Printer friendly versionHaiti inspires Africans - Mbeki
Posted: Friday, March 26, 2004
iafrica.com/news/sa/312208.htm
The victory of African slaves over French rule in Haiti in the 1800s should be used by Africans to inspire them to successfully address the challenges facing them across the world, South African president Thabo Mbeki said on Friday.
He told delegates attending the sixth African Renaissance Conference in Durban: "Today I am absolutely sure that the people of the Bahamas are inspired as we should be here to make sure that (this) great African victory be used as an inspiration... to address the challenges of the African Renaissance."
Many Africans ignorant of Haiti's history
Mbeki, a proponent of the African Renaissance concept, gave his audience a history lesson on Haiti, saying that many Africans were not taught about the struggle of the impoverished Caribbean country. Due to this many Africans did not know an important part of their history.
He said when a person read about the history of that country, he became angry because it was kept away from Africans because the powers that be knew it would inspire pride amongst all Africans and make them realise what they could accomplish.
Mbeki said he did not want to offend the people who had fought for South Africa's liberation, but it would be very difficult to find a struggle as inspiring as the one by the slaves in Haiti.
Haiti became an independent country and abolished slavery on January 1, 1804. This was after the slaves defeated French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's army.
Mbeki said the French government of that time told Haiti it would not recognise its independence if it did not pay reparations for the loss French slave owners would suffer. This would have led to the French government blocking the exports of Haiti.
"They had no choice but to pay," he said.
The French set up a central bank through which the payments would be made, and because the Haitians could not make the first instalment, money was borrowed from a French bank, and that debt was serviced with interest.
The world's first black republic
In later years the United States took over the debt and only in 1945 did Haiti pay its last reparation.
This was a main reason why Haiti, the world's first back republic, was so impoverished.
Mbeki said there were no centenary celebrations for Haiti's independence because the French government was opposed to this because they would celebrate the defeat of Napoleon. The French government decided that this matter would be reviewed in a 100 years. The same decision was taken for this year's bicentenary celebrations.
Mbeki, who attended this year's celebrations in January, said he had been questioned by Haitian opposition parties and civil society groups about his attendance because it could have been interpreted as showing support for then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted after a military coup earlier this year.
Mbeki said he explained to them that the independence of Haiti was an important part of the history of Africans, and he was there to participate in the celebrations.
He said it was agreed by all parties that Haiti's problems should be discussed under the auspices of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). During discussions the armed uprising, by gangsters and spread by former Haitian soldiers, started.
Haiti's police service did not have any equipment
Mbeki said CARICOM and the Haitian government requested South Africa's help in the matter because its police service did not have any equipment, such as teargas, ammunition and weapons.
Mbeki agreed to help, and after a list was sent to South Africa, the equipment was sent to Jamaica.
However, before the material arrived in Haiti, Aristide was ousted and sent to the Central African Republic.
"He did not ask to leave... but others said he should leave," Mbeki said.
He told the audience that in the midst of all this turmoil, a marvellous thing had happened because the injustice concerning Haiti and Aristide's forced departure, had brought greater unity amongst Africans across the globe.
"I think we have never seen as much unity amongst Africans on a matter," Mbeki said. "All of us are saying a great injustice has happened and all of us are saying we must... help the Haitians."
Africans should address common problems together
Mbeki said Africans would have a bright future if they addressed common problems together.
"Our African people in the United States are still African and are less equal than other Americans," he said to applause.
The small Caribbean countries could only succeed if they were part of the greater African home.
Mbeki said whether Africans were living in Johannesburg or New York, they faced the same difficulties.
He called on those attending the conference to find ways of taking the African Renaissance forward, saying its success would have a positive affect on all Africans.
"What do we need to do to build a global, united movement of Africans?" Mbeki asked.
"Don't lose this opportunity to reinforce the cohesion... so that together we can fight the common problems of Africans."
DA wants answers
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said this week he had written another letter to Mbeki regarding a consignment of arms sent to Haiti in the dying hours of Aristide's rule.
Leon said he had to date received no answer to his previous query regarding the dispatch in late February of an SA Air Force Boeing 707 to the Caribbean island state loaded with 150 R1 assault rifles, ammunition and assorted equipment.
"This is a most extraordinary thing in a constitutional democracy. If it wasn't for a journalist and a newspaper in Jamaica, we would never have known about this deployment," Leon told a press conference in Johannesburg.
The DA leader said he had taken legal advice on the matter from an advocate in Cape Town who advised him that the flight to Haiti amounted to the employment of the Defence Force as contemplated in the constitution as well as in the new Defence Act and that government, by not reporting this deployment to parliament within the stipulated 14 days, was in breach of the law.
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State, defence row over terrorism remand hearing
Posted: Friday, March 19, 2004
Court Reporter www.herald.co.zw
THE State and defence were still debating yesterday where to hold the remand hearing for 70 suspected terrorists linked to an alleged coup plot in the Equatorial Guinea.
The Attorney General's Office wants a secure and convenient venue and suggestions have been made to have the hearings in a prison complex, which is allowed by Zimbabwean law.
The defence is holding out for a hearing in a public court.
The suspected terrorists, who were arrested last week in Harare on their way to the West African country to oust the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, are still in detention at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
The director of public prosecutions, Mr Joseph Musakwa, said the suspects would appear in court as soon as the issue of venue was settled.
"We are resolving the issue of venue for their remand hearing. We want a suitable venue in respect of the number of the suspects and security concerns," said Mr Musakwa.
Mr Musakwa could not comment on whether the proceedings in the case might take place at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, as suggested in some media reports.
The suspects, comprising men from South Africa, Angola, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and one Zimbabwean, were arrested after their United States-registered Boeing 727 plane landed at Harare International Airport on March 7 before it was impounded by security authorities.
