Ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said Monday evening that U.S. troops had forced him to resign and flee into exile, a claim the Bush administration vehemently denied.
In interviews with CNN and The Associated Press, Aristide alleged that U.S. soldiers told him that thousands of civilians would be killed if he refused to leave the country.
“Agents were telling me that if I don’t leave they would start shooting and killing in a matter of time,” the former president told the AP from the Central African Republic, where a U.S. plane took him and others.
Asked to identify the “agents,” Aristide said: “White American, white military.”
“They came at night,” he added. “There were too many. I couldn’t count them.”
On CNN, the ousted leader said, “They used force to push me out . . . that’s why I call it again and again a coup d’etat.” He also called it a “modern kidnapping.”
A White House official told the AP: “He resigned and left on his own accord.”
Earlier, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Aristide “was not kidnapped. We did not force him on the airplane. He went on the plane willingly.”
First word of the allegations arose early Monday as people, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), began telling reporters that Aristide told them by telephone he had been kidnapped.
“I would say I’ve heard some of those reports,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Monday afternoon.
The peculiar twist came as U.S. officials sought to fend off complaints that they failed to do enough to protect a democratically elected leader.
While members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other supporters complained about Aristide’s departure, Bush administration officials said the move was in accordance with Haiti’s constitution.
When informed that Waters and others were reporting Aristide’s claims, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld replied, “I do not believe he is saying what you are saying he’s saying.”
But Aristide has stuck by his allegation that he was taken to the Central African Republic against his will and that he and his traveling party were not allowed to leave the plane when it made a stop en route.
The State Department said the U.S. “facilitated” Aristide’s departure, but only after he drafted and signed a letter of resignation. He flew into exile on a 757 jet provided by the U.S.
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McClellan said the U.S. had taken “steps to protect Mr. Aristide and his family so they would not be harmed as they departed Haiti.”
Aristide realized he had to go, said Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.). “He was either leaving on a Learjet or in a casket,” the lawmaker added. “He chose the jet.”
In his CNN interview, Aristide refused to confirm that he had signed a resignation letter, saying he could not be sure the letter U.S. officials circulated was the document he signed.
Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson called on Congress to investigate whether the CIA had a role in the rebellion that led to Aristide’s exile.
Also Monday, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that Aristide’s stay in the Central African Republic is “temporary” and that U.S. officials were talking with other potential host nations. Central African Republic state radio said Aristide would stay only a few days, with South Africa possibly a permanent stop.
U.S. troops helped to restore Aristide to power on the Caribbean island in 1994.