Former Haiti president Duvalier dies - BBC News BBC News Former Haiti president Duvalier dies 4 October 2014 Close share panel Media captionJean-Claude Duvalier was a controversial figure, as Tom Esslemont explains Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has died of a heart attack in the capital Port-au-Prince aged 63, official sources say. Duvalier was just 19 when in 1971 he inherited the title of "president-for-life" from his father, the notorious Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. He was accused of corruption, human rights abuses and repression in his rule, which ended in a 1986 uprising. After years of exile in France, he returned to Haiti in 2011. His death was announced by Haiti's health minister, and the ex-leader's attorney Reynold Georges confirmed he died at home on Saturday. Lavish wedding At the time of his swearing in, Jean-Claude Duvalier was the youngest president in the world.

Initially it seemed that there could be a significant move away from his father's harsh regime, underpinned as it was by Haiti's notorious secret police, the Tontons Macoutes, says BBC world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge. Image copyright AFP Image caption For some time, Jean-Claude Duvalier was the youngest president in the world He moved closer to the Americans, from whom his father had been estranged. US businesses moved in and he allowed limited press freedom. But Jean-Claude Duvalier lived lavishly. His state-sponsored wedding reportedly cost $5m in 1980, while most of the people in his ravaged nation endured the worst poverty in the Western hemisphere. Repression continued, too, and amid massive unrest in 1986 he fled to France. Human rights groups say thousands of political prisoners were tortured or killed under his rule, and he was accused of massive corruption. He described his return to Haiti - a year after it was devastated by a major earthquake, as a gesture of solidarity to the nation.

Image copyright AFP Image caption His unexpected return to Haiti saw him arrested and charged, but the case against him stalled But he was arrested and charged, and although released he finally appeared in court in February 2013, where in an emotionally-charged hearing in front of some of his alleged victims, he denied responsibility for abuses carried out during his time as president. Judges ruled he could face crimes against humanity charges, but the case had stalled some time before he died.

Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Image copyright AP Image caption Jean-Claude Duvalier, pictured here in 1980, ruled Haiti with an iron fist for 15 years Took over presidency aged just 19 when his father, Haiti's authoritarian leader Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, died in 1971 Called himself "president-for-life" and ruled with an iron fist, aided by a brutal private militia known as the Tontons Macoutes Accused of corruption and human rights abuses that prompted more than 100,000 Haitians to flee the country during his presidency Ruled for 15 years before outbreak of popular protests led him to flee to France in 1986 Asked Haitian people for forgiveness for "errors" made during his rule in a 2007 radio interview Returned to Haiti in 2011 as it was supposed to hold run-off elections to choose successor to outgoing President Rene Preval 'Baby Doc' Duvalier charged with corruption in Haiti | World news | The Guardian Haiti 'Baby Doc' Duvalier charged with corruption in Haiti Former dictator faces charges relating to his 15-year rule after being hauled

 before a judge in Port-au Prince Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier arrives at the prosecutors office in Port-au-Prince.

Photograph: Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images Tuesday 18 January 2011 21.00 EST First published on Tuesday 18 January 2011 21.00 EST Close This article is 5 years old Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was charged with corruption and the theft of his country's meagre funds last night after the former Haitian dictator was hauled before a judge in Port-au-Prince Two days after his return to the country he left following a brutal 15-year rule, a noisy crowd of his supporters protested outside the state prosecutor's office while he was questioned over accusations that he stole public funds and committed human rights abuses after taking over as president from his father in 1971. "His fate is now in the hands of the investigating judge. We have brought charges against him," said Port-au-Prince's chief prosecutor, Aristidas Auguste. He said his office had filed charges against Duvalier, 59, of corruption, theft, misappropriation of funds and other alleged crimes committed during his period in power. The charges must now be investigated by the judge who will decide whether a criminal case should go ahead.

After several hours of questioning, Duvalier left the prosecutor's office but was ordered to remain in the country at the disposition of judicial authorities. "He doesn't have the right to go anywhere," investigating judge Carves Jean said. Dozens of officers, including some in riot gear, had whisked him earlier from his hotel past a jeering and cheering crowd and into a 4x4 with tinted windows – a scene which his regime's victims had long dreamed of. He, who was not handcuffed, appeared calm and did not say anything. He had been due to give a press conference to explain his return from 25 years in exile. Crowds immediately thronged the courthouse in expectation of a historic hearing. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, among others, have urged the authorities to prosecute the former dictator for jailing, torturing and murdering thousands of people during his time in power. His longtime companion, Veronique Roy, when asked whether Duvalier was being arrested, simply laughed and said nothing. The scene evoked memories of 7 February 1986 when crowds danced in the streets after widespread revolts and international pressure led to his departure.

