Aristide is back

[rabs]

By BEN FOX and TRENTON DANIEL, Associated Press Ben Fox And Trenton Daniel, Associated Press – 20 mins ago
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned home from seven years in exile to a celebrity welcome Friday, mobbed by close allies and journalists outside his private plane before being hustled into an airport VIP lounge as crowds of supporters rallied in the streets outside the terminal.

Aristide waved and blew a kiss to the small crowd at the runway, then began to deliver a speech in which he thanked his chanting, jubilant supporters. His wife, Mildred, wept.

------------ snips ---------

Following his arrival, there was no sign of any unrest in the Haitian capital, where life went on as usual. Many Aristide supporters were simply joyous.

"We are going to party," said 36-year-old mechanic Assey Woy, discussing the news of the ousted leader's return with friends on a street corner downtown. "It will be like New Year's Day."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110318/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_aristide

[EFerrari]

1. Sharif is tweeting on the ground for Democracy Now!

This is his account: @sharifkouddous

He said the street was a river of people, and that now thousands of people are entering Aristide's compound. Actually, Danny Glover said the part about people entering the compound via @HaitiAidWatch

[EFerrari]

2. Pic of crowd outside Aristide's home:

http://plixi.com/p/84945468

[Judi Lynn]

3. Beautiful! Thanks for this very descriptive photo. You can sense the respect the citizens have

for him: there is a real spirit in the gathering. It is a sea of people, isn't it?

Wonderful.

[rabs]

5. Nice photo

You should put that pix in cal04's post in LBN. Lots more people will see it there.

I am hoping the anti-aristide thugs will not make trouble later on.

:hi:

[Judi Lynn]

4. So glad he made it in one piece. I was so worried he'd end up like Torrijos, and others.

Thank you, rabs.

This is such a good day for so many Haitians and their long distance fellow earthlings.

[EFerrari]

7. Sharif and Amy are going to come home loaded for bear.

?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1300482180&Signature=jQ9wxQqGZYV6U1DR9rzvsLZKNR0%3D

(Hum, can get this to load but here's the link)

[Judi Lynn]

8. If it weren't for them we'd have only a faint outline of the story, with only crap filling it out

from the basement of the State Department, where Otto Reich used to work.

Looking forward to everything they have to share.

Courageous journalists, the best.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Guardian: Jean-Bertrand Aristide exile ends with rapturous welcome home to Haiti

Jean-Bertrand Aristide exile ends with rapturous welcome home to Haiti
Seven years after he was ousted in rebellion, former president arrives on election eve talking of Haitians' plight
Isabeau Doucet in Port-au-Prince and agencies guardian.co.uk,
Friday 18 March 2011 19.57

Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the pastor-turned-president last seen in his native Haiti making a rapid, undignified exit seven years ago, has returned home to a rapturous welcome, injecting another variable into a febrile election atmosphere 48 hours before a drawn-out presidential race climaxes.

Aristide, the only Haitian leader to have been forced from office twice, offered an exotic mix of poetry and gratitude to the hundreds of supporters who feted him at the airport – and took a sideswipe at the troubled electoral process.

The atmosphere at the airport was charged. It was here after all that Aristide was bundled on to a plane in February 2004, leaving behind a rebellion in full cry and a power vacuum. Since then the country has endured landslides, political stasis and enduring poverty – all compounded by last year's earthquake which killed more than 300,000 people.

"Since the earthquake, the humiliation of the people under tents is the humiliation of all the Haitian people," Aristide said.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/18/aristide-returns-haiti-election-eve

[struggle4progress]

9. Additional photos

Jean-Bertrand Aristide exile ends with rapturous welcome home to Haiti
Seven years after he was ousted in rebellion, former president arrives on election eve talking of Haitians' plight
Isabeau Doucet in Port-au-Prince and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 March 2011 19.57 GMT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/18/aristide-returns-haiti-election-eve



Aristide returns to Haiti after seven-year exile
Associated Press
In Print: Saturday, March 19, 2011
http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/aristide-returns-to-haiti-after-seven-year-exile/1158363



As election nears, Aristide returns to Haiti
His intentions unknown, vows to serve nation
By Nick Miroff
Washington Post / March 19, 2011
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2011/03/19/as_election_nears_aristide_returns_to_haiti/



Ex-leader Aristide returns to Haiti amid cheers, fears
After 7 years in exile, ousted president comes back to Haiti just ahead of a key presidential runoff.
Returning from seven years in exile, former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide gestures as he is surrounded by guards, supporters and journalists as he arrives Friday at his home in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince.
Alexandre Meneghini /ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Ben Fox and Trenton Daniel
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 8:53 p.m. Friday, March 18, 2011
http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/ex-leader-aristide-returns-to-haiti-amid-cheers-1331598.html

[Judi Lynn]

10. Wonderful images. He is deeply loved, and as much as he is loved by the people,

he is hated by the oligarchs.