The State has already indicated that the 70 Equatorial Guinea-bound suspected terrorists would be charged for breaching the Immigration, Firearms and Public Order and Security Acts.
Charges under these laws carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
Mr Jonathan Samkange of Byron Venturas and Partners, who is representing the suspects, said all his clients had been charged for subversive activities.
He, however, said everything had been finalised except the venue for the remand hearing.
"We are still debating the issue. The State wants the remand hearing to be done in Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison citing security reasons. The defence is totally against the idea," said Mr Samkange.
He said the security fears expressed by the State were unfounded because Zimbabwe had one of the best armies in the world in terms of defence.
"Even the US and Britain cannot do what they are doing to other countries. In Zimbabwe it is very impossible," he said.
Mr Samkange said if his clients were not taken to court by noon today he would seek an order to have them brought to court.
www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=30133&pubdate=2004-03-19
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Land reforms anchor economy: President
Posted: Monday, March 15, 2004
www.herald.co.zw
PRESIDENT Mugabe has said land reforms undertaken in the last four years had anchored the economy for sustained growth, and underpinned the country's sovereignty.
In an interview with a group of local and visiting Cuban journalists, the president said land was any nation's main resource, which had to be equitably owned and shared mainly by the indigenous people.
The Government has brushed off strong Western opposition, led by Britain and the United States, and re-distributed to peasants the bulk of the country's prime farmland previously controlled by a handful of white farmers.
President Mugabe said the programme had laid a strong foundation for sustained economic growth in Zimbabwe, and consolidated the country's independence and sovereignty.
He said political independence which the country gained from Britain in 1980 was hollow if not accompanied by economic empowerment of the majority black Zimbabweans in vital sectors such as agriculture.
"There is no nation that can feel sovereign if its resources, whether it's lands or minerals or any other resources, are in the hands of enemies or foreigners.
"Much as we respect the principles of international capital and investment, that cannot be the excuse that our land was being owned by the British," he said.
"We feel that our land has now been liberated. It is now the land of our people for our people. It (land) gives the people a sense of belonging and ownership," he added.
President Mugabe said the other main aim of the land reforms, in addition to consolidating Zimbabwe's nationhood, was to turn around the economy, and ensure its sustained growth by expanding production in the agricultural sector -- the economy's mainstay.
"Agriculture is an extremely vital sector of our economy -- it yields exports, our food and is the main source of raw materials for our industrial sector," he said.
The bulk of the country's exports are agricultural products such as tobacco, which is Zimbabwe's biggest single export, and cotton.
The president said the next focus, after resettlement, of the Government in the agricultural sector was to provide financing and technical support services to farmers to ensure efficiency and optimal use of the land.
"Now we want to organise the people (resettled farmers) properly, and give them all the assistance they want to be confident and productive, and use the land optimally," said President Mugabe.
"It is necessary that we put inputs at the disposal of the people, things like fertilisers, small tractors and ploughs. We want the people to be efficient and to be mechanised," he said.
He said the land reforms were easy to implement in the country, in part, because Zimbabweans were natural farmers, and deeply attached to their land, giving himself as an example.
"I am also farming in my village. I've 1 000 chickens, but I want to increase that to 2 000, and I keep some pigs also. I produce and sell eggs, and the income from this helps pay for the maintenance of my (village) home," he said.
"The people love their soil," said President Mugabe.
He vowed no amount of pressure -- political, economic or military -- would sway him and the Government to relent on land reforms, which were now spreading to other countries in the region with similar land ownership disparities between white farmers and the indigenous blacks.
He said sanctions, which Western countries had imposed in protest against the reforms, had boomeranged in that they had opened the eyes of blacks in Zimbabwe and elsewhere to the injustice of land ownership in the country.
"Our people are getting stronger in their will and resistance; they no longer listen to them (Western countries) and their puppets," said President Mugabe.
"Yes, sanctions do harm, but we have ourselves realised that we cannot sacrifice our independence (for aid)," he said. -- New Ziana.
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Rwanda 'black box' turns up in UN drawer
Posted: Saturday, March 13, 2004
By David Usborne in New York
13 March 2004, Independent UK
An embarrassed United Nations was struggling to defend itself yesterday following the discovery that a data recorder, that may have come from an aircraft shot down in 1994 while carrying the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, had been hidden in a locked drawer in New York for 10 years.
Called a "first class foul-up" by UN secretary general Kofi Annan, the affair surfaced after questions were put to UN officials earlier last week by reporters from Le Monde newspaper of France. The world body initially responded by ridiculing the suggestion it had the recorder. But, by Thursday, it found itself performing a humiliating about-face.
The chief UN spokesman, Fred Eckhard, confirmed a recorder that could have come from the aircraft had been found in a drawer in the Air Safety Unit of the UN, in a building across the road from its New York headquarters. He further admitted it had apparently never been opened, nor its tapes analysed. Full Article
Assassination of former Rwandan President Habyarimana? By Robin Philpot
Rwandan Genocide: Crisis in Central Africa raceandhistory.com
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Mercenary suspects: Investigations widen
Posted: Friday, March 12, 2004
By Michael Padera, www.herald.co.zw
An eight-man team from Equatorial Guinea arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday to exchange notes on the 67 suspected mercenaries who were arrested in Harare on Sunday while police and the Attorney General's Office continued with investigations and the framing of charges.
The suspected mercenaries are believed to have been on their way to Malabo, the capital of oil-rich West African country, to topple the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
"Yes, I can confirm we have received a special envoy from Equatorial Guinea. It is an eight-member delegation led by the country's Deputy Foreign Minister," said Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mrs Pavelyn Musaka.
The delegation led by Mr Jose Esono Micha visited South Africa where they held talks with Foreign Minister Cde Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Acting Attorney General Mr Bharat Patel yesterday said his office is finalising charges against the suspected mercenaries. In an interview with The Herald, Mr Patel said his office had instructed police to record statements from all 67 suspects.
