Where will Aristide turn up?

[Robb]

Poll question: Where will Aristide turn up?

[brokensymmetry]

1. France, perhaps? n/t

.

[Robbien]

6. Do not think so, he asked France to pay back money

they forced from Haiti. France is definately on the wrong side in this issue.

[Tinoire]

2. The last report I just read said he was "indisposed"

but no verifiable link. Just a post on another board. I don't like the silence one bit...

[MidwestMomma]

5. Where in the hell is he?

I'm afraid only Bushco knows. I hope we find out he is safe soon.

Looks like Bushco finally came up with an action to appease France. IMHO.

[Tinoire]

11. I'm not trusting france on this one at all/ Boniface Alexandre

has real close ties to the French Embassy. Kind of creepy when you think about their reaction to Aristide's calls for financial retribution. What on earth was Aristide thinking? Kind of like Chavez threatening to stop selling us oil!

What prompted you to say that? Same thing?

---

Alexandre has been honored for his honesty and high competence in a judicial system fraught with corruption.

He was brought up by his uncle, former Prime Minister Martial Celestin, and represented the French Embassy during 25 years as a lawyer.

Alexandre joined the Court of Appeals in the late 1980s and became one of the 12 supreme court members in 1990. He was appointed chief justice about a decade later.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/02/29/international1159EST0480.DTL

[MidwestMomma]

14. Same thing

Plus, from reading about Haiti's history today, just seemed like France might still be holding a grudge against Haiti. Also, thought I read somewhere that France was calling for him to step down earlier this week along with the US. Seemed odd that France and US were agreeing on something.

I won't be surprised if under the cover of Haiti, they don't go for Chavez in the next few days. With 400-500 troops in Haiti, would be a good time for the old USA to 'liberate' Venezuela too.

As if we don't have enough shit circling us in this country. I swear my head is going to explode...

[Tinoire]

17. It seems that way!

You know what gets me. It's such a tiny country, not even an entire island, just half of a little island. Can't people just leave us alone?

France's involvement is a real let-down. It's not a surprise but still... I wonder how this is going to play out with the French people. They are not going to like it one bit & morever, Chirac is going to be furious at Bush for bungling this one. If you found good links about France's complicity, please post them. The pickings are pretty sparse right now but I am sure more will come out.

Is it me or are the US and France acting nervously about this entire thing?

The French Foreign Ministry on Sunday said embattled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide had left Haiti but did not release any other details.

"The French Foreign Ministry confirms the departure of Aristide," said spokeswoman Marie Masdupuy.

http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/wptv/article/0,1651,TCP_1213_2692725,00.html

That's it? Nothing else? I hope he's not dead. :(


===
M. de Villepin ­ second only to President Chirac as a hate figure for US conservatives after France's refusal to accept the arguments for an Iraqi war ­ played a central role in the negotiations leading to Mr Aristide's departure.

He met the Haitian Foreign Minister and other officials from the Aristide regime in Paris on Friday and made it clear to them that the international community ­ ie, France and America ­ no longer saw Mr Aristide as part of any possible settlement in the Caribbean nation.

M. de Villepin is rumoured to have played a part in securing a place of exile for Mr Aristide and his entourage. Exactly where that would be remained unclear but it seemed unlikely to be France itself. Paris granted exile to Haitian dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier in 1986.


http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=496529

====
Mr Aristide did not quite leave like a thief in the night. He waited until dawn after what was said to be a sleepless night puncutated by phone calls from Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, and Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, urging him to pull out.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/03/01/whaiti101.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/03/01/ixhome.html

[MidwestMomma]

19. I found this article from Friday, Feb 27th

in the Tocqueville Connection. Not sure if you have seen.

From the article:

"France has taken the lead in international diplomacy on the crisis in Haiti, an impoverished French- and Creole-speaking former colony that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.

Paris initially suggested the deployment of an international police force to the country and has been at the forefront of the Western push to urge a departure of Aristide.


The United States, which views the Caribbean as being in its zone of influence, at first resisted France's proposals and insisted on a hands-off approach, but as the violence has continued it has started to change tack.

http://www.adetocqueville.com/da40228a.htm

Interesting what you can find on the internet, no?

[Tinoire]

21. This is amazing. Their audacity is astounding! (pictures)

I hadn't seen that before but it confirms what we knew, n'est-ce pas?

Look at these pictures I just found. Those heathens are lying through their teeth- just as they did in Venezuela when they said the people were against Chavez.

Look at Aristide's support!





