The United States reacted coolly on Wednesday to prospects that former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide would return to Haiti after the election of his one-time protégé René Préval to lead the Caribbean nation.
”Aristide is from the past, we’re looking to the future,” deputy State Department spokesperson Adam Ereli said when asked about the ex-president’s announced intention to return from exile in South Africa.
”If we were asked, I think we would say it’s probably not a good idea. It doesn’t serve a useful purpose,” Ereli rold reporters at the department’s daily briefing.
Préval said on Wednesday the country’s Constitution allowed for the return of Aristide, who left Haiti in February 2004 as an armed uprising bore down on the capital of Port-au-Prince.
But Ereli played down the remarks, saying, ”I’m not aware that the government of Haiti is eager or urging Aristide to come back.”
”Our understanding is that the government of Haiti is looking forward, is not looking back. They’ve got a demcocracy to build.” – Sapa-AFP