His Swiss-banked fortune long used up in divorce and tax disputes, Duvalier returned to Haiti without warning on Sunday on a flight from Paris, saying he wanted to help. "I'm not here for politics. I'm here for the reconstruction of Haiti ." A spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights said it should be easier to prosecute Duvalier in Haiti because it was where atrocities took place but that the judicial system was fragile. It remained unclear why he returned and what impact it would have on the year-long post-quake crisis which has left a leadership vacuum and a country in ferment, with near daily street demonstrations by rival factions. Haiti's Baby Doc is back: but for love or money? | Reuters Sun Jan 23, 2011 | 10:50 AM EST Haiti's "Baby Doc" is back: but for love or money? Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude ''Baby Doc'' Duvalier attends a news conference in Port-au-Prince January 21, 2011.

Reuters/St-Felix Evens By Pascal Fletcher | MIAMI MIAMI Haiti's ex-dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier says "solidarity" led him to return to his Caribbean homeland where his name is still reviled by many and where he faces claims for retribution from alleged victims. But some lawyers who track the world's most egregious human rights offenders think there may be more cold calculation than homesickness in his January 16 return to the poor, disaster-prone nation from which he fled to gilded exile in France in 1986. They see a link between the homecoming and several million dollars of Duvalier funds allegedly amassed by ill-gotten means in one of the world's poorest states, Haiti, and squirreled away in the banks of one of the world's richest, Switzerland. "Rather than having the interest of the people of Haiti at heart, it seems like he was thinking about his wallet," Peter Bouckaert, a Swiss-based lawyer who works as emergencies director for Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.

But if Duvalier's uninvited return was indeed a crafty legal ploy to smooth access to those offshore funds now frozen by Switzerland, then it seems to have badly backfired. Prohibited from leaving Haiti by its authorities, the now frail, pasty-faced, 59-year-old ex-"President-for-Life" faces a barrage of corruption and "crimes against humanity" lawsuits, some filed by former victims of his notorious 15-year rule. His unexpected return as an unwelcome ghost from Haiti's turbulent past has brought more convulsion to the Western Hemisphere's poorest state, already prostrated by last year's disaster, a cholera epidemic and chaotic November 28 elections. In his first public statement after his return read in flowery French to reporters on Friday, "Baby Doc" pledged to help rebuild his benighted nation after its 2010 earthquake, and offered regret, but no apology, to victims of his rule. "No matter the price to be paid, the essential thing was to be with you," he said. His melancholy message added he had come back to "show my solidarity in this very difficult period".

"HAIL MARY ATTEMPT" A chorus of Western donors described Duvalier's return as unhelpful, a jerk back to the past just when Haiti needed to straighten out its electoral mess and recover from the quake. Former victims of his rule, which he began in 1971 as a chubby-cheeked teenager after the death of his feared father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, were aghast and appalled. Several slapped lawsuits against him for a slew of rights abuses, on top of corruption charges from Haitian prosecutors that led a judge to order him not to leave the country. Switzerland's government and parliament had already enacted special new legislation to go into effect on February 1 that seeks to return about $6 million of Duvalier funds to Haiti, to be used to improve the lives of all the Haitian people. Bouckaert and others believe Duvalier may have thought that by briefly visiting Haiti -- he had a return ticket for January 20 -- and demonstrating he could do so without being arrested and charged, he could then make a case in Swiss courts that his own country was not interested in prosecuting him.

Bouckaert says evidence suggests Duvalier is basically now broke after squandering a fortune in exile on lavish living. "It was kind of a Hail Mary attempt ... but if you're broke and there's still 6 million dollars in the bank you're trying to get hold of, you're willing to go to desperate means," he said, adding Duvalier also lost money in a costly divorce. "From what we've learned, he's quite impoverished, living in a very simple apartment in Paris ... So the 6 million in the Swiss banks is basically his only ticket to some serious cash," Bouckaert added. SWITZERLAND'S "DUVALIER LAW" The Swiss law that will open the way for the return to Haiti of the Duvalier funds has the long-winded title "Federal Act on the Restitution of Assets of Politically Exposed Persons obtained by Unlawful Means".

