The Miami attorney representing Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Monday formally requested that the former Haitian president, who lacks a passport, be permitted to return to his homeland after seven years in exile in South Africa.
"I kindly request that his diplomatic passport be issued immediately and that plans for his return commence immediately,'' attorney Ira Kurzban wrote in a letter addressed to two Haitian government officials. "To expedite this matter, President Aristide's passport may be delivered to the government of South Africa or to me.''
The request comes after Aristide authored a Jan. 19 letter in which he reiterated his interest in returning to Haiti after a ragtag rebellion in 2004 sent the priest-turned-president into exile in South Africa. In the recent missive, Aristide also noted that he was seeking medical attention for his eyes.
Aristide's interest in returning came only days after a fellow deposed leader -- Jean-Claude ``Baby Doc'' Duvalier -- unexpectedly showed up in Haiti. His arrival came as a surprise because he had been living a quiet exile in France ever since a popular uprising unseated him in 1986.
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