Aristide will address reporters at 10 p.m. at the privately-owned Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg, said the source, who is not authorized to speak to the media.
Aristide’s U.S. attorney, Ira Kurzban, was among those who flew to Johannesburg to accompany Aristide back to Haiti. Also there is actor Danny Glover, an Aristide supporter and critic of U.S. objections to his return.
A group of prominent lawyers sent a letter, meanwhile, to Cheryl Mills, chief of staff at the State Department, lashing out at what they said was U.S. interference with Aristide’s “constitutional and human right to return.”
“The United States trying to control when any Haitian citizen — especially a former president — can enter Haiti is outrageous,” said Bill Quigley, a New Orleans law professor and legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
“It violates a stack of binding international human rights treaties,” he said. “I felt compelled to speak out to defend both President Aristide’s human rights and the American tradition of rule of law that I teach in my classroom.”
The United States warned Monday that Aristide’s presence in Haiti could disrupt Sunday’s runoff vote that will decide Haiti’s next leader. The office has been in dispute since a late November election ended with controversy and allegations of widespread fraud.
“Mr. Aristide has chosen to remain outside of Haiti for seven years,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. “To return this week can only be seen as a conscious choice to impact Haiti’s elections… Return prior to the election may potentially be destabilizing to the political process.”
Kurzban said Aristide planned to get involved with educational projects and teach. He wants to return before Sunday’s election, Kurzban said, because he had “genuine concerns that the next president may take a different view” and not allow Aristide to return.
“It is not to be involved in the elections, as the United States suggests,” Kurzban said.
Aristide’s supporters, including Glover, say that the former Roman Catholic priest and Haiti’s first democratically elected president was shuttled out of Haiti by the United States after his second presidential term was aborted by a coup in 2004.
They say the White House wants to keep Aristide out of Haiti in favor of a leader more in line with its own views.
“I am going to South Africa to show our solidarity with the people of Haiti by standing at the side of the leader they elected twice with overwhelming support: President Jean-Bertrand Aristide,” Glover said in a statement.
“People of good conscience cannot be idle while a former dictator is able to return unhindered while a democratic leader who peacefully handed over power to another elected president is restricted from returning to his country by external forces,” Glover said, referring to Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who fled into exile in France in 1986 after 15 years of iron-fisted rule.
Duvalier stunned the world by returning to Haiti in January. Shortly after, Aristide again aired his desire to go back home. The Haitian government issued him a new passport last month.
Aristide retains a following in Haiti, especially among the poorest of the poor, who first catapulted him to power in 1990 with more than 67 percent of the vote.
But Aristide’s relationship with his homeland, as well as the international community, has been a complicated one.
He gained popularity in Haiti by giving the poor and disenfranchised a voice, but his critics accused him of corruption, greed and human rights abuses — problems that have plagued the impoverished Caribbean nation under other leaders as well.
Last year, a massive earthquake devastated Haiti. Recovery efforts have been slow and have complicated the election process.
The United Nations voiced concerns this week over violence marring the campaign and called on “all candidates, especially those in the presidential run-off, to avoid threats, intimidation and harassment.”
“Consolidation of democracy in Haiti depends largely on the will of politicians to adopt the principles of a peaceful transfer of power and to accept election results in accordance with mechanisms provided by the electoral law,” said a statement from the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which has been in Haiti since Aristide’s departure.
The presidential vote pits former first lady Mirlande Manigat against popular musician Michel Martelly in a runoff that was delayed by two months because of unrest and charges of fraud.
CNN’s Nkepile Mabuse contributed to this story from Cape Town, South Africa.
I suspect Aristide will delay more so as to arrive in Haiti on Saturday.
He will give an emotional speech that will delay/cancel elections.
And Haiti is yet again, once more in trouble and turbulence.
Aristide is a spolier.
If he cannot eat the cake he will urinate one their feast so no one else will benefit.
In the final analysis, I do not believe Aristide will actually come back. We saw this stupid maneuvers during the 1990s and he has not changed his script.
This is a Cry Wolf situation in which his people have been betrayed and misled in the past and have found a new hope in Martelly.
If he does arrive, he may be surprised at how few march to his drummer. How few are at the airport or how few really care what he does or thinks now.
The entire Aristide situation has changed and he may find himself in the spotlight of America’s freight train as they have their DEA finally act upon Aristide’s proven involvement with the cocaine traffic into the United States.
He may have blackmail dossiers on some high-profile people, but who cares?
He is treading a very dangerous path and may be eliminated if he becomes a problem.
One must wonder who he is working for now?
He could not make these moves without some important support.
Even Hillary Clinton is not – I hope – that stupid.
I am prepared to be surprised.
Aristide is historical footnote not a current player.
His fanatics remember him.
His Mob has another lover – Martelly
Martelly is not like Aristid. Do not confuse two different personalities.
1-Aristid has too much pride and would not listen to advise. what he wants is what shall be done.that is why he ended up arming young ones,selling his belongings to the haitian goverment and yet have right in them as his own. for example that house in Tabar has been sold to the haitian goverment how can he return to it like his own. he designed a fake money back program called cooperative with which he left everyone empty robbing all their money.
2-Aristid was a popular catholic priest,but yet as a president he declared voudu the ofitial religion in Haiti.that was an insult to God,no wonder why so many natural desasters have passed over our used to be blessed nation in the last five years of haiti the poorestcouuntry for good.
3-he betrayed the nation, His faith and his own vision. where was he taking the nation to,no where.we do not nedd a talker we need an actor.Martelly knows his homeland and has been doing more than talking. I will take my chance with these two together. Michel
artelly and wyclef Jean. they both have been on the ground supporting the nation at all time of maid aid. Haiti has its best chance to come out of where we have been for so long. nore of the same. we need serious changes.
Aristiians will be very surprised to see Aristide arrested at Duvalier International Airport once he arrives there as it was so in Peru for Fudjimori.
Haitians be prepared! Manigat will be in bad shape for accepting to deal with these criminals in order to get to power.Haiti will be under fire, a tsunami more significant than what we have seen in Japan.
Haitians be prepared because the situation is really though. There will be no elections in Haiti next Sunday.A civil war is in the air. So be prepared once more.
Good luck to everyone!with