But the Swiss press call it the "Duvalier Law" because it closed a legal loophole that might have allowed the former Haitian dictator to get back his money following a Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruling on January 12 2010 -- the day of Haiti's crippling earthquake -- that granted an appeal by Duvalier's lawyers against the return of the money to Haiti. The Supreme Court at the same time recommended the Swiss government enact new legislation to address the case. With this new law about to come in force, Swiss government lawyers are now confident they can resist any legal maneuvers by Duvalier and his clan to get back the money -- including any deliberate, strategic return by the ex-ruler to his country. "It cannot have an impact on the implementation of our law," said Dieter Cavalleri, head of the section of International Public Law at the Swiss Foreign Ministry. He told Reuters the new law provides for the presumption that these frozen assets were illicitly acquired, which puts the burden of proof on Duvalier and his lawyers to prove they were legally obtained, posing a more difficult task for them.

Switzerland, whose reputation for bank secrecy had long been as solid as its snow-capped mountains, has become increasingly sensitive to international criticism that its banks hide the ill-gotten gains of notorious dictators, kleptocrats, crooks and tax cheats from across the globe. A high profile legal dispute between the U.S. government and Switzerland's biggest bank UBS AG over thousands of American citizens hiding assets from the U.S. taxman in secret offshore Swiss accounts rubbed salt into this sensitivity before the case was settled by a high-level political deal in 2009. "Switzerland is sensitive, but has been sensitive for years now," said Cavalleri. The Swiss Foreign Ministry points to a series of cases over the last decade in which the fiercely independent European state has returned what it calls "potentate funds" -- the polite name for dictator's loot -- to their respective nations, for example money from Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines in 2003 and from Nigeria's General Sani Abacha in 2005.

Under this same policy, the Swiss government said on Wednesday it would protectively freeze assets belonging to Tunisia's deposed former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, and Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo, who is clinging to power despite losing a presidential election. RETRIBUTION OR RECONCILIATION? After Duvalier's return, a flock of Haitian and American lawyers has circled him, and one of these, Edwin Marger, who said he had previously represented both "Baby Doc" and his father "Papa Doc, told reporters Duvalier intended to use the money in Switzerland "not for himself", but for Haiti. "What he would like to do with the funds in Switzerland is to contribute that to the rebuilding of this country," Marger said on Friday, adding that some international entity or accounting company could handle the money for this purpose. How free Duvalier will be to assist in the reconstruction of Haiti remains to be seen. For the moment, he looks set to remain in a private hillside villa overlooking Port-au-Prince, surrounded by friends but "at the disposition of judicial authorities".

Meanwhile, rights groups are drawing up for prosecutors a chilling list of alleged crimes committed under his rule, including "torture, forced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, rapes and other crimes of sexual content, persecution against members of political parties, members of civil society organizations, journalists, peasants, students, trade unions, men and women from Haiti", according to Amnesty International. While Duvalier said he hoped his return could sound a "bell of reconciliation" in Haiti, his presence has touched off a debate among his long-suffering former subjects. "Everything we have in the country is from Duvalier, those roads, the airport. They gave Jean-Claude the presidency when he was a kid. The Duvalier crimes were under his father," said a supporter, Boucher L'Andry, 40. "It's not a good thing. I lived under Duvalier," said another Port-au-Prince resident, Christian Joseph, 49, while others were too frightened to even discuss the ex-dictator.

Bouckaert said the mystery over his return was likely to persist: "We're still trying to find the smoking gun" (Additional reporting by Joseph Guyler Delva and Allyn Gaestel in Port-au-Prince; editing by Anthony Boadle) ADVERTISEMENT Jean-Claude Duvalier, former Haitian dictator, dies aged 63 | World news | The Guardian Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier, former Haitian dictator, dies aged 63 Lawyer for ex-president, who was known as Baby Doc, says he died of heart attack at home in Port-au-Prince Former Haitian president Jean-Claude Duvalier outside his home in Port au Prince in 2011. Photograph: Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images Agencies Close This article is 2 years old The former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, known as Baby Doc, has died of a heart attack aged 63. The ex-president’s lawyer, Reynold Georges, said he died at home in Port-au-Prince of a heart attack on Saturday.

After inheriting power from his father in 1971 when aged 19, Duvalier fled into exile in 1986 after a popular uprising. After 25 years in exile in France, Duvalier returned to his Caribbean homeland in January 2011 and was briefly detained on charges of corruption, theft and misappropriation of funds . A Haitian court ruled in February that Duvalier could be charged with crimes against humanity under international law, and that he could also be held responsible for abuses committed by the army and paramilitary forces under his rule. Duvlier consistently denied any responsibility for abuses committed while he was in office. It was a “shame” Duvalier died before he could be put on trial, said Reed Brody of New York-based Human Rights Watch, who helped Duvalier’s victims build the criminal case. “Duvalier’s death deprives Haitians of what could have been the most important human rights trial in the country’s history,” he added. Under Duvalier, “hundreds of political prisoners held in a network of prisons died from mistreatment or were victims of extrajudicial killings”, said Brody.

