VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - January 13, 2010
On Wednesday's broadcast of CBN News' "The 700 Club," Robertson said Haitians pledged to serve the devil if he would help them win their independence from France, and the devil said, "It's a deal."
Robertson said, "ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other."
His spokesman, Pat Roslan, says the comments were based on Voodoo rituals carried out before a slave rebellion against French colonists in 1791. Roslan notes that Robertson's Operation Blessing group is sending millions of dollars in medication and relief workers to the country.
Robertson has angered opponents before with comments on current events and criticism of other faiths. He once said American agents should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.
