UN Security Council Authorizes Peacekeeping Mission for Haiti as Aristide Resigns, Then Alleges Coercion in His Departure, and Visits Jamaica

Turbulence in Haiti resulted in the departure and resignation of Haitian prime Minister Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 28-29, 2004, followed immediately by a UN Security Council Resolution dispatching a peacekeeping mission, charges of a forced ouster and even kidnapping by Mr. Aristide, and his return to the nearby island of Jamaica. As the security and human rights situations in Haiti continued deteriorating, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called upon all Haitians to eschew violence, settle their differences through peaceful means, and reminded them they would be held individually accountable for any breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law. On the night of February28 and morning of February 29, 2004, Mr. Aristide, his wife, and a small security detail departed on a U.S. plane sent by the Defense Department and carried him to the Central African Republic. Mr. Aristide left hours after the White House in a statement questioned his fitness to rule and after James B. Foley, the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, warned Aristide that violent rebels might overwhelm Port-of-Prince and the National Palace, in which Aristide stayed. On the morning of February 29, 2004, Haitian prime Minister Yvon Neptune read a letter of resignation of Mr. Aristide, stating that Mr. Aristide had chosen to resign to prevent further bloodshed in the armed uprising and to ensure that the new government would confirm to Haiti?s Constitution...[more]