February 29, 2004
“I am outraged that the democratically-elected President of Haiti, a country where a true democracy has recently emerged after decades of autocratic rule, has been pushed out by an Administration anxious to get rid of him,” said Lee. “This Administration has employed a campaign of misinformation in order to carry out what essentially is a coup d’etat.”
“In spite of the fact that we are spending billions of dollars to advance democracy in Iraq, this Administration has done nothing to aid a democratically-elected government that is our neighbor.”
“This Administration has, in essence, carried out a form of ‘regime change,’ a different form than it took in Iraq, but still regime change.”
“I am gravely disappointed by the actions of this Administration, and I am disgusted to see their commitment to democracy so shallow.”
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee Condemns Bush Administration for Supporting the Ouster of Haitian President Aristide
Oakland, CA – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today condemned the Bush Administration for supporting the ouster of democratically-elected Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. According to news reports, Aristide resigned his office this morning and left to seek political asylum in another country, after the Bush Administration, in the last of a series of moves, yesterday publicly “called into question his fitness to govern Haiti.”“I am outraged that the democratically-elected President of Haiti, a country where a true democracy has recently emerged after decades of autocratic rule, has been pushed out by an Administration anxious to get rid of him,” said Lee. “This Administration has employed a campaign of misinformation in order to carry out what essentially is a coup d’etat.”
“In spite of the fact that we are spending billions of dollars to advance democracy in Iraq, this Administration has done nothing to aid a democratically-elected government that is our neighbor.”
“This Administration has, in essence, carried out a form of ‘regime change,’ a different form than it took in Iraq, but still regime change.”
“I am gravely disappointed by the actions of this Administration, and I am disgusted to see their commitment to democracy so shallow.”
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