US: The US Vice President, Mr Dick Cheney, said yesterday that Mr Jean-Bertrand Aristide had "worn out his welcome" as Haiti's president but that the United States did not force him to leave as he claims.
"He made the choice to leave. He resigned the office of his own free will and left on a civilian aircraft which we chartered for him. He left with his security detail. This was his decision to go," Mr Cheney told the Fox News Channel.
Mr Aristide, who left Haiti on Sunday and is living in temporary exile in the Central African Republic, has claimed he was abducted by US soldiers and was a victim of a coup.
"They lied to me, and they may lie to you too," Mr Aristide told CNN on Monday. "They used force to push me out." Mr Cheney made clear the US had lost patience with Mr Aristide in the 10 years since helping him regain power.
Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus have accused the Bush administration of allowing the toppling of a democratically elected government in Haiti.
"The fact of the matter was, that Mr Aristide had worn out his welcome. He was democratically elected but he didn't govern in a democratic manner and had reached the point where clearly the opposition groups, rebels, were increasingly successful at undermining his authority," Mr Cheney said.
A senior Bush administration official, cited indications that Mr Aristide was preparing to depart several days before he left.
"There were strong indications that he was packing his bags for several days before this," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. - (Reuters)