Thousands of Aristide backers march in Haiti

Source: Associated Press

Thousands of Aristide backers march in Haiti
Marchers vow to derail runoff election next month unless ousted president returns
By DAVID McFADDEN
The Associated Press
updated 2 hours 25 minutes ago 2011-02-18T22:44:04

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Several thousand supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide protested in Haiti's quake-torn capital Friday, waving photos of their exiled leader and vowing to derail a runoff election next month unless he returns.

Chanting "No Aristide, no second round," flag-waving and horn-blowing demonstrators marched through gritty slums and near the collapsed National Palace, which police protected with light barricades. There was no violence and the mood was festive, with loudspeakers blaring music and men drinking beer in the hot sun.

"We must have the return of Dr. President Aristide as a simple citizen to help us get better as a country, as a people," said Eugune Mirthil, an unemployed 37-year-old who wore two photos of the ousted leader stapled to his white T-shirt.

Aristide, a former slum priest and Haiti's first democratically elected president, fled the country on a U.S. plane in February 2004 amid a violent rebellion. He still retains strong support in this impoverished and often rudderless Caribbean country, particularly in the slums of Port-au-Prince.


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41672304/ns/world_news-haiti/

I hope he does like the man in the article suggests and stays out of politics in Haiti. There is plenty one can do heading a non-governmental organization, and Aristide could do a great deal of good and lead the people who support him well from the "outside".

On the other hand, perhaps he is one of those with otherwise good character who is particularly prone to the blindness and corruption that can come with power.