S.Africa: Guest Aristide Not Behind Haiti Mayhem

South Africa rounded on Haiti's interim leader Monday, dismissing accusations it was allowing Haiti's ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to coordinate a violent uprising from exile in South Africa. "The South African Government takes strong exception to reported comments attributed to the Interim Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue accusing President Thabo Mbeki of failing to respect international law by allegedly 'allowing a person in his territory to organize violence in another country'," Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said. Latortue accused Mbeki Sunday of allowing Aristide to direct a violent campaign by his supporters in the Caribbean country, the poorest nation in the Americas. Monday, he repeated his accusations. "I think President Thabo Mbeki has not made enough effort to prevent Aristide from using the South African hospitality to destabilize Haiti," Latortue told Reuters in Port-au-Prince. "We strongly wish that the South African government takes all the necessary measures to make sure Aristide does not continue to destabilize Haiti from its territory."  "South Africa and indeed President Mbeki cannot be used as a scapegoat for failure by the Interim Haitian Authorities to bring about peace and stability," Pahad said in a prepared statement read out to national television cameras.  [more ]