Now That US Is In Control, "Baby Doc" Duvalier Wants to Return to Haiti

Duvalier said in a television interview aired late on Monday, a day after Aristide fled Haiti, that he had requested a diplomatic passport several weeks ago, although he does not plan to run for president.

"That is not on my agenda," the 52-year-old former ruler, now living in France, told WFOR-CBS4 television in Miami.

Duvalier said he welcomed the presence of U.S. Marines sent to help restore order in Haiti and that he was deeply concerned by the situation in the Caribbean state, although he expected Haiti to stabilize quickly.

"I'm shocked by the situation my country is in," he said.

Duvalier said he was in constant touch with people in Haiti, although he has no relationship with the anti-Aristide rebels who took control of much of the country.

"I think I'm getting close and that I will soon have the opportunity to go back to my country," he said.

Duvalier was forced into exile in France in February 1986, ending a brutal three-decade family dictatorship begun by his father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

The government of Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, says the Duvalier regime stole $500 million from the country's treasury. Human rights groups say Duvalier should face charges for the slayings, torture and imprisonment of thousands of people seen as opponents of his rule.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4479603

FRANÇOIS & JEAN CLAUDE DUVALIER
Presidents-for-Life of Haiti
In 1957 François "Papa Doc" Duvalier became Haiti's President-for-Life, establishing a strategic relationship with the U.S. that lasted into the 1970s, when he was succeeded by his son Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. During their 30 year rule, 60,000 Haitians were killed and countless more were tortured by the Duvaliers' Tonton Macoutes death squads, but in 1969, after 13 years of murderous rule by Papa Doc, U.S. Ambassador Clinton Knox shook hands with the dictator and called for increased aid to Haiti. PapaDoc made him an honorary Tonton Macoute. While Haiti became the poorest country in the Westem hemisphere, the Duvaliers enriched themselves by stealing foreign aid money. In 1980, for instance, the International Monetary Fund granted Haiti a $22 million budget supplement. Within weeks, $16 million was "unaccounted for," presumably in Baby Doc's bank account.
Papa Doc liked to compare himself to Christ and adapted the Lord's Prayer to read "Our Doc who art in the National Palace for life, hallowed be Thy name by present and future generations." Baby Doc, on the other hand, made Haiti into a trans-shipment point for Colombian cocaine. He allegedly let his father-in-law use Haiti's national airline to ship drugs to the U.S., and his brother-in-law was convicted of cocaine trafficking by a Puerto Rican court. Nevertheless, as long as Papa and Baby Doc were anti-communists, they could do no wrong in the U.S. government's eyes. Their regime finally ended in 1986, when Baby Doc fled angry mobs of Haitians for the comfort of a Parisian villa, where he now resides.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/korob/fdtcards/Caribbean.html

1971
"Papa-Doc" Duvalier dies in office after naming his 19 year-old son Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) as his successor. Baby Doc proves more ruthless than his father.

1972
The first Haitian "boat people" fleeing the country land in Florida.

1976
Widespread protests against repression of the nation's press take place.

1970s-1980s
"Baby-Doc" Duvalier exploits international assistance and seeks to attract investment leading to the establishment of textile-based assembly industries. Attempts by workers and political parties to organize are quickly and regularly crushed.

1980
Hundreds of human rights workers, journalists and lawyers are arrested and exiled from the country.

1981
International aid agencies declare Haitian pigs to be carriers of African Swine Fever and institute a program for their slaughter. Attempts to replace indigenous swine with imported breeds largely fail, causing wider spread hunger and despair.

1983
Pope John Paul II visits Haiti and declares publicly that, "Things must change here."

1984
Over 200 peasants are massacred at Jean-Rabeau after demonstrating for access to land. The Haitian Bishops' Conference launches a nation-wide (but short-lived) literacy program. Anti-government riots take place in all major towns.

1985
Massive anti-Government demonstrations continue to take place around the country. Four schoolchildren are shot dead by soldiers, an event which unifies popular protest against the régime.


1986
Widespread protests against "Baby Doc" lead the U.S. to arrange for Duvalier and his family to be exiled to France. Army leader General Henri Namphy heads a new National Governing Council.

http://www.htfhaiti.org/history.html