Haiti's new US-backed leader angrily pulled his ambassador from Jamaica for hosting ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, whose return to the Caribbean threatened more violent protests to demand his return to the traumatized country.
A gunman presumed to be a militant Aristide supporter shot and wounded a US Marine. The first peacekeeper casualty since Aristide fled Haiti two weeks ago was seen as revenge for the killings of two Haitians by Marines that some Haitians accused of being trigger-happy.
At least three people accused of destabilizing Haiti were arrested among a dozen in a police crackdown that appeared to target Aristide partisans.
Aristide, who has accused the US of abducting him and forcing his departure from Haiti on Feb. 29, made no political comment when he arrived in Kingston on Monday, apparently bowing to Jamaica's demand that he not use the neighboring island to pursue his campaign to return to Haiti.
Aristide and his wife, Mildred, were whisked away on a helicopter to what officials said was a rural prime ministerial residence.
But Aristide indicated when he left the Central African Republic that he had not abandoned his ambitions.
"For the time being, I'm listening to my people," he said.
That would be the roar of distress expressed most eloquently by Port-au-Prince slum dwellers threatening new protests to demand his return as Haiti's democratically elected president, and who see the US-led multinational force as a foreign occupation army.
Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue suspended diplomatic relations with Jamaica and Haiti's membership of the 15-member Caribbean economic bloc.
Under the chairmanship of Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, the Caribbean Community has called for an investigation into Aristide's claim that the US forced an elected president from power. US officials say they acted at Aristide's request and probably saved his life as rebels prepared to attack the Haitian capital.
US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Aristide's looming presence "does not serve a useful purpose. But he's here. He's on a private visit. And he's here temporarily as a former president of Haiti."
Jamaican officials said they were allowing the Aristides a respite to reunite with their two daughters at a rural government retreat for up to 10 weeks while they decide on a permanent home in exile. Unofficially, Jamaican officials say Aristide wants to go to South Africa.
"There are people trying to destabilize the country. It may be ex-president Aristide himself who is contributing by giving money and advice," Latortue suggested.
Under a US-backed plan, he was to name some Cabinet members yesterday to help form a transitional government, uniting former enemies from Aristide's Lavalas Family party and a disparate opposition coalition. But the only names put forward as sure winners so far are anti-Aristide.
Police on Sunday arrested a dozen people including key Aristide partisans, for a range of alleged crimes from murder to drug-trafficking.
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
In the week before his fatal shooting, right-wing US political activist Charlie Kirk cheered the boom of conservative young men in South Korea and warned about a “globalist menace” in Tokyo on his first speaking tour of Asia. Kirk, 31, who helped amplify US President Donald Trump’s agenda to young voters with often inflammatory rhetoric focused on issues such as gender and immigration, was shot in the neck on Wednesday at a speaking event at a Utah university. In Seoul on Friday last week, he spoke about how he “brought Trump to victory,” while addressing Build Up Korea 2025, a conservative conference
China has approved the creation of a national nature reserve at the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), claimed by Taiwan and the Philippines, the government said yesterday, as Beijing moves to reinforce its territorial claims in the contested region. A notice posted online by the Chinese State Council said that details about the area and size of the project would be released separately by the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration. “The building of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve is an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of the natural ecosystem of Huangyan Island,” the notice said. Scarborough
DEADLOCK: Putin has vowed to continue fighting unless Ukraine cedes more land, while talks have been paused with no immediate results expected, the Kremlin said Russia on Friday said that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week. The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus. Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there
RSS