[News] PRESIDENT ARISTIDE SAYS 'I WAS KIDNAPPED'

[News at freedomarchives.org]

EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS:
PRESIDENT ARISTIDE SAYS 'I WAS KIDNAPPED'
'TELL THE WORLD IT IS A COUP'

Monday, March 1st, 2004
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/01/1521216

Multiple sources that just spoke with Haitian President Jean-Bertrand 
Aristide told Democracy Now! that Aristide says he was "kidnapped" and 
taken by force to the Central African Republic. Congressmember Maxine 
Waters said she received a call from Aristide at 9am EST. "He's surrounded 
by military. It's like he is in jail, he said. He says he was kidnapped," 
said Waters. She said he had been threatened by what he called US 
diplomats. According to Waters, the diplomats reportedly told the Haitian 
president that if he did not leave Haiti, paramilitary leader Guy Philippe 
would storm the palace and Aristide would be killed. According to Waters, 
Aristide was told by the US that they were withdrawing Aristide's US security.

TransAfrica founder and close Aristide family friend Randall Robinson also 
received a call from the Haitian president early this morning and confirmed 
Waters account. Robinson said that Aristide "emphatically" denied that he 
had resigned. "He did not resign," he said. "He was abducted by the United 
States in the commission of a coup." Robinson says he spoke to Aristide on 
a cell phone that was smuggled to the Haitian president.

Developing...

RUSH TRANSCRIPT

MAXINE WATERS: &its like in jail, he said. He said that he was kidnapped; 
he said that he was forced to leave Haiti. He said that the American 
embassy sent the diplomats; he referred to them as, to his home where they 
was lead by Mr. Moreno. And I believe that Mr. Moreno is a deputy chief of 
staff at the embassy in Haiti and other diplomats, and they ordered him to 
leave. They said you must go NOW. He said that they said that Guy Phillipe 
and U.S. Marines were coming to Port Au Prince; he will be killed, many 
Haitians will be killed, that they would not stop until they did what they 
wanted to do. He was there with his with Mildred and his brother-in-law and 
two of his security people, and somebody from the Steel Foundation, and 
theyre all, theres five of them that are there. They took them where they 
did stop in Antigua then they stopped at a military base, then they were in 
the air for hours and then they arrived at this place and they were met by 
five ministers of government. Its a Francophone country they speak French. 
And they were then taken to this place called the Palace of the Renaissance 
where they are being held and they are surrounded by military people. They 
are not free to do whatever they want to do. Then the phone clicked off 
after we had talked for about five&we talked maybe fifteen minutes and then 
the phone clicked off. But he, some of it was muffled in the beginning, at 
times it was clear. But one thing that was very clear and he said it over 
and over again, that he was kidnapped that the coup was completed by the 
Americans that they forced him out. They had also disabled his American 
security force that he had around him for months now; they did not allow 
them to extend their numbers. To begin with they wanted them to bring in 
more people to provide security they prevented them from doing that and 
then they finally forced them out of the country. So thats where his is and 
I said to him that I would do everything I could to get the word out. &that 
I heard it directly from him I heard it directly from his wife that they 
were kidnapped, they were forced to leave, they did not want to leave, 
their lives were threatened and the lives of many Haitians were threatened. 
And I said that we would be in touch with the State Department, with the 
President today and if at all possible we would try to get to him. We dont 
know whether or not he is going to be moved. We will try and find that 
information out today.

AMY GOODMAN: Did President Aristide say whether or not he resigned?

MAXINE WATERS: He did not resign. He said he was forced out, that the coup 
was completed.

AMY GOODMAN: So again to summarize, Congress member Maxine Waters, you have 
just gotten off the phone with President Jean Bertrand Aristide, who said 
he believes he is in the Central African Republic.

MAXINE WATERS: Thats right, with French speaking officers, hes surrounded 
by them and hes in this place called the Palace of the Renaissance and he 
was forced to go there. They took him there.

AMY GOODMAN: What are you going to do right now?

MAXINE WATERS: Im going to get to the State Dept to find out what do they 
plan on doing with him. Do they plan on leaving him there or are they 
planning on taking him to another country? We are going to tell them we 
would like to see him. We are prepared to go where he is NOW and that we 
are demanding that we are able to see him and go where he is. And to 
negotiate what will be done with him.

AMY GOODMAN: Did he describe how he was taken out? We had heard reports in 
Haiti that he was taken out in handcuffs. Did he&

MAXINE WATERS: No he did not say he was taken out in handcuffs. He simply 
said that they came led by Mr. Moreno followed by the marines and they said 
simply you have to go!You have no choice, you must go and if you dont you 
will be killed and many Haitians will be killed. We are planning with Mr. 
De filliped to come into Puerto Rico. He will not be alone he will come 
with American military and you will not survive, you will be killed. Youve 
got to go now!

AMY GOODMAN: How did President Aristide sound? What was the quality of his 
voice?

MAXINE WATERS: The quality of his voice was anxious, angry, disturbed, 
wanting people to know the truth.

AMY GOODMAN: Did he say why he had not made any calls since early on Sunday 
morning; that people had not been in touch with him for more than 36 hours. 
Certainly this plane was equipped with a telephone?

MAXINE WATERS: OH, I dont think they were able to make any calls from the 
plane. They were only allowed to make calls once they landed. And I think 
the only call that they had made was to her mother who is in Florida and 
her brother. But they were not allowed&they had no access to telephone 
calls& to a telephone on the plane.

AMY GOODMAN: What is the next step&what are you going to do? What do you 
think the people in this country should being doing about this situation in 
Haiti?

MAXINE WATERS: First of all I think the people in this country should be 
outraged that our government led a coup detat against a democratically 
elected President. They should call, write. Fax with their outrage, not 
only to the State Dept. but to all of their elected officials and to the 
press. We have to keep the information flying in the air so people will get 
it and understand what is taking place. And for those of us who are elected 
officials we must not only get to the President, we must demand that he is 
returned to claim his presidency if that is what he wants. If you can 
recall what happened in Venezuela when Mr. Chavez was&they tried to force 
him out and they had someone step into the presidency and he had not 
resigned his presidency and he got it back. I did not have that 
conversation with President Aristide but we must meet with him and we must 
talk with him and be prepared to protect him.

AMY GOODMAN: Congress member Maxine Waters I want to thank you for being 
with us again. Congress member Waters has just spoken with President 
Aristide who she says said he was kidnapped and is now with his wife and 
surrounded by security in the Central African Republic.

www.democracynow.org


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