The Haitian government had issued former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide a diplomat passport, governmental sources said on Monday.
According to information reaching here from Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, Aristide's lawyer Ira Kurzban traveled to Haiti last weekend in order to speed up the procedures to get the passport.
Aristide could return to Haiti after have been living in South Africa since 2004 in exile. On Jan. 31, Haitian President Rene Preval said that he would give Aristide the passport in case he requested it.
On Jan. 20, Aristide had expressed his wish to return to Haiti, four days after former ruler Jean Claude Duvalier returned, who had been also living in exile for 25 years in France.
Aristide strongly opposed Duvalier's rule and during the military regime of Henri Namphy, he suffered many murder attempts.
In 1990, Aristide won the elections and took power on Feb. 7, 1991, however eight months later he was overthrew by general Raoul Cedras.
Later in 1994, Aristide was able to recover the power helped by the United States and in 2000 he was reelected president, till 2004, when he was overthrown again and sought exile in South Africa.