He said the suspects' appearance in court would depend on how fast the police completed recording statements from individual members of the group. The group leaders -- Simon Mann, Nicholas du Toit and Simon Witherspoon -- could be charged separately from the rest of the group.
Mr Patel said in a separate interview with Newsnet that they were likely to appear in court today but it could be tomorrow or very soon thereafter. He could not say whether the suspects would go to court as one group, saying that would depend on the charges preferred against them.
Mr Patel said charges against the suspects were likely to include contravening the Civil Aviation Act but there "may also be other charges relating to the Firearms Act, possibly also in relation to our immigration laws".
In Pretoria, the South African government said its nationals arrested in Zimbabwe and Equitorial Guinea will have to stand trial and serve any prison sentences in these countries.
"We have no prisoner transfer agreement with any country," said foreign ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa. "As with all South Africans arrested in foreign countries, they will have to face the laws of those countries should it turn out that they were mercenaries," he told AFP.
"We do however, offer consular services. But bringing them back would be out of the question."
South Africa passed a law in 1998, which specifically forbids any mercenary activity and which carries heavy penalties.
In Malabo, in Equatorial Guinea, the leader of a group of 15 suspected mercenaries appeared on national television admitting the group planned to kidnap Obiang and force him into exile in Spain, the former colonial power.
In South Africa, the Afrikaans daily Beeld quoted Foreign Minister Cde Dlamini-Zuma as saying that Pretoria was investigating the matter, but adding it was "clear however, that any South African nationals should not expect too much assistance from the government.
"One of the South Africans apparently told the diplomatic corps in Equatorial Guinea what nonsense he committed there. He will have to explain that himself," the paper quoted her as saying.
That man, identified as 48-year-old Nick du Toit, a South African, said the group was supposed to meet other mercenaries due to arrive from South Africa, but that they were told at the last minute the group had been arrested.
In Harare on Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Cde Stan Mudenge told diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe that the Government would work with authorities in Equatorial Guinea, South Africa and DRC in the investigations.
The suspects were arrested on Sunday night in Harare allegedly on their way to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to remove the government of President Obiang.
President Obiang came into power in 1979.
The leader of the suspected mercenaries Simon Mann had allegedly been promised cash payment of one million British pounds and oil mining rights in the Malabo Islands.
The country's rebel leader Severo Moto, who is currently resident in Spain allegedly hired them to do the job. However, news agency reports from Madrid said Moto denied involvement in the planned coup but said President Obiang should go, by force if needed.
In 1997 Moto was arrested in Angola and expelled to Spain on suspicion of plotting a coup. He said links to the foiled coup were a fabrication designed to discredit him ahead of legislative and municipal elections due in April.
In Washington, United States Secretary of State Colin Powell denied US government involvement in the issue, but said the plane, a Boeing 727-100, was headed to another country and not Zimbabwe.
"We know nothing about the plane," the US chief diplomat said during an appearance before Congress.
"What we've learned from the information available to us is there are a group of individuals on the plane who were heading somewhere, not to Zimbabwe, they ended there, but that's not their intended destination as near as we can tell," Mr Powell said.
Mr Powell strenously denied the men had been dispatched by the US to overthrow President Mugabe. "We have no intention in going and displacing President Mugabe," Mr Powell said.
"But are we disappointed in his leadership? Do we speak critically of his leadership? Yes, we do," Powell said.
The suspects comprise 20 South Africans, 18 Namibians, 23 Angolans, two Congolese (DRC) and one Zimbabwean with a South African passport and three others believed to be the leaders.
Equatorial Guinea is Africa's third largest oil producer behind Nigeria and Angola. The discovery of massive oil reserves has boosted Equatorial Guinea's economy by as much as 70 percent a year, but critics say the newfound wealth has not been evenly distributed.
Cde Mudenge said investigations pointed to the availability of oil as the reason behind the ill-fated mission.
US giant Exxon Mobil Corp is the biggest oil producer in Equatorial Guinea. Other companies operating there include independent oil company Amerada Hess Corp, US Chevron Texaco Corp, Noble Energy Inc, Devon Energy Corp, Houston-based Marathon Oil Corp, South Africa's Engen Africa, Sasol and Nigeria's atlas Petroleum. -- Additional reporting by Reuters and AFP.
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Mercenaries captured in Equatorial Guinea coup bid
Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2004
By Michael Padera, www.herald.co.zw
THE 67 suspected mercenaries arrested in Harare on Sunday were on their way to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to remove the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the Minister of Home Affairs, Cde Kembo Mohadi revealed yesterday.
The leader of the group, Simon Mann, had allegedly been promised cash payment of one million British pounds and oil mining rights in the Malabo Islands. Equatorial Guinea is rich in oil.
The country's exiled rebel leader Severo Moto who is currently resident in Spain, Madrid, hired them to do the job.
Cde Mohadi said this during a media briefing yesterday evening.
He said the group, which landed in Harare on Sunday, wanted to collect arms and ammunition from the Zimbabwe Defence Industries.
"From Zimbabwe the plane was expected to fly straight to Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, landing in Malabo in the early hours of Monday the 8th of March. On landing the group was expected to be joined by co-conspirators already in Malabo to stage a coup to remove President Obiang from power," he said.
After the mission, the mercenaries were to fly to the DRC where the arms and ammunition bought from Zimbabwe were to be handed over to Katangese rebels.
Mann and Nicholas du Toit were assisted by another man only identified as Bonds in planning the coup.
"As part of his assignment Bonds spent December 2003 and January 2004 in Malabo carrying out reconnaissance. It was Bonds who was expected to give the signal for the planned coup," said Cde Mohadi.