“Duvalier’s government repeatedly closed independent newspapers and radio stations. Journalists were beaten, in some cases tortured, jailed, and forced to leave the country.” The dictator, who called himself “president for life”, was notorious for failing to address the poverty and illiteracy of Haitians, while he and his friends indulged in a luxurious lifestyle. An introvert who shunned public appearances, Duvalier relied on terror in the style of his father, François “Papa Doc” Duvalier , a former country doctor who employed paramilitary secret police agents and exploited popular superstitions surrounding the native voodoo religion. Duvalier, born on 3 July 1951, lived at the centre of power from the age of five, when his father won national elections in the former French slave colony and first independent black state in the Americas . In May 1980 he married Michelle Bennett, a young divorcee, in a union seen as improving Duvalier’s relations with the Creole middle class disaffected by Papa Doc’s heavy hand and sinister ways. The younger Duvalier suppressed all effective opposition during his 15-year term until his overthrow.

As his problems grew he sought to improve his international image by relaxing his iron fist, but opponents continued to be arrested, often ending up in exile. Bennett became a lightning rod for criticism due to her regular shopping expeditions to the most expensive shops in Europe, seemingly contemptuous of the poverty outside the iron gates of Haiti’s imposing presidential palace in central Port-au-Prince. In 1983 Duvalier welcomed Pope John Paul II to the island, although the pontiff declared that Haitians lacked “everything that permits a truly human existence”. His dramatic fall from power came after two months of widespread demonstrations and the withdrawal of support for his regime by the US, which helped him escape. He sought refuge in France, leaving behind jubilant Haitians dancing in the street. Soon after he returned to Haiti in 2011, taking up residence in a villa in an affluent suburb in the hills above Port-au-Prince, Duvalier issued a brief apology to victims of his government. The corruption and human rights charges he faced after his return from exile were closely watched by international observers who considered it an important test of Haiti’s weak justice system after decades of dictatorship, military rule and economic mayhem.

Duvalier was alleged by his victims to have had a hand in at least a dozen of the most notorious cases involving extrajudicial killings and detention of political prisoners. He was also alleged to have fled Haiti with more than $100m (£60m) stashed in European bank accounts in 1986. Haiti: Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Returns from Exile - TIME Follow @TIME In the past 12 months, Haiti  already the western hemisphere's economic basket case  has suffered an epic earthquake that according to latest estimates killed more than 250,000 people and leveled the country's infrastructure, a cholera epidemic that has claimed thousands more lives and a powder-keg political crisis tied to the fraud-tainted Nov. 28 presidential election. (See pictures of Haiti's cholera outbreak.) All the country needed now was the return of a brutal exiled dictator.

This being Haiti, whose chronic tragedy is so often served with a helping of banana-republic bizarreness, that's what it got Sunday afternoon when Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier landed in Port-au-Prince for the first time since being thrown out of the country and packed off to France almost 25 years ago. "I came to help my country," the 59-year-old former despot declared as some 2,000 of his supporters met him at the airport. But it's hard to imagine how Duvalier's reappearance, which Haitian officials insist took them by surprise, could do anything more than throw Haiti into even deeper turmoil as it tries to rebuild after last year's disaster. (See TIME's exclusive pictures from the Haiti earthquake.) And what's perhaps even harder to imagine is how the government of French President Nicolas Sarkozy could have allowed Duvalier, who arrived from Paris, to board an Air France flight bound for Haiti under the current circumstances. "For the French to have even permitted [Duvalier] to leave their territory amidst an electoral and cholera crisis here shows they have not much interest in the welfare of the Haitian people," says a high-ranking Haitian government official.

French officials, who technically had no power to stop Duvalier, weren't responding to that question on Sunday night. But Port-au-Prince media were rife with conflicting conspiracy theories  all of them focused on last week's election report by the Organization of American States (OAS). It concluded that Jude Célestin, the candidate of Haitian President René Préval's party, actually finished third, not second, in the first-round balloting on Nov. 28, and that Célestin should therefore not be eligible for a runoff vote  which, ironically, was originally supposed to have been held Sunday but has been postponed. (See TIME's photo-essay "Haiti One Year Later.") The less-than-credible Nov. 28 results, which many if not most Haitians believe the government fixed to eke out a runoff spot for Célestin, were met by violent street protests last month. Even before last week's OAS report, the aloof and unpopular Préval was under ample international pressure, including from the U.S., to recognize the official third-place finisher, Michel Martelly , as the actual runner-up.

