Aristide brands current Haiti PM 'a killer'

According to media reports on Monday, Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue accused President Thabo Mbeki of allowing Aristide to incite violence from South Africa.

Aristide has been in exile in South Africa since May 31 this year. He and his family are living, at taxpayers' expense, in Pretoria.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad on Monday rejected the charges.

Lies and repression

And in a statement on Wednesday, Aristide accused Latortue of lies and repression.

"Latortue crossed the line; he unleashed a new torrent of repression in Haiti and is now looking for a scapegoat.

"He is attempting to bury his self-incriminating statements with lies," Aristide said.

At the same time the ousted leader rejected violence, saying "violence and murder are not the answer".

"True dialogue is the only solution."

http://iafrica.com/news/sa/18817.htm

"Latortue, stop the lying, stop the killings," Mr. Aristide said in a statement from South Africa directed at Gérard Latortue, Haiti's interim prime minister.

"True dialogue is the only solution. With the lives of millions at stake, public officials must act responsibly," he said in the statement.

Mr. Aristide has been in South Africa since May after he was forced into exile in February in what he says was a coup engineered by the United States.

The statement was his first public reaction to an attack from Mr. Latortue last Sunday. In it, Mr. Latortue accused Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, of allowing Mr. Aristide to direct a violent campaign in Haiti by his supporters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/21/international/americas/21haiti.html

Aristide accused Latortue's government of killing a number of protesting civilians during the recent clashes in Haiti and of allowing former soldiers of the "disbanded brutal army" to take charge of certain areas.

He also referred to a report by the US Catholic peace movement, "Pax Christi USA", which berated the interim government for jailing elected officials and their supporters while armed militias went about their business with impunity.

"Latortue, stop the lying, stop the killings. Start paving the way for a dialogue which we have unceasingly invoked these past three and a half years," read Aristide's statement.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=122&art_id=vn20041021064845983C240503

"Latortue crossed the line. and is now looking for a scapegoat," Aristide said.

At least 55 people have died since September 30, when Aristide loyalists took to the streets to demand his return to office.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20041020T230000-0500_67999_OBS_ARISTIDE_RAPS_LATORTUE_.asp