He said in the event of stiff resistance from forces loyal to President Obiang, the mercenaries were to fly to a safe haven in Sao Tome and Principe.
Cde Mohadi said Mann had revealed that the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Spanish Secret Service aided the group.
The secret services persuaded the Equatorial Guinea service chiefs, that is the head of police and commander of the army, not to put up any resistance.
They were promised cabinet posts in Moto's government.
The agencies were responsible for the hiring of the Boeing 727-100 from Dodson Aviation and they also provided satellite communication system to link up Moto in Spain, Mann and du Toit in South Africa and Bonds in Malabo.
United States forces are reportedly carrying out military exercises around Equatorial Guinea.
Cde Mohadi said investigations showed that the plane flew from Sao Tome and Principe on March 7, 2004 through South Africa where it was handed over to the crew.
"Investigations are continuing and more information will be released as it comes to hand," he said.
In Malabo, national radio quoted President Obiang as confirming that the 15 suspected mercenaries arrested in Equatorial Guinea were linked to the plane load of alleged soldiers of fortune detained in Zimbabwe.
"A group of mercenaries entered the country and was studying plans to carry out a coup d'etat in Equatorial Guinea," said Obiang.
They were found to be in possession of maps of the capital, Malabo, and satellite telephones, Obiang said, adding they were linked to the plane load of suspected mercenaries who have been detained since the weekend in Zimbabwe.
Although Harare maintains that those on board the impounded plane were mercenaries and threw them in prison, a British company which said it was operating the flight claimed those on board were on their way to work in the mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"We spoke with the South African president who warned us that a group of mercenaries was heading towards Equatorial Guinea ... Angola also sent messages to tell us to be vigilant. That's what I expect of friendly countries," said Obiang.
Obiang said the suspected putschists "were funded by enemy powers, by multi-national companies and also by countries that do not like us," but did not name names.
Equatorial Guninea official radio said Wednesday that the 15 were led by a 48-year-old South African national, Nick du Toit, who was a "trafficker of arms and diamonds".
It added that the others were from Armenia, Angola, Sao Tome and South Africa, and that there was also one German national in the group.
All of them were wanted in their countries, the radio said, adding du Toit had been in Malabo since July 2003 while the others had arrived in waves posing as businessmen.
The radio did not give any more names, but Obiang pointed the finger at opposition activist Severo Moto, who is in exile in Spain, and who tried to mount a coup against Obiang in 1997 from Angola.
Moto, who recently set up a government in exile for the tiny, oil-rich Gulf of Guinea country, was sentenced in absentia by a court in Malabo to 100 years in jail for his role in the 1997 coup bid, and his Party for Progress in Equatorial Guinea was banned.
Moto yesterday denied that he had anything to do with the alleged coup bid, saying in a statement that he "has at no time left Spain." – additional reporting by Reuters and AFP.
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Footage of BBC documentary linked to MDC
Posted: Wednesday, March 10, 2004
The Herald (Harare)
March 10, 2004
Harare
The footage of the BBC documentary, which falsely claimed that the Zimbabwean Government has set up secret camps across the country to train youths to rape, torture and kill, was done by political activists with strong links to the MDC working with well known media personalities, it has emerged.
Sources yesterday said the footage of the documentary was not done by the producer of the documentary, Hilary Andersson, who has since admitted that the stories were inconsistent and could not be substantiated, or the BBC itself but by political activists and media personalities.
According to the sources, among the media personalities co-ordinating the footage was Silas Nhara, a cameraman.
The sources said Nhara is said to have played a key role in the assembling of the hotly disputed footage and links which have been described by some observers as amateurish.
They said Nhara was assisted by Reuters photographer Howard Burditt, who was using his accreditation to do undercover work, and Tsvangirai Mukwazhi, a former photographer of the Daily News.
"This is the core team which has been assembling the fictitious footage. This is a reinforcement particularly in the wake of the demise of the Daily News," the sources said, adding that the British intelligence and the British Embassy in Harare were also involved in co-ordinating the operation.
They said following growing criticism of the BBC documentary, which is now widely seen in diplomatic circles as crude propaganda, the team has been beefed up.
Those brought in to beef up the team include Andrew Chadwick who, together with Charlene Smith, ran the failed MDC media support centre in the run-up to the 2000 parliamentary elections, Edwina Spicer, the Reuters head for Southern Africa and other foreign correspondents based in Zimbabwe.
Spicer had fled the country with her son to Britain who is a well known MDC activist who is wanted by police in connection with a murder case.
The Herald understands that Spicer and Chadwick have since their return been under close surveillance by security authorities because the activities they have been involved in have raised eyebrows.
The back-up team is also linked to the United Nations news agency IRIN in Johannesburg, which is headed by a Nigerian who is known to be anti-Zimbabwe.
According to the sources, the head of IRIN was trying to recruit Zimbabweans in the local media but the recruitment has not been successful following the crackdown on journalists moonlighting for hostile foreign media.
The IRIN head and the Reuters head for southern Africa were also understood to be linking up on the operation.
The Reuters head was recently in Zimbabwe to meet the team running the operation.
The sources added that Tom Kirkhood, who heads Reuters Television, "and is a strong Rhodesian with family land in Zimbabwe and is said to be very bitter about losing land" had been assigned to take over the work of Mighty Movies, which had been doing footage for the same group.
"He has come in because Mighty Movies 'had the luxury of telling a balanced story'," the sources said.
Some of the people accused of co-ordinating the programme denied involvement in the exercise when reached for comment yesterday.
Nhara said he had no dealings with the BBC and that he worked for Independent Television Channel 3, UK.
"Where did you get that? I don't understand how I fit in this and I have no dealings with the BBC at all. I have been a freelance for 10 years now and worked for IT (Independent Television) which competes with the BBC," Nhara said.