(He would then face first-place candidate Mirlande Manigat in the runoff.) Last week, France's ambassador to Haiti, Didier Le Bret, was frequently on Haitian radio calling on Préval to respect the OAS recommendation. Préval in turn angrily charged France and the international community with imperialist-style strong-arming. The question now is, Who if anyone in this standoff benefits from the sudden presence of Duvalier? Some Haitian pundits on Sunday said it might be meant to compel Préval to acquiesce to international demands to sacrifice Célestin. But it's hard to believe, even under Sarkozy, that France and the international community would stoop so low diplomatically as to encourage Duvalier to return to Haiti for that purpose. Others suggested that Duvalier's return instead gives Préval leverage by showing the international powers how much more turbulent things can get if they keep messing with the Haitian President. But again, could even Préval be cynical enough to open the door to one of the 20th century's most notorious dictators for that kind of political gain?

Either way, sources close to Duvalier told reporters Sunday that he'd entered Haiti on a diplomatic passport  but if so, it was unclear which country had issued it to him. (See the early days of Baby Doc's life in exile in France.) What's worse, this drama could actually send many Haitians, albeit with blinders on, to the side of Duvalier, whose stunning return might make him seem a figure of stability and order amid their country's nightmarish uncertainties. Baby Doc had already announced his desire to return to Haiti in 2004, after the ouster of populist President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (whose supporters may now clamor more loudly for his own return from exile in South Africa). Duvalier even said he wanted to run for President himself in the 2006 elections. But Haitian officials made it clear that if Duvalier did return, he'd face trial on charges of corruption and brutality during his 15-year dictatorship, which had succeeded the even harsher regime of his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who died in 1971.

(See the death and legacy of Papa Doc Duvalier.) Both Papa Doc and Baby Doc ruled through terror, relying on bloodthirsty enforcers like the Tonton Macoutes, and each stole the western hemisphere's poorest nation blind. After Baby Doc and his infamously venal wife, Michèle Bennett, were whisked out of Haiti in February of 1986 on a U.S. Air Force plane amid a seething uprising by Haitians, they settled in the south of France and lived in one of the world's most luxurious exiles. (They divorced in 1993; Duvalier arrived in Port-au-Prince on Sunday with his new wife, Véronique Roy, the granddaughter of a former Haitian President.) Baby Doc apologized for his government's "errors" in 2004. But despite the welcome he received at the Port-au-Prince airport, Haitian police officials said they were "waiting for instructions from prosecutors" as to whether they should arrest him. After stepping off his Air France flight on Sunday, Duvalier declared, "I am here to see how the situation is." Please. He already knew how bad the situation was.

And just as he and his monstrous father did when they ruled Haiti, he's there to make it worse.  With reporting by Jessica Desvarieux / Port-au-Prince “Baby Doc” Duvalier arrested in Haiti - World Socialist Web Site World Socialist Web Site Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) “Baby Doc” Duvalier arrested in Haiti By Bill Van Auken 19 January 2011 Haitian authorities arrested Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier Tuesday, barely two days after the former dictator flew back to the country after a quarter of a century in exile. Riot-equipped police surrounded the upscale Karibe Hotel in the wealthy suburb of Petionville, where Duvalier and his entourage had encamped after their arrival at Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture airport Sunday night. The Port-au-Prince chief prosecutor and a judge met with the 59-year-old Duvalier before he was taken away in an armored SUV equipped with bulletproof windows.

A small group of the former dictator’s supporters tried to chase the vehicle, chanting “Free Duvalier.” Haiti’s Chief Magistrate Harycidas Auguste subsequently announced that Duvalier was being charged with “government corruption, embezzlement of funds, money laundering and assassination.” During the nearly three decades of US-supported rule by the Duvaliers—first Francois “Papa Doc” and then Jean-Claude “Baby Doc”—tens of thousands of Haitians were murdered and tortured by the regime and its hated Tonton Macoutes secret police, while hundreds of millions of dollars were embezzled and funneled into the dynasty’s foreign bank accounts. A lawyer for Duvalier reported only corruption and embezzlement charges against him. They would be presented, he said, to a judge who would determine whether there was enough evidence to go to trial. Meanwhile, it was reported that the ex-dictator had been returned to his luxury hotel. Duvalier’s return to Haiti was staged on January 16, which was to have been the date for the second round of the country’s hotly disputed national elections. Now the run-off has been postponed indefinitely.

