PARIS, March 5: Ousted Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide accused France on Thursday of colluding with the United States to remove him from office, saying the former colonial power had taken part in a "political kidnapping".

Mr Aristide, in a phone conversation with a French writer, said he planned to go back to his impoverished Caribbean country, insisting he had not officially resigned.

"There is a document that was signed to avoid a bloodbath but there was no formal resignation," Aristide told Haiti specialist Claude Ribbe, a friend of his. "This political kidnapping was the price to pay to avoid a bloodbath."

He alleged Paris' attitude was in reaction to his demand for the restitution of Haiti's "independence debt" from its former colonial ruler, which Haiti estimates to be worth 21.7 billion dollars (17.8 billion euros).

"It's as clear as the day. I demanded, on behalf of Haiti, the restitution of this debt, which was our right... They (the French) reacted by unkindness, resorting to persecution and a systematic campaign of dis information, and by colluding in this political kidnapping," he said.

Aristide was speaking from the Central African Republic (CAR), from where he is reportedly expected to travel on to South Africa. But he said any trip to South Africa would only be a step on a journey back to Haiti. -AFP