Howard also said he had no connections with the BBC and said he was a still photographer.
"I have got nothing to do with the BBC. I'm a still photographer and BBC is a television," Howard said.
The others could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Asked for a comment, a Government spokesman confirmed these developments saying they were fully aware of the whole plot.
"Soon or later they (the co-ordinating team) will find themselves in the quandary of a spider web trapped by its own web," the spokesman said.
The BBC's onslaught to discredit Zimbabwe's human rights record has suffered a major hitch after Andersson backtracked on claims of alleged torture camps in the country.
As part of efforts to place Zimbabwe on the agenda of the March 15 United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting to be held in Geneva Switzerland, the BBC last week recycled discredited claims that the Zimbabwean Government has set up secret camps across the country to train thousands of youths to rape, torture and kill opponents of the Government and Zanu-PF.
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Seized U.S. Plane: Zimbabwe's Probe Continues
Posted: Wednesday, March 10, 2004
The Herald (Harare)
March 10, 2004
Harare
GOVERNMENT yesterday revealed the nationalities of the 64 suspected mercenaries who were detained at the Harare International Airport on Sunday night after the owners of their plane had made false declaration of the cargo and crew.
They are 20 South Africans, 18 Namibians, 23 Angolans, two Congolese (DRC) and one Zimbabwean with a South African passport.
The Minister of Home Affairs Cde Kembo Mohadi said Zimbabwean security authorities became suspicious after the pilot had only kept the cockpit lights on with the rest of the plane in darkness.
"This was deliberate and it was clearly intended to hide the presence of the additional 64 passengers. On the discovery of the undeclared passengers, the plane was immediately grounded and the crew and passengers arrested," he said.
Cde Mohadi said the captain of the plane had advised the Harare tower that the plane was empty except for the crew of three and four loaders.
An advance team met the plane at the Harare International Airport and it consisted of one Simon Mann and two other men who had entered the country on March 5 this year.
The minister said initial investigations revealed that the plane was a former US Airforce aircraft which was sold to Dodson Aviation of the United States, a company he said had links to the US government.
"The plane recently flew to South Africa with an American crew which then swapped with a South African crew in Pretoria. It was at Wonderboom Airport that the mercenaries embarked and loaded their cargo," he said.
The plane is believed to have stopped at Petersburg airport before proceeding to Harare.
Cde Mohadi said Mann had initially visited the country in February this year together with one Nicholas du Toit.
The two referred to themselves as international technical consultants based in the British Virgin Islands.
"Simon Mann claimed to run a company called Logo Logistics while du Toit ran a company called Military Technical Services Incorporated. Both operated from the same address," he said.
The two made inquiries about the purchase of arms and ammunition and indicated they worked with a country in the Great Lakes to train Katangese rebels.
They later changed their story and claimed that they wanted weapons to protect a mining property in the DRC.
"Questions were raised as to why the two South Africans would want to buy weapons from Zimbabwe if the end use was legal. South Africa is a much bigger arms manufacturer," he said.
Cde Mohadi said a sinister motive was suspected and measures to monitor their plans until the arrest were instituted.
He said only the white component of the group seemed knowledgeable of the final destination and the purpose of the expedition.
It is believed a briefing on the mission was to be given to the rest of the members once the plane was airborne.
Cde Mohadi said investigations had also revealed that Mann was a former member of the British Special Airforce Service (SAS).
He said when the other members were arrested, du Toit was not there and had started arranging for the legal representation of the accused.
He said a Simon Witherspoon, a known South African mercenary who has operated in various countries in Africa, including Cote d*Ivoire, appeared to be the spokesman of the group.
He left the South African Defence Forces in 1989 to join the mercenary company, Executive Outcomes.
The minister said preliminary investigations indicated that Harare was not the final destination of the group as Bujumbura in Burundi and Mbuji Mayi in the DRC had been mentioned as the other destinations.
"Further investigations are underway and more information will be released to the public as it becomes available," Cde Mohadi said.
Government was working closely with other Sadc members on the issue.
Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Mr Karikoga Kaseke said the flight plan of the impounded plane had a lot of inconsistencies and was very misleading and at times conflicting.
He said the owners of the plane said the plane had only three crew members and four loaders and carried cargo.
"This is the reason why we parked it in the cargo section. They did not tell us they had people inside," he said.
Mr Kaseke said the crew asked for a technical stopover for refuelling but it later emerged they had other plans.
He said the crew indicated they were flying to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Checks with flying records had also shown that the plane was flying very low which is a security risk, Mr Kaseke said.
South African Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Mr Aziz Pahad said in a statement his ministry would remain in close contact with its ambassador in Zimbabwe Mr Jeremiah Ndou to seek clarity on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"Should the allegations that those South Africans on board are involved in mercenary activities prove true, this would amount to a serious breach of the Foreign Military Assistance Act which expressly prohibits the involvement of South Africans in military Conventional Arms Control Committee," he said.
Zimbabwe security authorities detained the United States-registered plane on Sunday night after its owners had made false declaration of its cargo and crew.
The capture of 64 suspected mercenaries in Harare on Sunday took a new dimension yesterday in South Africa, the United States, Britain, Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.
This comes amid contradictory reports over the suspects* mission with Reuters news agency reporting that Equatorial Guinea had arrested a 15-strong "advance party" from the same group while the South African Press Association claimed that the suspected mercenaries were mining contractors travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
SAPA news agency reported that a British company, Logo Logistics Ltd, was operating the impounded plane.
The South African news agency said the company sent it a statement in which it said: "We can make it clear that we have no current or intended business in Zimbabwe and certainly no illegal intentions against its government and people."
Logo told SAPA that what Zimbabwean authorities described as "military" items on board was in fact working equipment such as boots, pipe-bending and wire-cutting tools.
