Hti: Shut up, Aristide

The African hosts of Jean-Bertrand Aristide have asked the exiled Haitian leader to stop blaming the United States for his ouster as they work to get another country to take him, a top official said Tuesday.

Aristide, who resigned Sunday and came to the Central African Republic on a flight arranged by the U.S. government, said American troops forced him to leave Haiti — a claim adamantly denied by Secretary of State Colin Powell and other American officials.

His claim — made in interviews with The Associated Press, members of the U.S. Congress and activists — created diplomatic worries for his host country, where he is staying in the official residence of President Francois Bozize.

"The authorities have already called on Aristide to remain calm, to stop making accusations against America," Foreign Minister Charles Wenezoui told AP.

"We fear that this kind of declaration compromises relations between the Central African Republic and the United States," he said.

What does FM Wenezoui mean by "this kind of declaration"? Does that mean the declaration is false and damaging, or true and damaging? Why is Aristide being asked to "remain calm"? It honestly does not sound as though Aristide is under any pressure by anybody. If Aristide is a prisoner of anybody, somebody is doing a bad job of keeping him under wraps. So much for him being incommunicado.