Sue Cobb

South Africa yesterday added its voice to calls for an independent international investigation into the circumstances of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's departure from Haiti.

Aristide claimed that he was virtually kidnapped and forced into exile, prompting the initial call by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) for a UN-led probe into the affair. The US has denied the claim.

"The suggestion that President Aristide may have been forced out of office, if true, will have serious consequences and ramifications for the respect of the rule of law and democracy the world over," Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement. ".South Africa stands ready to support all efforts by Caricom to help bring stability and security to Haiti."

But in Jamaica, US Ambassador Sue Cobb argued that such a probe would be a waste of time and urged countries to set aside their differences over Aristide's overthrow and work for the good of the Haitian people.

In a radio interview last night, Cobb also said she was "offended by the inflammatory language" used by Prime Minister P J Patterson on Wednesday to describe some of America's behaviour in the Haiti affair.

"I have a very high respect for the prime minister, but some things said at the press conference could have been left unsaid," Cobb told her interviewers of the Power 106 Nationwide programme.

She did not specify which of Patterson's remarks, speaking as chairman of Caricom, she found offensive, but the Jamaican leader left little doubt of what he though of the veracity of US statements on the Aristide affair.

For instance, Aristide said that he was not allowed to speak to anyone when the plane taking him into an exile - which he insists was involuntary - made a refueling stop in Antigua. This contradicts a US claim that he had contacts with officials on the island.

"We have been unable to identify any such person to whom he may have spoken," Patterson told reporters on Tuesday.

But perhaps the prime minister's harshest comment came when he spoke about the declaration filed by the operators of the aircraft carrying Aristide, and the fact that no one was allowed to go onboard.

Said Patterson: "The declaration which was made by the operators of the plane disclosed that there were no passengers aboard. Whether that indicates that those who were on board were regarded not as passengers but as cargo, is something which I leave for you to determine."

Caricom believes it was betrayed by the US, France and Canada, who initially backed a power-sharing initiative proposed by the 15-member group, but then backed away when the Haitian Opposition said they would not participate.

Instead, pressure was placed on Aristide to step down, leading to what Caricom stopped just short of calling a coup.
Cobb, however, argued that the Caricom initiative just didn't work.

"I think Caricom is disappointed because the plan didn't go forward," the ambassador said. ". We did not abandon Caricom. There was a discussion between the leadership of Caricom and the highest levels of government in Washington. Conversations continued up to the time at which Aristide decided he had to leave."

In her radio interview, Cobb insisted that the US "never made a demand for Aristide's departure", and pointed out that the investigation proposed by Caricom would be of little value.

Said Cobb: "My personal opinion is that we would waste a lot of time and effort. An investigation will show that the US was not involved in kidnapping or a coup."

What a UN investigation might show, Cobb said, was "how many of his (Aristide's) presumed friends would not provide asylum".

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