The ex-dictator’s arrival in Port-au-Prince coincided with the formal issuing of a report by the Organization of American States (OAS) calling into question the official results. According to the findings of the OAS mission, popular-singer-turned-politician Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly came in second—not third as officially recorded—beating Jude Celestin, the hand-picked successor and son-in-law of incumbent President Rene Preval. Haitian electoral law precludes Preval succeeding himself. Critics of the OAS findings have called into question the methodology of the mission of “experts” in arriving at its recommendation to switch the second- and third-place winners. What is indisputable, however is that the November 28 election itself was a travesty, with barely 27 percent of eligible voters going to the polls and just 22 percent having their ballots counted.

The controversy has spilled over into violent clashes, with dissatisfaction over the election coalescing with the deepening popular anger over the abject failure of the Preval government and its backers in Washington and Europe to alleviate mass suffering, much less begin any real reconstruction, fully one year after the devastating earthquake that killed more than 300,000 Haitians. Conditions for masses of people have become even more intolerable as Haiti confronts a spreading cholera epidemic that has claimed at least 3,800 lives. Duvalier claimed upon his arrival in Haiti that he was moved by the earthquake’s terrible toll and “willing and determined to participate in the rebirth of Haiti.” While he had scheduled a press conference—first for Monday and then postponed to Tuesday—to issue a further explanation, he was taken into custody before it happened. It seems clear, however, that the former dictator hoped that the situation in Haiti had become sufficiently desperate that he could recoup some of his former political power. The initial reaction of the political elite seemed to justify such hopes.

Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive responded to Duvalier’s arrival by declaring the ex-dictator a “citizen of Haiti who returns home as he has the right.” He was given an official car and an escort by the Haitian police and troops from MINUSTAH, the UN “peacekeeping” force. The front-running candidate in last November’s poll, Mirlande Manigat, has deep ties to the old regime. She is the wife of Leslie Manigat, who served as an intellectual apologist and political supporter of the Duvalier dictatorship before being installed as president in the wake of its downfall by means of a fraudulent, military-run 1988 election. Martelly, the former compa singer who the OAS recommendation would make a contender in the run-off, was reported by the Miami Herald to have been “closely identified with sympathizers of the 1991 military coup that ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide,” and has even been accused of having participated in death squad operations against Aristide’s supporters. During the course of the recent campaign, he spoke nostalgically of the Duvalier years.

More than half of Haiti’s population are under the age of 21 and have no memory of the Duvalier years. If right-wing politicians are able to generate even a small measure of sympathy for the ex-dictator, it is because of the horrific conditions that have confronted the masses of Haitians in the 25 years since his ouster and the failure of the Lavalas movement identified with Aristide to find a way out of Haiti’s historic backwardness and oppression. The former slum priest, who had been strongly identified with the popular uprising that drove Duvalier from Haiti, became president as a result of the country’s first genuinely popular election in 1990. Within just eight months of his inauguration, Aristide was overthrown in a bloody September 1991 military coup backed by the administration of George H.W. Bush in Washington. He was restored to power three years later as part of a settlement brokered by the Clinton administration that saw him briefly returned to the presidential palace alongside an occupation of the country by 20,000 US troops.

In return for Washington’s support, Aristide agreed to implement a series of IMF-imposed policies that included sweeping privatizations, the opening up of Haiti’s markets and cuts in state spending. Despite these policies, which spelled deepening misery for Haiti’s working class and oppressed, neither Washington nor the Haitian elite forgave Aristide for his association with the mass popular movement that overthrew the Duvalier dictatorship. In 2004, three years after Aristide had managed to return to power in an election, he was again overthrown in a US-backed coup and forcibly removed from the country. Once again, US Marines occupied Haiti. Both the Obama administration in Washington and the Sarkozy government in France deny any role in or any foreknowledge of Duvalier’s return to Haiti. “This was not a plot. We did not know he was coming,” French Ambassador Didier Le-Bret insisted. Duvalier, he claimed, is just “a simple French citizen; he’s allowed to do what he wants to do.” Similarly, the spokesman for the US embassy in Port-au-Prince claimed that Washington had been taken unawares by Duvalier’s return.

“We are surprised by the timing of the visit,” said the spokesman, Jon Prechowski. There was widespread speculation in Haiti, however, about backing for Duvalier’s return, both from within the Haitian political establishment and from foreign backers. “I’d be very surprised if the DGSE (French intelligence), the Haitian government and the US administration had not been informed of the trip by the former dictator,” Haitian journalist Liliane Pierre Paul commented. Indeed, it strains credulity to believe that neither US nor French intelligence had any knowledge of Duvalier’s plans, given the massive surveillance, particularly related to air travel. The ex-dictator was allowed to travel on an expired diplomatic passport, issued by the regime installed by Washington following the 2004 coup that ousted Aristide. Whatever the nature of the involvement, the return of Duvalier to Haiti almost 25 years after a US Air Force plane flew him to his exile on the French Riviera underscores the criminal role played by US imperialism in the unspeakable conditions that have been inflicted upon the people of Haiti.

