Johannesburg , South Africa ( CNN ) -- Exiled Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has announced that he is ready to return home to help rebuild his earthquake-shattered country . The former president has been living in South Africa since fleeing Haiti during a violent uprising in 2004 . Aristide told reporters gathered at a hotel near Johannesburg 's international airport that he is ready to return from exile as soon as today . `` To symbolize our readiness we have decided to meet not just anywhere but here in the shadow of the Oliver Tambo International airport , '' he said . `` As far as we are concerned we are ready to leave today , tomorrow , at any time to join the people of Haiti , to share in their suffering , help rebuild the country moving from misery to poverty with dignity . '' Get the latest developments in Haiti . A massive international rescue operation is under way to treat the thousands of survivors trapped and injured by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shook the country on Tuesday . Aristide said he and his wife were planning to fly to Haiti with friends who were ferrying emergency medical supplies to the country . Impact Your World . It is not clear whether Aristide has sought formal permission from the Haitian government to return . He refused to answer questions from the media . Analysts say Aristide 's arrival back in the country after six years could aggravate an already tense political situation . `` If he goes back to Haiti it will be a massive blow to the fragile political stability at the moment , '' said Irenea Renuncio-Mateos , Latin American and Caribbean country analyst for IHS Global Insight . Aid groups : Catastrophic situation looms . Aristide is a controversial figure in Haiti . A former priest , his left-wing views appealed to the poorest of the poor , many of whom have called for his return in recent years amid increasing discontent with the current government . Once coalition partners , the political divide between Aristide and President Rene Preval has widened . Aristide 's party Fanmi Lavalas is one of 15 that have been banned from contesting legislative elections to be held in February . Irenea Renuncio-Mateos said it remains to be seen whether Haitians welcome Aristide 's return as their `` savior , '' or whether they turn to the United States and the international community to pull the country from turmoil . `` An important factor is that the U.N.-led mission in Haiti has been encountering problems on the ground in the past because people have been hostile to foreign presence on the ground , '' she said . `` If Aristide makes it to Haiti , what is going to be the impact ? Is it going to cause protests ? '' The former leader has a long and tumultuous relationship with Haiti , one of the world 's poorest countries . He became its first freely elected president in December 1990 before being ejected from office just one year later in a military coup . He was returned to power in 1994 after a peace agreement brokered by then-President Bill Clinton , backed by U.S. troops to restore order . After another change of leadership in 1995 , Aristide took office again in November 2000 in a vote blighted by an opposition boycott and claims of fraud . The deep unrest led to looting and violence that eventually forced Aristide into exile in 2004 . During his presidency , Aristide lost the support of the United States and angered France with his calls for reparations for huge sums of money paid to the country for its independence . President Rene Preval came to power for the second time in February 2006 . He has the backing of the U.S. government . During a 30-minute phone call on Friday , President Obama `` pledged the full support of the American people for the government and people of Haiti . '' President Preval in turn expressed his appreciation for the U.S. response to the earthquake . It is more than likely that the return of a political foe with the power to divide the country will not be similarly received . CNN 's Nkepile Mabuse contributed to this report .
He tells reporters gathered in Johannesburg that he 's ready to return to Haiti . He was exiled from Haiti in 2004 by a violent revolution and has been living in exile in South Africa . Said he and his wife were ready to leave Johannesburg as soon as today . A massive rescue effort is under way to find and treat survivors of Tuesday 's earthquake .