Ja: Patterson doubts Aristide resigned

Mr. Patterson was adamant that the Haitian President had indicated no plans to flee his homeland prior to his departure in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

"We were in direct communication with President Aristide on Saturday afternoon and nothing that he said to us then would that he said to us then would have led us to believe that his resignation was imminent," Mr. Patterson told journalists during yesterday's post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

To the contrary, the Prime Minister noted that Mr. Aristide had made it "extremely clear" that he intended to remain in office until the end of his elected term in 2006.
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Mr. Patterson said he was surprised that the now-deposed Haitian President had not communicated with any of the Caribbean leaders to indicate his sudden change of mind "if that was done in a voluntary situation."

Prior to the CARICOM chairman's comments, reports had surfaced that President Aristide may have been abducted by United States armed forces after repeated urgings that he step down.

During yesterday's briefing, Mr. Patterson was cautious but clear in his criticism of all nations that supported the Haitian President's removal from office.

"When the foreign ministers of the U.S., Canada, Jamaica, St. Lucia and the Bahamas met in Washington and signed off on what up to them was the CARICOM initiative, no one expressed the view that the plan would be unworkable because of any complaint of malfeasance by President Aristide in the performance of his Presidential duties," he said.

Possibility is that when Aristide realized that the U.S. forces would not be there to save his neck, he ran like hell without thought of Caricom.