Atg: Bird on Haiti and Caricom

"Prime Minister Lester Bird on behalf of the Government of Antigua & Barbuda, this morning granted permission to an aircraft for safe landing and refuelling at V. C. Bird International Airport. On board of this aircraft was the former President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide. Permission was sought for the aircraft to refuel at V. C. Bird International Airport and then to proceed to its undisclosed destination."

Prime Minister Lester Bird in a telephone discussion, informed the Chairman of Caricom, Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson of the unfolding events in Antigua.

He urged all his Caribbean counterparts to utilise all the resources of Caricom to play an active role in developing a solution to the Haitian problem.

"The Caricom partners must place the Haitian crisis at the top of the inter-sessional meeting, which is expected to occur at the end of March 2004," he said.