used that note as a letter of resignation, and they
are lying. AMY GOODMAN: When you went into the car from
your house, did you understand you were going to
the airport and being flown out? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Not at all. Because this is
not what they told me, (that) this was our best way
to avoid bloodshed. We talked with them... to avoid
bloodshed... in a respectful way, in a legal and
diplomatic way. Because they told me that they were
going to have bloodshed. Thousands of people were
going to be killed, including myself. As I said, it
was not for me, because I never cared about me, my
life, my security. First of all, I care about the
security and lives of other people. I was elected
to protect the life of every single citizen. So,
that night I did my best to avoid bloodshed and
when they took me, putting me in their plane, that
was their plan. AMY GOODMAN: Are you being held in the Central
African Republic against your will? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Against my will, exactly.
Let me tell you, twenty hours on the American plane
with American soldiers, including nineteen American
agents who had an agreement with the Haitian
government to provide security to us. They were
also in that plane -- maybe to keep the truth in
the plane, instead of having one of them telling
the truth out of the plane. Because one of them had
a baby, one year and-a-half in the plane -- he was
an American guy -- and they wouldn't give him a
chance to get out of the plane with the baby. My
wife, the first lady, who was born in the United
States. She didn't have the right to even move the
shade and look out through the windows. Which means
they violated their own law. Until twenty minutes
before I arrived here, I knew where they request
going to land, which means clear violation of
international law. Unfortunately, they did that,
but fortunately, I pay tribute to the government of
Central Africa for the way they welcomed us. AMY GOODMAN: What do you want to happen now? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: I always call for peace.
CARICOM, which means all of the heads of the
Caribbean countries, call for peace and restoration
of Constitutional order. American Senators... and
Haitians are actually calling for the restoration
of Constitutional order. In my country, after 200 years of independence
-- we are the first black independent country in
the world -- we still have only 1.5 Haitian doctors
for 11,000 Haitians. We founded a university with a
faculty of medicine that has 247 students. Once
U.S. soldiers arrived in Haiti after the
kidnapping, what did they do? They closed the
faculty of medicine, and they are now in the
classrooms. This is what they call peace. This is
the opposite of peace. Peace means investing in
human beings, investing in health care, respect for
human rights, not violations of human rights, not
violations of the rights of those who voted for an
elected President... It means that, for humans in
the world, today this is their day,
[inaudible] men in the world, all together,
we can all work hard to restore peace and
constitutional order to Haiti. AMY GOODMAN: Did you want to return as President
to Haiti now? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: If it's possible now, yes,
now. Whenever it's possible, I am ready because
this is what my people voted for. AMY GOODMAN: Do you see yourself as being held
as a prisoner in the Central African Republic? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Here I say it again, the
people and government and President Bozize
are gracious, the way they treat us. Their country
is a country called "zo-quo-zu," which means every
human being is a human being. I am grateful to
them. But when you living in a house or in a palace
that is their palace, although it's still good
because of the way they welcome us, we also feel
that we should be in Haiti with the Haitian people
doing our best to keep investing in education,
health care, building a state of law. Slowly, but
surely, building up that state of law. AMY GOODMAN: President Aristide, at least five
people were killed in Haiti on Sunday. Opposition
leaders say it was pro-Aristide forces that opened
fire. Also including journalists -- a Spanish
journalist based in New York was shot dead. Another
was also shot. Your response? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: First of all, I wasn't
there, and I don't have yet any information so, I
cannot go too far in my way to analyze the
situation. I do believe because for the past years,
each time drug dealers like Guy Philippe,
people already convicted -- like Chamblain -- kill
people, we hear exactly what I just heard. They
blame the non-violent people and they blame the
poor. When you are already convicted, you are not
violating human rights. So, I suspect they are
lying when they talk like that, accusing my
followers. AMY GOODMAN: What message do you think the
United States is sending the people of Haiti and
the rest of the world in their actions with
you? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: I think the citizens of the
United States supporting democracy in Haiti, the
Haitian People, and Haitians in Washington,
Brooklyn and Milano, in Boston and elsewhere,
calling for my return to Haiti and the
constitutional order, I think all the citizens of
the United States [inaudible] are sending a
very strong, critical signal to all of the
countries in the world willing to work in a
peaceful way for democracy. But those who
[inaudible] me are sending a very wrong
signal because if we don't reach the result of
democratic elections and then we cannot be elected
and then you do that here and elsewhere, the signal
you are sending is "No to democracy," while you are
talking about democracy. So, that's why I wish they
would connect -- they did realize that they are
wrong and they have a new approach, which will be
protecting the rights of humans in the world.
Because in the world, what do we mean, meaning
peace. What do we mean, meaning democracy. What do
we mean, we need to invest in human beings. They
went to Iraq. We see how is the situation in Iraq.
