HAITI

 

 

The government of Haiti has issued a diplomatic passport for former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, so that he could return to the country.

"All the formalities have been completed," a government official, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP.

However, Ira Kurzban, one of Aristide's lawyers said that not only had he not received a passport but also has not been informed that they had issued it.

On January 31, Haitian government officials announced they were ready to issue the passport if Aristide requested it.

Last year, after the devastating January 12 earthquake, the ex-leader formally announced his desire to return to help his countrymen recover from the quake.

Aristide, who was forced out of the Caribbean nation in 2004 and is currently living in South Africa, was the first democratically elected president of Haiti.

Aristide first came to power in 1990, but was ousted only months later in a military coup.

The former Catholic priest returned to Haiti in 1994 -- and served his term until 1996 -- after the military regime relinquished power in the face of an imminent US invasion.

He was re-elected in 2000, but was forced out of office again early in 2004, following a military coup.

The troubled country is currently embroiled in a deepening political crisis over its November 28 presidential election, which produced no winner.

MD/PKH/AKM http://www.presstv.com/detail/164277.html