Editing Jean-Bertrand Aristide (section)

=== Return to Haiti ===
In a confidential 2008 United States embassy cable, former U.S. ambassador to Haiti [[Janet A. Sanderson|Janet Sanderson]] emphasized that: "A premature departure of [[United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti|MINUSTAH]] would leave the [Haitian] government...vulnerable to...resurgent [[Populism|populist]] and anti-market economy political forces{{snd}}reversing gains of the last two years. MINUSTAH is an indispensable tool in realizing core USG [U.S. government] policy interests in Haiti."<ref>[https://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/10/08PORTAUPRINCE1381.html# "Subject: Why We Need Continuing Minustah Presence in Haiti"] U.S. Embassy Port Au Prince, 1 October 2008 15:48 – WikiLeaks</ref>

At a meeting with U.S. State Department officials on 2 August 2006, former Guatemalan diplomat [[Edmond Mulet]], then chief of MINUSTAH, urged U.S. legal action against Aristide to prevent the former president from gaining more traction with the Haitian population and returning to Haiti.

At Mulet's request, [[UN Secretary General]] [[Kofi Annan]] urged [[South Africa]]’s [[South Africa's President|president]] [[Thabo Mbeki]] to ensure that Aristide remained in the country.<ref>[http://www.haitian-truth.org/les-5-cables-de-wikileaks-pour-la-verite-et-montrer-les-manupilations-du-propagantiste-kim-ives/ "Haiti: A/s Shannon's Meeting With Minustah Srsg"] U.S. Embassy Port Au Prince (Haiti), Wed, 2 August 2006 19:01 UTC</ref>

U.S. ambassador [[James Brendan Foley|James Foley]] wrote in a confidential 22 March 2005 cable that an August 2004 poll "showed that Aristide was still the only figure in Haiti with a favorability rating above 50%".<ref>[https://archive.today/20130414170302/http://filtradas.org/cables/cable.php?id=29355 "Lavalas Torn Between Boycotting Wlections and Moving Forward"] U.S. Embassy Port Au Prince</ref>

After [[René Préval]], a former ally of Aristide, was elected president of Haiti in 2006, he said it would be possible for Aristide to return to Haiti.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4741100.stm|title=Haiti 'to allow' Aristide return|publisher=BBC|date=23 February 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5184280.stm|title=Thousands demand Aristide return|publisher=BBC|date=16 July 2006}}</ref>

On 16 December 2009, several thousand protesters marched through Port-au-Prince calling for Aristide's return to Haiti, and protesting the exclusion of Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas party from upcoming elections.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BG04J20091217|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324235620/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BG04J20091217|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 March 2010|title=Aristide supporters protest election ban in Haiti|work=Reuters|date=17 December 2009}}</ref>

On 12 January 2010, Aristide sent his condolences to victims of the [[2010 Haiti earthquake|earthquake in Haiti]] just a few hours after it occurred, and stated that he wished to return to help rebuild the country.<ref name="Smith"/><ref name="IOL01152010">{{cite news
| url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/aristide-wishes-to-leave-sa-for-haiti-1.470538#.VTQXxGTBzGc
| title=Aristide wishes to leave SA for Haiti
| work=[[IOL News]]
| date=15 January 2010
| access-date=19 April 2015
}}</ref>

On 7 November 2010, in an exclusive interview (the last given before his return to Haiti) with independent reporter [[Nicolas Rossier]] in ''Eurasia Review'' and the ''[[Huffington Post]]'', Aristide declared that the 2010 elections were not inclusive of his party, Fanmi Lavalas, and therefore not fair and free. He also confirmed his wishes to go back to Haiti but stated that he was not allowed to travel out of South Africa.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicolas-rossier/post_1263_b_783706.html | work=Huffington Post | first=Nicolas | last=Rossier | title=An Exclusive Interview With Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide | date=15 February 2011}}</ref>

In February 2011, Aristide announced that he would return to Haiti within days of the ruling Haitian government removing impediments to him receiving his [[Haitian passport]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/05/haiti-former-president-aristide-vows-return |title=Haiti's former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide vows to return |access-date=17 February 2014}}</ref> On 17 March 2011, Aristide departed for Haiti from his exile in South Africa. U.S. [[president of the USA|president]] [[Barack Obama]] had asked South African president [[Jacob Zuma]] to delay Aristide's departure to prevent him from returning to Haiti before a [[Haitian general election, 2010–11|presidential run-off election]] scheduled for 20 March. [[Fanmi Lavalas|Aristide's party]] was barred from participating in the election, and the U.S. feared his return could be destabilizing.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/returning-to-haiti-aristide-says-haitians-who-fought-for-democracy-are-happy-hes-coming-home/2011/03/18/ABImuxo_story.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210234909/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/returning-to-haiti-aristide-says-haitians-who-fought-for-democracy-are-happy-hes-coming-home/2011/03/18/ABImuxo_story.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=10 December 2018| title=Returning to Haiti, Aristide says Haitians who fought for democracy are happy he's coming home| newspaper=Washington Post| date=18 March 2011}}</ref> On Friday, 18 March 2011, he and his spouse arrived at [[Port-au-Prince Airport]], and were greeted by thousands of supporters.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE72I01L20110319| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905185720/http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE72I01L20110319| url-status=dead| archive-date=5 September 2012| author=Joseph Guyler Delva and Pascal Fletcher| title=Aristide makes triumphant Haiti return before vote| publisher=[[Reuters]] Africa| date=19 March 2011}}</ref> He told the crowd waiting at the airport: "The exclusion of Fanmi Lavalas is the exclusion of the Haitian people. In 1804, the Haitian revolution marked the end of slavery. Today, may the Haitian people end exiles and coups d’état, while peacefully moving from social exclusion to inclusion."<ref name="Randal C. Archibold"/>