QUESTION: Change of subject to Haiti?

Now it's not only Aristide who is making accusations about the U.S. role in his departure, but also, Maxine Waters has made remarks today saying that the U.S. Government had a hand in helping the opposition threaten Aristide. She went so far as to question whether the U.S. actually organized a coup, blaming Noriega in particular.

I know we've been through refuting many of these allegations, but I guess you have to do it again.

MR. ERELI: Consider them refuted. They're not true.

President Aristide voluntarily, of his own volition and his own initiative, with no coercion, resigned as president of Haiti and left the country in order to spare that country further bloodshed, which was the result of his misrule.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) she's calling this another regime change by the U.S. Anything -- with that in particular -- she says it's a policy of regime change, and pre-emptive strikes on Haiti.

MR. ERELI: Where to start. First of all, it wasn't pre-emptive, because the country was falling apart. We tried to work with all parties to come to a peaceful solution. When that proved impossible, and when violence was threatening to tear the country apart and to produce a horrific repeat of what it had been through ten years ago, Aristide, in assessing the situation, as I said, decided to do the wise thing and spare his country further suffering and resign. That was something that he decided to do.

So it wasn't the United States supporting regime change, it was the decision of the leader of Haiti that it was in the interest of his country that he leave. And he decided to do that, and he resigned. And he wrote his own letter of resignation, and he asked us what we could do to help him leave.

QUESTION: If I could follow up. I don't know if Teri brought this up, but there are some accounts that he claims that he was actually brought to the airport under some kind of rouse that he was about to have a press conference -- I don't know if you've seen the reports -- and that -- I mean, and apparently those are backed up by -- on the record by one of the pilots, and that the U.S. military said that they were going to transport him securely to a press conference and, in fact, took him to the airport, and then put him on a plane.

MR. ERELI: False. Completely, utterly without basis.

posted by sasha @ 10:58 AM