The 15-nation Caribbean Community refused recognition Friday for Haiti's new U.S.-backed government amid continuing concerns over the departure of ousted leder Jean-Bertrand Aristide, senior Caribbean officials said. The move came a day after the leaders demanded that the U.N. General Assembly investigate Aristide's claims he was abducted at gunpoint by U.S. agents when he left Feb. 29 as rebels threatened to attack Haiti's capital. "We can't determine this issue at this meeting," Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning said as he left a summit meeting of Caribbean leaders. He added that discussions were "quite tense" and that a final determination would be put off until leaders discuss the issue again at a summit in July in Grenada. He gave no further details, but other Caribbean leaders said their minds were made up that Haiti's new U.S.-backed government would not get official recognition from the Caribbean Community for now. One, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could not recognize Haiti's government because it was installed by what he said was an insurrection.
In Haiti, meanwhile, the interim government announced it will block dozens of ex-members of Aristide's government from leaving the country, including former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune. New Justice Minister Bernard Gousse told The Associated Press that the move was "an insurance policy" that will make the officials available for investigations into embezzlement and other alleged crimes. |