Logo said the aircraft, seized at Harare International Airport on Sunday, was recently purchased and still registered in the United States.
"There is no other link with the US," the company said.
However, authorities in Equatorial Guinea, a country in West Africa, said they had arrested a 15-strong "advance party" from the same group.
"Some 15 mercenaries have been arrested here in Equatorial Guinea and it was connected with that plane in Zimbabwe. They were the advance party of that group," Equatorial Guinea Information Minister Agustin Nse Nfumu told Reuters.
According to Reuters, the arrests come amid speculation among exiled opposition politicians in Equatorial Guinea that a coup was in the offing.
Charles Burrows, a senior executive of Logo Logistics, said most of the people on board were South African and had military experience, but were on contract to four mining companies in Congo.
"They were going to eastern DRC. They stopped in Zimbabwe to pick up mining equipment, Zimbabwe being a vastly cheaper place for such," he said.
Burrows, whose company is registered in Britain*s Channel Islands, denied any connection between the group detained in Harare and those arrested in Equatorial Guinea.
"I haven*t the foggiest idea of what they*re talking about," he said by telephone from London.
South African air traffic control said the plane had left Johannesburg on Sunday and made a stop at Wonderboom airport near Pretoria. From there it flew to the northern South African town of Polokwane, where it took on some 63 passengers and completed departure formalities.
Craig Partridge, a spokesman for South Africa*s Air Traffic and Navigation Services, said the plane had filed full flight plans showing it would travel to Harare and from there to Bujumbura in Burundi on Congo*s eastern border.
In Washington, the State Department said it had no indication that the plane was connected to the US government.
US Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane registered to Dodson Aviation Inc. based in Ottawa, Kansas. Dodson said it had sold the plane about a week ago to an African firm called Logo Ltd.
The white plane with a blue stripe across its body contained an assortment of military hardware that included a rubber boat (dingy), sleeping bags, loud hailers, hammers, sophisticated radio communication equipment, water proof boots and bolt cutters.
According to media reports from South Africa the plane was sold to a South African firm last week.
Jim Pippin the acting general manager for Dodson International, a subsidiary of Dodson Aviation Inc, which is headquartered in Ottawa, Kansas, said the Boeing 727-100 was sold to Logo Logistics.
"The plane was sold by Dodson out of the United States. The company took delivery of the plane over the weekend after it most likely flew out from Florida," Pippin told AFP from Wonderboom airport, just north of Pretoria.
Asked why an internet search showed the plane was still with a US registration in the name of Dodson, Pippin said: "They have not yet had time to do a re-registration."
AFP reports said the owner of a flying school at Wonderboom airport, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Boeing 727-100 landed there about 8.00am on Sunday.
"They asked me to move some of my aircraft because the jetstream from such a large aircraft could have damaged them," he said.
Peet van Rensburg, a spokesman for Wonderboom airport, confirmed that the plane was at the airport on Sunday, but also said he believed it proceeded to Polokwane.
Moses Seate spokesman for the South African Civil Aviation Authorities said the organisation would release a statement as soon as investigations are complete.
Reproduced From: www.herald.co.zw/
Zimbabwe: Mercenary Suspects May Face Death Penalty
'Namibians among mercenaries' detained in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe accuses foreign media of being 'mercenaries'
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Zimbabwe seizes US plane with 'mercenaries'
Posted: Monday, March 8, 2004
Zimbabwe 'alert' over seized jet CNN - Mar 09, 04
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's government says it has put its army on full alert after seizing a U.S.-registered cargo plane that officials say was carrying 64 suspected mercenaries and a cargo of military gear. In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesman said the aircraft had no connection to the U.S. government, and the company listed as the plane's owner said the aircraft was sold recently. Full Article
Mystery plane flew from S Africa BBC- Mar 9, 04
A plane carrying 64 alleged mercenaries impounded by Zimbabwe came from South Africa, say air authorities there. The intended destination of the men on board - described as burly and white, and militarily equipped - is unknown. The US authorities have denied that there is any connection between the plane and the government, while acknowledging that it may be US-registered. US aviation records show the plane - with a tail number N4610 - registered to an Dodson Aviation in Ottawa, Kansas, but a company official said it was sold to Logo Aviation, a South-Africa-based firm, a week ago. Although a BBC correspondent in Johannesburg says this company appears not to exist. Full Article
Zimbabwe seizes US plane with 'mercenaries'
sabcnews.com
Zimbabwe has seized a US-registered cargo plane carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities and a cargo of military gear, officials said today. The Boeing 727-100 aircraft was impounded yesterday evening at Harare International Airport "after its owners had made a false declaration of its cargo and crew," said Kembo Mohadi, the home affairs minister, in a statement. "The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities," Mohadi said, adding an investigation had also found military material. Full Article
Zimbabwe Seizes U.S.-Registered Plane
guardian.co.uk
The Boeing 727-100 was detained at Harare's main airport late Sunday after its owners allegedly made "a false declaration of its cargo and crew," Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mahadi said at a briefing. "The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities," he said. "Further investigations also revealed that on board was military material." Full Article
Zimbabwe 'seizes US cargo plane' BBC
A US-registered cargo plane with 64 suspected mercenaries on board has been impounded in Harare, Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi has said. The Boeing 727-100 was held on Sunday after it had "made a false declaration of its cargo and crew," Mr Mohadi said. He said the plane was carrying mercenaries of differing nationalities and "military material". Full Article
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Moyo tells US to 'go to hell'
Posted: Thursday, March 4, 2004
04/03/2004 13:41 - (SA) www.news24.com
Harare - Zimbabwe's information minister has dismissed new US sanctions which target him and other members of President Robert Mugabe's ruling party, saying "imperialist" Washington could go to hell, a newspaper said on Thursday.
