Bird: Aristide’s plane refuelled in Antigua

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Lester Bird stated yesterday that his Government dealt in a “fully transparent matter” with the “technical stop” of the aircraft carrying Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Bird said at 8 a.m Sunday he was asked by Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Barbados, Marcia Bernicat to allow an aircraft to make a technical stop in Antigua “within twenty minutes.” A “technical stop” is a term describing the urgent necessity for a plane to make a landing to refuel, Bird stated that such a request was never refused. He said Bernicat advised him that Aristide was on board. “You will recognise that there was nothing that I, or any of the agencies of the Government, could do in this situation but allow the aircraft to land,” he said. Bird said he advised both the Caribbean public and the Chairman of Caricom, PJ Patterson of everything he knew, and did.

Noting the two versions of  how Aristide left Haiti, Bird stated  his Government could not say which version was  correct. He said he was in touch with the Chairman of Caricom, who was meeting with his colleagues on the issue. Bird said he hoped his statement would put an end to the speculation regarding the stop in Antigua of the aircraft bearing Aristide.