More here: http://www.fanmilavalas-ne.org/7fevimages.htm

And from the same site: The opposition was financed by the EU :mad:

La Commission Européenne co-finance un projet de Droits humains/Démocratie avec le groupe Initiative de la Société Civile (ISC) d’Haïti. La contribution de la Commission Européenne s’élève à 773.000.. Euros (US $890.374 au taux d’échange du jour).La durée du contrat va du 21/12/2001 au 21/12/2003.

The EU co-financed a project of "Human Rights/Democracy" for the group "Initiative for Civil Society in Haiti" The contribution was for EU 773,000 (US $890,374) from 21/12/01 - 21/12/03.

<snip> Group 184 ((the opposition business group)) is headed by André Apaid Jr & Rosny Desroches.

The USAID :mad: gave US $3,050,000 to the Civil Society, the media and human rights/political groups as part of their Program for Governance and Democracy in 2003. (This is the NED group!)


http://www.fanmilavalas-ne.org/oppositionUEfonds.htm

[MidwestMomma]

22. Are those pictures from this week?

Amazing. Lying liars and the lies they tell.

I don't read French (Sadly I'm not multi-lingual) but as you do, you might want to go to:

http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/france.htm

There are all sorts of French news sources listed there. I could only read the ones in English...:-)

[Tinoire]

24. From 7 February!

And look at this from January 1



200 Years After Napoleon, Haiti Finds Little to Celebrate

By LYDIA POLGREEN - January 2, 2004
photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

caption: Supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the Haitian leader, cheered outside the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince Thursday, celebrating the 200th anniversary of a victory over France that led to Haiti's independence.PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 1 - Two hundred years ago, an army of African slaves defeated French forces on this tropical island, ending Napoleon's ambition to dominate the Americas and paving the way for the first black republic.
On Thursday, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide led a tense and chaotic observance of that bicentennial, though many found little to celebrate in Mr. Aristide's governance over what, after 200 years of independence, remains an impoverished and troubled nation.

Speaking to a small but enthusiastic crowd, Mr. Aristide called Haiti "the mother of liberty," and appealed to opposition groups, which have mounted ever larger demonstrations against his government, to agree to new elections this year.



http://www.haitiaction.net/News/NYT.html


Things that make you go hmmmmmm!

Thanks for the link. Will be combing through it tonight

[MidwestMomma]

25. You're welcome

I love onlinenewspapers.com. You can link to papers all over the world. It's pretty amazing. But also mindblowing. Found it during the first days of the Iraq war when I was trying to find non-US news about what was going on.

When you have to rely on foreign news sources for you news, isn't that a sign of a troubled country?

Off to bed. Boss is in town tomorrow and I find out if I get a raise or not. I hope I wake up to good news about Aristide. Try to get some sleep but I know you probably won't.

Thanks for all your info today. Good thoughts.

[Tinoire]

28. Thank you :)

I am going to try. Going to hope desperately that he's ok because if he's not the people are going to go into a heart-wrenching period of mourning and hopelessness. They really had ALL their hopes pinned on him.

Good night and thanks for all the information, warmth and thoughts.

:hi:

[Khephra]

3. In a spider hole with OBL?

Could be....

:evilgrin:

[nolabels]

10. In a spider hole with OBL, sounds kinky, but I wouldn't put it past them

[Robbien]

4. Deader than a door nob

That's my choice. He will not be allowed to draw a breath long enough to speak in public.

[Renew Deal]

9. That would be very bad.

[I AM SPARTACUS]

12. That would be very very stupid while he is in US custody...oops...

...I mean "protection".

Not that BushCo isn't very very stupid...

[Robbien]

15. But they are getting away with incredible actions these days

What's one more?

[I AM SPARTACUS]

18. You're right. They will keep it up until they cannot...

[Renew Deal]

7. Gitmo,

[gula]

8. Unreliable rag says Panama has offered asylum

More interesting however are other comments in more trustworthy European papers such as: installed by the US, brought down by the US. There goes the thawing of transatlantic relations.

[trogdor]

13. Can you smell the irony?

That's where Raul Cedras went in 1994. Maybe they can share an apartment.

[pinniped]

16. Some crap will happen this week and he will be off the radar screen.

n/t

[renegade000]

20. hold on the doorbell rang...

[Renew Deal]

26. Well, was it him?

;)

[Darranar]

23. I don't know...

my guess would be nowhere; if the US does have him they're not going to let him go, assuming that the Democrats don't suddenly decide to actually be an opposition party.

[Robb]

27. OK, by my watch it's been 14 hours

...since Prime Minister Neptune read the speech he said was from Aristide, abdicating power.

Where's Tidid?