"These Americans who are pontificating about human rights and democracy would not recognise these things even if they hit them on their faces. So go and tell the imperialist to go to hell," Information Minister Jonathan Moyo was quoted as saying in Thursday's edition of the state-run Herald daily. Full Article
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BBC revives propaganda blitz against Zimbabwe
Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Herald Reporter
THE BBC has revived its propaganda blitz against the Government ahead of next year's parliamentary elections, claiming the Government has set up secret camps across the country in which thousands of youths are taught how to rape, torture and kill.
The camps being referred to by the BBC are national youth service training centres and it claims that those who have escaped from the camps "say they are part of a brutal plan to keep (President) Mugabe in power".
In its story the BBC claimed that it spoke to some recruits on its Panorama programme "about a horrific training programme that breaks young teenagers down before encouraging them to commit atrocities".
It claimed that Panorama also learnt that some of the recruits are taught to torture Government opponents.
During covert filming inside Zimbabwe, Panorama claimed it spoke to a camp commander who told the programme that youths in his camp had been sent to kill opponents of President Mugabe.
He said: "In the area I am covering I heard of two. My superiors instructed that the people must be eliminated."
The BBC also falsely claimed President Mugabe now wants every Zimbabwean youth to undergo training.
"We have been told they will be used to intimidate political opponents in next year*s elections. These guys are going to be used by the ruling party to keep the opposition out of power," the said commander was quoted saying.
In the past the BBC has heightened its propaganda against the Government each time elections draw near.
There have been false reports in the Western media in the past of youths claiming to have escaped from the training centres and confessing to committing rape, torture and murder in the country.
Some opposition elements including church leaders notably Archbishop Pius Ncube, who dabbles in opposition politics and is a staunch Government critic, have appeared at Press conferences where the Western and South African media are invited, flanked by youths supposedly confessing to raping, torturing and murdering opponents of the Government.
Last year in September, Archbishop Ncube appeared at a Press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa with youths confessing to such acts.
The press conference was held to release a report alleging human rights abuses under the National Youth Service.
The Government has since barred the BBC from covering events in the country because of its biased reporting and propaganda.
In July 2001, the Government suspended the accreditation of all BBC correspondents in the country.
¤ US widens its sanctions against Zimbabwe
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Aristide's Kidnapping: A Repeat Of History
Posted: Wednesday, March 3, 2004
By George Alleyne
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
The reported kidnapping by the United States of America military of Haitian President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family and their being spirited out ot Haiti, is an uncanny and shameful repeat of history. It followed by a little more than 200 years the kidnapping of Toussaint L'Ouverture who had led the world's only successful slave revolution. Then Haiti was known as Saint Dominique or San Domingo. It was Toussaint L'Ouverture who would change the name to that which had been given it by its indigenous people — Haiti! And as in the case of Aristide, L'Ouverture's wife and family had also been abducted and removed from Haiti. Perhaps CARICOM countries will issue travel advisories against the United States with appropriate warnings.
Aristide, in telephone conversations with highly respected United States political figures Charles Rangel, Randall Robinson and Maxine Waters, made from the Central African Republic (Chad) to where he was flown on Sunday, insisted that he was forced to resign the Haitian Presidency by the United States and taken to Chad against his will, and is under guard by French and African soldiers. Of interest was the choice of words by the US authorities in releasing information on Aristide. They said that he had "fled" Haiti, fully realising the implication that the word "fled" would convey. Aristide was Haiti's first constitutionally elected President and as such should only have been removed from office by constitutional means. Instead, for the past several weeks his Administration had been under threat by armed uprising by Haitians led by several and among them a man who had been notorious for having had thousands of Aristide's supporters murdered and maimed during the period 1991-1994, when Aristide had been ousted from office.
Some people tend to say, somewhat glibly, that it was the United States that had brought Aristide back in 1994, citing this as evidence of US concern, even today. They fail to point out that it was the Bill Clinton Administration which had actively supported his return, an Administration whose policies were clearly far removed from those of the present Republican Government. When Aristide returned to office he made the grave error of disbanding the Haitian Army, leaving thousands of men who had been trained to fight, not only out of jobs and disaffected, but leaderless and open to blandishments. In turn, it would have been unreasonable to have expected them to have been loyal to Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the man they would have considered responsible for whatever uncomfortable social situation in which they may have found themselves.
For the most part they were a gaggle of loose cannons whose loyalty, to use a cliche, was up for grabs. Haiti has been a poor country for most of its history. Its poverty was not self induced, clearly not the result of people not wishing to work and improve their lot. But Haiti, following on its slave revolt and the defeat of the French troops which had sought to reimpose French Imperial rule, had been the victim of economic blockades which prevented it from selling its sugar and other produce, and from purchasing goods and services, including equipment and spares, to keep its factories and plants going. In addition, France had demanded of and forced reparations payments on Haiti, claiming that former French land and slave owners in Haiti were entitled to reparations for the property (include in this slaves) which they had lost. Either the reparations or the economic blockade would have been crippling. The British Government, when it abolished slavery in its colonial possessions had been more "charitable." It had given the former slave owners 20 million pounds sterling as payment for the slave property they had lost, while allowing them to keep the lands which they owned.
When the Aristide Administration lost Gonaives, Haiti's second largest city, its days were literally over and all that remained if the Government was to live out its term would have been United Nations intervention in the form of peace keeping forces. The rebels were clearly being supplied from overseas with arms and ammunition, and Haiti's Police Service, trained to maintain law and order, had been no match for them. Interestingly, L'Ouverture had been at Gonaives when he was requested to attend a meeting with a French General, which would lead to his seizure and exile to France. In much the same manner that Toussaint L'Ouverture had agreed to meet at his house with Ferrari, Aide-de-Camp to General Leclerc, then Commander in Chief of the French troops in Haiti, Aristide had met with US soldiers at the Presidential Palace. The US soldiers, perhaps, like the French 201 years plus earlier, were there simply to "secure his person."