They went to Haiti. We see how is the situation in
Haiti. Pretending they are imposing democracy with
people killing people. Why don't they change their
approach to let democracy and the constitutional
order flourish slowly, but surely. After imposing a
criminal embargo on us, being, from the cultural
point of view, very rich, from a historic point of
view, very rich, but from an economic point of
view, very poor because we are the poorest country
in the western hemisphere... after imposing their
economic embargo upon us, because the people wanted
one man -- one vote, so equality among us. Then
they use drug dealers, they use people who are
already convicted, pretending to lead the
rebellion, while they went to Haiti killing people
in Gonaives, killing people in Cap-Hatian and
killing people in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere. And
now they continue in the face of the entire world,
blessing impunity, supporting those killers. My
God, it's really ugly that image they project in
the face of the world. Now it's time for them to
change... That's why respectfully, we are telling
them the truth. Now, it's time to move from being
wrong on their side to become right by supporting
the constitutional order. AMY GOODMAN: President Aristide, Vice President
Dick Cheney said you wore out your welcome
in Haiti. It's time for you to go. PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: How can someone, after the
kind of elections they had, now talk like that
regarding Haiti where you had fair, democratic
elections regarding the elected President. I
respect the rights of every single citizen in the
world to talk, and we have to be tolerant because
this is also about democracy. That's why I have
respect for him, but at the same time I have
respect for my people and for the truth. I say it
again, the Haitian people are a non-violent people.
They voted for democracy. They will continue to
fight in a peaceful way for democracy, and I will
continue to be faithful to them doing the same. The
peaceful approach, fighting peacefully for the
restoration of the constitutional order. AMY GOODMAN: Do you still consider yourself
President of Haiti? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Yes, because the people
voted for me. They are still fighting in a peaceful
way for their elected President. I cannot betray
them. AMY GOODMAN: Well, how would you describe the
situation in Haiti today? U.S. and French forces
and Canadian troops are in Haiti. It is something
you called for before you left, to support you, and
to protect you there, then? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Yes. I called for them
before they forced me to leave the country. Now,
unfortunately, they are in Haiti. They don't have
the elected President with them to move with the
constitutional order. But despite that, I wish the
United Nations in Haiti through peacekeepers can
help keep peace in the country, protecting every
single Haitian, because the life of every single
man or woman is sacred. AMY GOODMAN: Vice President Cheney said, 'I have
dealt with Aristide before when I was Secretary of
Defense. We had a crisis involving Haiti. He left
of his own free will. He signed a resignation
letter on his way out. He left with his security
detail on an aircraft we provided, not a military
aircraft, but civilian charter. Now, I suppose he's
trying to revise history. But the fact of matter
was, he'd worn out his welcome with the Haitian
people. He was democratically elected, but he never
governed as a democrat. He was corrupt, and he was
in charge of many of the thugs that were committing
crimes in Port-au-Prince. The suggestion that
somehow the United States arrested him or forcibly
put him on an aircraft to get him to leave, that's
simply not true. I'm happy he's gone. I think the
Haitian people are better off for it. I think now
they'll have an opportunity to elect a new
government, and that's as it should be.' PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Well, as I said before, he
has the right to talk, and I respect his right. I
disagree with him, and I believe that the Haitian
people will continue to fight in a peaceful way to
restore democracy, and when the day will come to
have elections, of course, they will have the
ability to vote. We celebrated 200 years of
independence. We had a [inaudible] coup
d'etat. We know, usually, who can choose to be
behind the coup d'etat. AMY GOODMAN: Why do you think that the United
States government does not want you to be the
president of Haiti? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Maybe, if you could, just
one single example... it can tell the world a lot.
I know I have already told you that, but I will go
through it again. In 200 years of independence,
making Haiti the first black independent country of
the world, we still have 1.5 Haitian doctors for
each 11,000 Haitians. Then we have a university who
the faculty of medicine had 237 students.
[inaudible]; they are now in that faculty
of medicine, and the students are out. If you have
a government or a President willing to invest in
health care, apparently they don't want that. If
you have a president or government willing to
invest in education, maybe they don't want that. I
will continue to believe that we must invest in
human beings. We must invest in education and
health care. This is what will bring peace. Because
peace is not an empty word. It has to be full.
Investing in education and health care bring the
real peace to the country; what they call peace is
not the real peace. It is violence. AMY GOODMAN: President Aristide in your news
conference, did you say that your country is now in
the midst of an unacceptable occupation? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: It's an occupation, and the
last example I just gave says it is an occupation.
When you protect killers, when you protect drug
dealers like Guy Philippe, like Chamblain, when you
protect the citizens of the United States in
violating the law of the United States -- Mr.
Andy Apaid is a citizen of the United States
-- violating the Neutral Act, the way with this act
will destroying our Democracy, and once we do that,
then this is an occupation. AMY GOODMAN: Did you say that your security
force that protected you in Haiti, from the Steele
Foundation -- that they were told by the U.S.
government they could not send in
reinforcements? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Yes. As a matter of fact
they blocked them, to stop providing security, and
twenty-five [inaudible] did come the day
after, they were prevented to come. So it was a
clear strategy to move according to their plan.
Unfortunately I need to stop because they just
asked me to leave. AMY GOODMAN: Do you think that you will ever see
Haiti again as President? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: I will. I will once the
Haitian people and the international community
continue to work hard. It's not impossible. AMY GOODMAN: What do you think people can do in
the United States? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: I think they can continue to
mobilize human resources to help bring peace for
Haiti -- democracy for Haiti. This is what the
Haitian people want: Peace and democracy. AMY GOODMAN: Will you be leaving the Central
African Republic? Do you want to leave? Do you want
to return immediately to Haiti? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: If I can go today, I would
go today. If it's tomorrow, tomorrow. Whenever time
comes, I will say yes, because my people, they
elected me. AMY GOODMAN: What is stopping you from returning
today? PRESIDENT ARISTIDE: Because it means to clear
the way, and that's what we are doing
now. |
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