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On Friday, former Haitian president Jean Bernard-Aristide arrived in Haiti, ending his seven-year exile to South Africa, to attend the country’s presidential elections on March 20. Upon arriving in Port-au-Prince, Aristide was accompanied his wife, Mildred, Pacifica journalists Margaret Prescod and Amy Goodman, US attorney Ira Kurzban, and actor Danny Glover among others. The Haitian government issued the former president a passport on February 7. However, the United States has been pressuring both the South African and the Haitian governments to delay Aristide’s return until after the Haitian elections are complete. Last November’s elections in Haiti were declared void after being tainted by fraud, voter intimidation and lack of organization. Following that, the United States has expressed concern that Aristide’s presence would destabilize the Haitian elections. Under the Haitian constitution, Aristide is ineligible to run for election a third time. Rather than attempting to influence the elections, the former president has said that he will instead teach and support educational community projects. Aristide has criticized the Haitian electoral council’s decision to exclude his political party, Fanmi Lavalas, from presidential elections. Lavalas supporters have denounced the council’s reasons for the party’s exclusion, and some have boycotted the elections in protest.

GUEST: Kim Ives, journalist with Haiti Liberte newspaper, and a host on WBAI Pacifica Radio in New York