The world may never know the details for some time to come of what transpired at the Presidential Palace on Sunday, but it does know what happened when Toussaint L'Ouverture was kidnapped. Aristide was taken out of Haiti by plane, and Toussaint by ship. As he boarded the French vessel, which was to take him to France, exile and prison, he said to the ship's captain: "In overthrowing me you have cut down in San Domingo only the trunk of the tree of liberty. It will spring up again by the roots for they are numerous and deep." CARICOM must seek to persuade the United Nations to draw up and implement a plan for the social, educational, industrial and agricultural reconstruction of Haiti, and be prepared to be part of the rebuilding process of a CARICOM Member State.
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Aristide Says 'I Was Kidnapped'
Posted: Monday, March 1, 2004
March 1st, 2004
www.democracynow.org
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. Click on this link to read a full transcript of the Democracy Now! interview with Rep. Maxine Waters.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I'm Amy Goodman. Congressmember Waters, can you tell us about the conversation you just had with Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide?
MAXINE WATERS: I most certainly can and he's anxious for me to get the message out so people will understand. He is in the Central Republic of Africa at a place called the Palace of the Renaissance, and he's not sure if that's a house or a hotel or what it is and he is surrounded by military. It's 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 wife Mildred and his brother-in-law and two of his security people, and somebody from the Steel Foundation, and they're all, there's 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. It's 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 that's 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 don't 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, Congressmember 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: That's right, with French speaking officers, he's surrounded by them and he's 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: I'm 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 don't 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. You've 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 don't 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 de'tat 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: Congressmember 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.
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Aristide Says 'I Was Kidnapped'
Posted: Monday, March 1, 2004
March 1st, 2004
www.democracynow.org
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. Click on this link to read a full transcript of the Democracy Now! interview with Rep. Maxine Waters.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I'm Amy Goodman. Congressmember Waters, can you tell us about the conversation you just had with Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide?
MAXINE WATERS: I most certainly can and he's anxious for me to get the message out so people will understand. He is in the Central Republic of Africa at a place called the Palace of the Renaissance, and he's not sure if that's a house or a hotel or what it is and he is surrounded by military. It's 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 wife Mildred and his brother-in-law and two of his security people, and somebody from the Steel Foundation, and they're all, there's 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. It's 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 that's 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 don't 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, Congressmember 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: That's right, with French speaking officers, he's surrounded by them and he's 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: I'm 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 don't 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. You've 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 don't 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 de'tat 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: Congressmember 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.
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Update: Aristide 'U.S. Forced Me to Leave Haiti'
Posted: Sunday, February 29, 2004
Updated: March 02, 2004
U.S. Rep M. Waters: Aristide Says 'I Was Kidnapped'
Another blow to democracy in homeland, local Haitians lament "Aristide was kidnapped!" they screamed, draped in Haitian flags. "Election yes, coup no," said the placards they raised in defiance.
Haiti's Aristide says he was abducted
Aristide: 'White American Military' Kidnapped Me
Aristide: 'U.S. Forced Me to Leave Haiti'
Aristide accuses U.S. of forcing his ouster
BBC: Embattled Aristide leaves Haiti
Other news reports have stated that Aristide has not left Haiti
Haiti: return to savagery
¤ Haiti 2004: Another US-Backed Coup
¤ Aristide Bows to Pressure, Leaves Haiti
¤ Bush Increases Push for Haitian to Leave Office
¤ While U.S. Tries to Mask it's Role - Haitians resist coup attempt
¤ The Haiti Boomerang
¤ Bush accused of supporting Haitian rebels
¤ U.S. can end the killing it started in Haiti
¤ US is Arming Anti-Aristide Paramilitaries
¤ ESC: Act on Haiti now!
¤ Haiti's Descent into Gang Warfare
¤ Haiti still enslaved for all its rebellion
¤ Beloved Haiti: A (Counter) Revolutionary Bicentennial
¤ US Double Game in Hait
¤ Haiti-A Call For Global Action
¤ Media vs. Reality in Haiti
Crisis In Haiti
IMC Coverage
In the past week paramilitary groups in Haiti have continued to burn buildings and attack police stations, while the "opposition" continues to refuse negotiations and call for President Jean-Bertrand's Aristide's resignation, with the support of the US and Canadia n governments.
Meanwhile, the corporate media (and some "alternative media") have continues to ignore numerous aspects of the situation: US financial support of the opposition, previous US involvement in the region (including support of military dictators, the freezing of over $500 million in international aid and loans, and efforts to prevent the raising of the minimum wage). Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and has been used as a source of cheap labour by companies like Disney, Wal-Mart and KMart. Workers are paid as little as 11 cents per hour.
US and Canadian diplomats have placed the blame on Aristide, who has publically declared himself to be willing to negotiate with the opposition. The opposition consists of a collection of political parties supported by US funds, the Haitian media and the Haitian economic elite, whose popular support is estimated at between 8 and 12%.
Haiti has a long history of resistance:
The year 2004 marks 200 years of Haitian independence. In 1791, 400,000 Africans enslaved in Haiti rose up against French colonial rule. Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti a free nation in 1804, culminating the world's only successful revolution of enslaved people. From the beginning, Haiti found itself isolated and besieged. The United States led a worldwide boycott against Haiti and refused to recognize the new nation until 1864, fearing that its freedom would pose a danger to the U.S. system of slavery. In 1825, the Haitian people were forced to assume a debt to France of 90 million gold francs (equivalent to $21.7 billion today) as "reparations" to their former "owners", in return for diplomatic recognition and trade. To make the first payment, Haiti closed all its public schools in what has been called the hemisphere's first case of structural adjustment.
www.indymedia.org/en/2004/02/110468.shtml
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