It's unique seeing how very much his supporters try to get close enough just to see him in person. They're not the ones who present any threat to him. Hope they've got the sense of protectiveness able to defend him against the enemies who are there, as well.

Glad to see he is still hammering on education for his Haitian countrymen/women as a necessary goal.

[Peace Patriot]

11. K&R! nt

[Judi Lynn]

12. "The return of President Aristide to his home in Haiti"

The return of President Aristide to his home in Haiti
by Randall White

HaitiAction.net - Port au Prince, Haiti — Friday morning, the much anticipated event of the Return of Aristide to his home in Haiti tied up the traffic around the Toussaint Loverature International Airport and the roads leading to his home in Tabarre — on the eastern end of the airport. All day the radio stations were playing segments of his magnum opus address to the rowdy and undisciplined international press that crushed the entourage on the tarmac as soon as President Aristide and his family disembarked the jet. Dr. Maryse Narcisse attempted to keep the schedule on track, but the foreign press just wanted to stick to paparazzi decorum and mob the proceedings as if Michael Jackson had returned from the sky.

The segment of the speech that seems to have taken hold and could be heard from passing cars through the last few days was dealing with The Exclusion of the majority.

The, not nearly as anticipated, national election tomorrow — Sunday, March 20, 2011 — will be ignored by most Haitians as it is viewed as unconstitutional, illegal and unfair.

La Gavage — the forcefeeding — by the United States began on February 6, 2009 when US Secretary of State met with President Réne Préval, the next day Fanmi Lavalas (the largest political organization in the country) was banned from the Parliamentary elections held that year. The Exclusion continued to the Presidential elections. Tomorrow will see a runoff between two Neo-Duvalierists who would otherwise be unable to garner more that 5% of the vote in a regular election.

More:
http://www.haitiaction.net/News/RAW/3_20_11/3_20_11.html

http://wikileaksnews.net.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ExleaderAristidereturnstoHaiti.jpg

http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com.nyud.net:8090/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/110318-aristede1-9a.grid-6x2.jpg

[Judi Lynn]

13. Haiti: Aristide returns, two killed in "calm" vote

Haiti: Aristide returns, two killed in "calm" vote
Submitted by Weekly News Update on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 06:54. Observers said Haiti's March 20 presidential and legislative runoff elections were relatively calm, at least in comparison to the chaotic first round on Nov. 28. A number of polling places in the capital opened hours late, apparently because the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), a 13,000-member military and police occupation force, failed to get voting materials to them on time. In some cases voters held spontaneous protests over the delays. There were also a few armed confrontations: two people were killed and three were wounded in electoral disputes, one at Marre Rouge, Northwest department, and the other at Marchand Dessalines, in the North department's Artibonite region.

There were no official estimates of the turnout, but Guatemalan diplomat Edmond Mulet, who temporarily heads United Nations operations in Haiti, said it was higher than in the first round, and some other observers agreed. Turnout in the first round was just 22.87%, according to official figures.

The presidential runoff was between two conservatives, Mirlande Hyppolite Manigat (Coalition of National Progressive Democrats, RDNP) and popular singer Michell Martelly ("Sweet Micky," Peasant Response). At stake in the legislative runoff were 79 of the 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and seven of the 27 seats in the Senate. Preliminary results aren't expected until March 31, with the final results to be announced on Apr. 16. (Radio Kiskeya, Haiti, March 20; Radio France Internationale, March 20; AlterPresse, Haiti, March 20)

Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1991-1996, 2001-2004) returned to Haiti from exile in South Africa two days before the elections, on March 18, ignoring a US request to wait until after the vote. Thousands of supporters greeted him, and many were still gathered around his house in the Tabarre suburb northeast of the capital as of March 19. In a speech he made shortly after arriving, Aristide said he was planning to devote himself to education. He made no direct reference to the elections, although his call for "inclusion" rather than "exclusion" was generally interpreted as a reference to the exclusion of his party, Lavalas Family (FL) from the ballot. (Agence Haïtienne de Presse, Haiti, March 18)

http://www.ww4report.com/node/9675