The Duvalier dynasty begun by “Papa Doc” in 1957 was founded, in the first instance, upon the power of the US-created Haitian army, which handed him the presidency. Over the next 29 years, Washington poured in arms and military aid to sustain the dictatorship, which was hailed as a bulwark against “communist subversion” as it murdered upwards of 50,000 Haitians suspected of opposing the Duvaliers and subjected hundreds of thousands of others to illegal imprisonment, torture and exile. That Duvalier was not put in handcuffs and thrown in a Haitian prison the moment he landed in Port-au-Prince is a travesty and an international scandal. It also underscores that the mass struggle undertaken by the people of Haiti 25 years ago for the “uprooting” of Duvalierism remains uncompleted, with the conditions of oppression and capitalist exploitation upon which the US-backed dictatorship rested still firmly in place.

The liberating tasks posed by the mass uprisings of 1985 and 1986 can be realized only by the Haitian working class carrying out a revolution to put an end to imperialist oppression and capitalist exploitation in Haiti as part of a global struggle for the socialist transformation of society. Former Haiti president Duvalier dies - BBC News BBC News Former Haiti president Duvalier dies 4 October 2014 Close share panel Media captionJean-Claude Duvalier was a controversial figure, as Tom Esslemont explains Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has died of a heart attack in the capital Port-au-Prince aged 63, official sources say. Duvalier was just 19 when in 1971 he inherited the title of "president-for-life" from his father, the notorious Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. He was accused of corruption, human rights abuses and repression in his rule, which ended in a 1986 uprising. After years of exile in France, he returned to Haiti in 2011.

His death was announced by Haiti's health minister, and the ex-leader's attorney Reynold Georges confirmed he died at home on Saturday. Lavish wedding At the time of his swearing in, Jean-Claude Duvalier was the youngest president in the world. Initially it seemed that there could be a significant move away from his father's harsh regime, underpinned as it was by Haiti's notorious secret police, the Tontons Macoutes, says BBC world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge. Image copyright AFP Image caption For some time, Jean-Claude Duvalier was the youngest president in the world He moved closer to the Americans, from whom his father had been estranged. US businesses moved in and he allowed limited press freedom. But Jean-Claude Duvalier lived lavishly. His state-sponsored wedding reportedly cost $5m in 1980, while most of the people in his ravaged nation endured the worst poverty in the Western hemisphere. Repression continued, too, and amid massive unrest in 1986 he fled to France. Human rights groups say thousands of political prisoners were tortured or killed under his rule, and he was accused of massive corruption.

He described his return to Haiti - a year after it was devastated by a major earthquake, as a gesture of solidarity to the nation. Image copyright AFP Image caption His unexpected return to Haiti saw him arrested and charged, but the case against him stalled But he was arrested and charged, and although released he finally appeared in court in February 2013, where in an emotionally-charged hearing in front of some of his alleged victims, he denied responsibility for abuses carried out during his time as president. Judges ruled he could face crimes against humanity charges, but the case had stalled some time before he died.

Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Image copyright AP Image caption Jean-Claude Duvalier, pictured here in 1980, ruled Haiti with an iron fist for 15 years Took over presidency aged just 19 when his father, Haiti's authoritarian leader Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, died in 1971 Called himself "president-for-life" and ruled with an iron fist, aided by a brutal private militia known as the Tontons Macoutes Accused of corruption and human rights abuses that prompted more than 100,000 Haitians to flee the country during his presidency Ruled for 15 years before outbreak of popular protests led him to flee to France in 1986 Asked Haitian people for forgiveness for "errors" made during his rule in a 2007 radio interview Returned to Haiti in 2011 as it was supposed to hold run-off elections to choose successor to outgoing President Rene Preval BBC News - Former Haiti president Jean Claude Duvalier dies - YouTube BBC News - Former Haiti president Jean Claude Duvalier dies Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist.

Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Oct 4, 2014 Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has died of a heart attack in the capital Port-au-Prince, reports quoting official sources say.Duvalier was just 19 when in 1971 he inherited the title of "president-for-life" from his father, the notorious Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.He was accused of corruption, human rights abuses and repression in his rule, which ended in a 1986 uprising.After years of exile in France, he returned to Haiti in 2011 and remained a controversial figure, as the BBC's Mike Wooldridge explains.

Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has died of a heart attack in the capital Port-au-Prince, reports quoting official sources say.Duvalier was just 19 when in 1971 he inherited the title of "president-for-life" from his father, the notorious Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.He was accused of corruption, human rights abuses and repression in his rule, which ended in a 1986 uprising.After years of exile in France, he returned to Haiti in 2011 and remained a controversial figure, as the BBC's Mike Wooldridge explains.

Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has died of a heart attack in the capital Port-au-Prince, reports quoting official sources say.Duvalier was just 19 when in 1971 he inherited the title of "president-for-life" from his father, the notorious Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.He was accused of corruption, human rights abuses and repression in his rule, which ended in a 1986 uprising.After years of exile in France, he returned to Haiti in 2011 and remained a controversial figure, as the BBC's Mike Wooldridge explains. BBC News - Former Haiti president Jean Claude Duvalier dies BBC News - Former Haiti president Jean Claude Duvalier dies BBC News - Former Haiti president Jean Claude Duvalier dies Jean-Claude Duvalier (Politician),President Of Haiti (Government Office Or Title),BBC News (Production Company),Haiti (Country),President (Fictional Job ...

Category Haitian Police Take 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Into Custody : NPR Haitian Police Take 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Into Custody Embed Embed Haitian Police Take 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Into Custody Haitian Police Take 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Into Custody Embed Embed Heard on All Things Considered A Haitian judge will decide whether former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier will be tried on corruption charges. Duvalier returned to Haiti on Sunday after 25 years in exile. Host Robert Siegel speaks to NPR's Jason Beaubien for the latest on the strongman's return and what might be in store for him. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: Now to Haiti, where the story of a brutal ex-dictator, and his return from exile, has taken another strange turn. Human rights groups accuse Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier of abuses committed during his 15 years in power. He was forced to leave the country in 1986, but he returned to Haiti on Sunday. That is despite authorities saying he could be prosecuted for stealing millions from the nation's coffers.

Well, today, police escorted Duvalier from the luxury hotel where he's been staying. NPR's Jason Beaubien joins us now from Port-au-Prince to help make sense of this. And Jason, where did police take Duvalier to and why? JASON BEAUBIEN: He was taken to a courthouse in downtown Port-au-Prince, and his people point out that he has not been arrested and that he's simply been taken into custody for questioning. He was also not in handcuffs as they took him out of the hotel, although he was surrounded by heavily-armed police in riot gear. And the country's top prosecutor says that Duvalier is being questioned over money that was stolen from the national treasury or at least went missing during Duvalier's 15 years in office. SIEGEL: Were you able to see Duvalier? And if so, how did he look? BEAUBIEN: Yes, despite the fact that there was an elevator at this hotel, they for some reason brought him down the stairs on the outside, from the fourth floor. And so we got a fairly good look at him.

He was wearing a dark suit and a tie, but he did look sort of frail, and he waved to the crowd but just sort of waved slowly to the crowd, and he didn't say anything. Yes, he looked frail, I think is how I would sum it up. SIEGEL: Jason, this is a pretty confusing story. Duvalier was picked up by the police, but he returned to Haiti on a diplomatic passport, which suggests that he made the trip with the approval of the government. Do you know anything more about the reason for his return to Haiti? BEAUBIEN: Yeah, we don't really know the reason for his return, and certainly, the timing of it was very strange, in the midst of this current political crisis and this unfinished presidential election that's going on. Several of his former ministers have come out and spoken to the press. He, himself, has not really spoken to the press.

And they say that he's come as a private citizen, that he is here only for a few days, he just came to visit after being in exile for 25 years and is going to leave in three days and that he does not want to get in politics, and he's here to help with the earthquake recovery. SIEGEL: And how would you describe the reactions that you've heard or seen from Haitians to the return of Baby Doc? BEAUBIEN: It's very strange, and it's very mixed. There were huge crowds outside the airport of people cheering Jean-Claude Duvalier, as he arrived at the airport, even today, as he was being led out by the police from the hotel. At the same time, some people were trying to block the streets with earthquake rubble. They were moving rubble into the streets so that his convoy couldn't move through the streets and get to this courthouse. Other people are absolutely shocked that he's here, people who were tortured by his regime. People are very worried that he may somehow come in and meddle in politics here, and that's a great concern among other people here in Port-au-Prince. SIEGEL: Okay, thank you, Jason.

BEAUBIEN: You're welcome. SIEGEL: That's NPR's Jason Beaubien, speaking to us from Port-au-Prince in Haiti about the latest twist in the story of Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier's return to the country. Today, he was escorted from his hotel by Haitian police. Copyright © 2011 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc. , an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Question: In 2011 the notorious ex-dictator Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier returned to and was arrested in which country?
Answer: Haiti