- Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the deposed president of Haiti,
plans to bring legal actions against the French and American governments,
accusing them of "kidnapping" him and forcing him into exile.
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- French and American lawyers acting for Mr Aristide said
yesterday he also planned lawsuits against individuals, including VÈronique
Albanel, the sister of the French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin,
and the writer RÈgis Debray.
-
- Washington and Paris say Mr Aristide left power voluntarily
10 days ago to avoid bloodshed and save himself when rebels menaced the
capital, Port-au-Prince. The former president, in exile in the Central
African Republic, claims he was bundled on an aircraft by US forces at
gunpoint after being told he was being taken to make a radio speech to
the nation.
-
- An American lawyer, Brian Concannon, said in Paris that
Mr Aristide had instructed him to make "preparations for a kidnap
case against the American authorities". Mr Concannon also said French
and US authorities threatened Mr Aristide before he signed a letter of
resignation and fled. "The ambassadors of France and the US told him
he would be killed, his family would be killed and his supporters would
be killed if he did not leave right away," Mr Concannon said. Ira
Kurzban, another American lawyer for Mr Aristide, has written to Colin
Powell, the US Secretary of State, demanding an investigation of Mr Aristide's
departure.
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- "The failure or refusal to do that would result
in our going to the International Court of Justice" in the Netherlands,
Mr Kurzban said.
-
- A French lawyer, Gilbert Collard, said he was preparing
a case for "abduction and sequestration" against the French government.
M. Collard said legal actions for "complicity" in kidnapping
would also be brought against the French ambassador in Haiti, Thierry Burkared,
and his predecessor, Yves Gaudel.
-
- The former president has also accused the Bush administration
of preventing his privately contracted security team from sending reinforcements
to Haiti.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=499980
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