Aristide to Be South Africa’s Guest

The decision by South Africa to offer asylum to ex-Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, while offering only vague information on what it will cost, was condemned Friday by several opposition parties here but came as a relief to Haiti’s new leadership.

Aristide, who fled Haiti in February amid a popular uprising against him, is expected to arrive in South Africa within weeks. The asylum agreement was seen as a sign of the government’s solidarity with the country that saw the first successful rebellion by African slaves, in 1804.

The government delayed a decision on asylum until after recent elections, wary of the sensitivity of spending public money to house a former leader accused of human rights abuses.

Douglas Gibson, foreign affairs spokesman for the Democratic Alliance, the leading opposition party, assailed the decision Friday, saying it was against South Africa’s interests.

“Are South African taxpayers going to be expected to support Mr. Aristide and his wife and his children and his secretaries and his domestics and his bodyguards? He’s going to be treated as a head of state. It’s going to cost us millions,” he said.

“I’m not sure what benefit there is for South Africa in being seen as a haven for dictators, because he had a very bad human rights record.”

Aristide fled Haiti just after dawn Feb. 29 aboard a U.S.-chartered plane that took him to the Central African Republic. He and his wife, Mildred, flew to Jamaica on March 15 and were joined by their two young daughters, who had been sent to New York. Word that Aristide would soon be departing the Caribbean spread relief among Haiti’s interim leaders, who have yet to be recognized by their Caribbean neighbors because of concerns about the circumstances surrounding Aristide’s departure.

Democratic Convergence, an alliance of political parties and movements that waged a peaceful effort to drive out Aristide that was fruitless until armed rebels rose up in February, hailed the former president’s presumably imminent departure for South Africa. His presence in Jamaica was a major source of friction among the 15 member states of the Caribbean Community, known as Caricom.

“It will be best for our relations with Caricom, but the Haitian government also needs to ensure that Pretoria doesn’t allow Aristide to use South Africa as a base for destabilizing this country,” said Convergence leader Mischa Gaillard in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

Caricom leaders had been trying to negotiate a compromise between Aristide and his myriad opponents when the rebellion began in Gonaives on Feb. 5. The three-week sweep through the north of Haiti killed about 300 people and succeeded in forcing out Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected president, whose tenure became increasingly tarnished by charges of corruption and repression.

In South Africa, a government official said Friday that the government had no clear idea of the cost of hosting Aristide. Foreign Affairs Director General Ayanda Ntsaluba said the government was in contact with Aristide to establish what his needs were.

The government said the asylum will be temporary, lasting until Haiti stabilizes enough for the ex-president to return home.

Announcing the decision Thursday, spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe said South Africa’s aim was to contribute to international efforts to bring stability to Haiti.

Netshitenzhe called for an investigation into the circumstances of Aristide’s departure from office. Caricom also reiterated this week that it wants an investigation by the Organization of American States into Aristide’s claims that he was forced out of office by U.S. officials.

For weeks, Aristide had refused to bow to the approaching armed rebels’ demands that he leave office. He finally fled to the Central African Republic under U.S. Marine escort and told journalists two days later that he had been the victim of a “modern coup d’etat” committed by Washington.

Anger among leaders of the Caribbean island nations over what they saw as U.S. heavy-handedness prompted Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to offer refuge to Aristide.

Haiti’s security is now in the hands of a U.S.-led multinational force that will be phased out beginning June 1 by a U.N. deployment.

Although open clashes between Aristide supporters and opponents ceased when the Marines arrived the night of Aristide’s flight from Haiti, the country remains tense and chaotic.

Dixon reported from Johannesburg and Williams from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.