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05/30/2004:

"S.Africa to give Haiti's Aristide red carpet welcome"

www.alertnet.org

JOHANNESBURG, May 30 (Reuters) - South Africa will give ousted Haiti leader Jean Bertrand Aristide a welcome reserved for heads of state when he arrives on Monday in exile, the presidency said on Sunday.

"(South African) President Thabo Mbeki will officially receive President Jean Bertrand Aristide of Haiti in South Africa at Johannesburg International Airport," the presidency said.

"On Tuesday Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr (Nkosazana) Dlamini Zuma and President Aristide will address a media briefing," the presidency added.

Aristide and his family have been staying at a state-owned guest house northeast of Kingston while in Jamaica. They will live in a mansion in the South African capital Pretoria paid for by the government.

The offer of asylum underlines the South African government's implicit view that the elected Aristide was unconstitutionally removed from power in a "regime change" sanctioned by U.S. President George W. Bush. www.alertnet.org

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Sunday, May 30th, News Update posted:

Aristide Leaves Jamaica for South Africa

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide left for South Africa on Sunday, saying it will be his "temporary home" until he can return to Haiti.

He did not say how soon he hoped to return to his homeland but urged his supporters not to resort to violence in the meantime.

Aristide boarded a South African government jet along with his wife, Mildred, and two young daughters and their bodyguards. The plane, bearing a South African government seal on the tail, departed Kingston at 12:50 p.m.

Security was tight, with dozens of Jamaican soldiers guarding the perimeter of the airport.

Aristide and his family arrived at the airport in a 10-car convoy. Military helicopters hovered above as Aristide got out of a blue Volvo and shook hands with a line of Jamacian officials in suits, then climbed the stairs to the plane. www.guardian.co.uk