Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 1

Baby-Doc Jean-Claude DUVALIER returns

Baby-Doc Jean-Claude DUVALIER returns...... 1 Time Line of Baby-Doc Return...... 1 Speculations...... 1 Aristide...... 2 Baby-Doc returns...... 2 Justice...... 4 Arrival suspicious...... 6 Historical Perspective...... 6

Al Mac’s notes, so far, on an unfolding story distraction. I make various statements, followed by links to some relevant sources, some of them as footnotes, with latest summary time line up top, and historical references at the bottom.

Time Line of Baby-Doc Return  16-January Sunday he lands in Haiti, via Air France, to meet a huge crowd at the airport, then there is a parade to the hotel where he will be staying. There are an abundance of wild reports and speculations unconfirmed by other sources.  17-January Monday there was to be a press conference, which got cancelled. We begin to see good overviews of human rights violations he is accused of.  18-January Tuesday, UN experts reported to be helping Haiti sort out what can be done legally about wrong-doing when he was in charge. Haitian National Police escorted him from his hotel to be questioned by Haitian judicial system. Supposedly he is not under arrest, merely under questioning, then released, subject to recall by the courts.1 Haiti wants the money he supposedly stole, but now he is broke, so they need to figure out where the money went, and if it can be recovered.  19-January We learn that Baby Doc plans to remain in Haiti, fight the charges against him, and re-enter Haitian politics,  20-January This is the date of the return ticket on Air France. It sounds like the Haiti judicial system does not want him to leave. Speculations

1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/18/haiti-baby-doc-duvalier-court Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 2

We may soon see a media circus larger than when Wyclef Jean declared his candidacy for President of Haiti. Hopefully it will be for shorter duration.

This circus will distract from many other important topics, such as fighting the cholera epidemic, getting election results which will not lead to civil war, building Haiti back better than before recent disasters, and the many grievances about the quality of relief effort so far. There are some people who welcome such distractions, in the political chaos of Haiti. In fact, there are multiple conspiracy theories developing regarding what outside forces were responsible for bringing Baby Doc back to Haiti, and their motives for doing so. http://currentsbetweenshores.blogspot.com/2011/01/twilight-zone.html http://solutionshaiti.blogspot.com/2011/01/duvalier-returns-to-haiti-merely-pawn.html

Aristide

Baby Doc is one of the more well known members of the Haitian Diaspora, Haitians who, for a variety of reasons, now live outside of Haiti. I think Jean-Bertrand Aristide is probably the most famous of such persons. Baby Doc return has triggered more calls for Aristide return.2

There are conflicting stories regarding barriers to Aristide return.

While Baby Doc traveled on a passport whose validity is being questioned, Aristide has been repeatedly told in the past by the Haitian government that he is free to return. He only has to apply for a passport at the Haitian embassy in South Africa, but there is no such embassy.

However, he managed to apply, and was denied a passport.3

The USA helped Aristide’s sudden departure, and there is nothing to prevent nations, unfriendly to the US, to provide him legal passage back. In fact there is a rumor he is in transit to Cuba.4

The topic of what the USA feels about former Haitian rulers returning to Haiti, came up at a White House News briefing on Tues Jan-18.5 There’s a lot of verbiage which I

2 http://haitirewired.wired.com/forum/topics/baby-docs-surprise-visit 3 http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/198 http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2151-haiti-politic-the-haitian-government-refuses-to-renew-the- passport-of-aristide.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/19/AR2011011903225.html 4 http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/192 5 http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/18/2021657/from-tuesdays-white-house- news.html Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 3 interpret as either no-official-comment or I-am-clueless. Wikileaks shows that the USA quite recently has been opposed to Aristide return.6

Baby-Doc returns

Tons of news stories about Baby-Doc “surprise return” to Haiti, arriving Sunday Jan-16, 2011 from France, where he had been in exile for 25 years, meeting a large crowd of thousands of alleged supporters, who apparently knew he was coming, long before the government had a clue., even though graffiti had been posted weeks in advance welcoming him home. http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-541824?ref=feeds%2Foncnn

Initial expectations are that he will stay approximately three days at Karibe hotel, thanks to a quote from one of his traveling companions, and a friend. He has also stated he wants to return permanently to Haiti. However, some people are wondering about his statement that he came to help Haiti.

In the chaos at the airport, national police allegedly used pepper spray and pointed their weapons at journalists to keep them away from the airport terminal, where “Baby Doc” had arrived. The United Nations, which has a peacekeeping force in Haiti, sent tanks to help keep order.

The national police gave him an escort from the airport to his hotel, followed by a procession of followers. Crowds lined the streets to see him pass. At the hotel was another large body of people welcoming him. The whole affair was comparable to the welcome of a foreign dignitary. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2011/01/16/AR2011011603499.html/ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/world/americas/17haiti.html?_r=2 http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/17/2590366/duvaliers-return-to-haiti-worries.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11943820 http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2135-haiti-flash-politic-after-25-years-of-exile-baby- doc-is-back-in-haiti.html http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2136-haiti-flash-politic-baby-doc-kissed-the-ground- when-he-arrived-in-haiti.html

6 http://www.mediahacker.org/2011/01/wikileaks-un-response-to-gangs-not-sufficiently-robust-us-tells- brazil/ Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 4

http://www.haitian-truth.org/%E2%80%98baby-doc-duvalier-returns-to-haiti-i-came-to- help-country-added-commentary-by-haitian-truth/

It may be that a lot of the people in the crowds are not really fans, they are just curious,7 and they want to stick it to what passes for leadership today.

There had been plans for Baby Doc to hold a press conference on Monday, but they were cancelled because the crowds much larger than the facilities could accommodate. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/world/americas/18haiti.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Many people have forgotten history, why he left Haiti in the first place. A nostalgia has grown for some features of his rule, such as it being safe to walk the streets, if you were not part of the opposition, or suspected opposition.

We could see a repeat of history, like what happened with Napoleon. Napoleon was sent into exile, for good reason. He escaped, was welcomed by the people, who remembered problems with all the rulers since, but not the problems of Napoleon rule, and very soon Napoleon was again emperor of France. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2011/jan/17/haiti-baby-doc- return http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/3361091-452/doc-duvalier-haiti-peterson- sneed.html http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2043133,00.html

Justice Human rights groups have been demanding that Haitian authorities arrest Baby- Doc due to crimes against Haitian humanity which were carried out when he and his father were Haitian dictators.8 This includes mass torture murder of anyone who opposed them, estimated in the tens of thousands, some people say as high as 100,000. The stories about them sound like Iraq’s Saddam, the Shah of Iran, and Soviet Stalin.

Four survivors of torture, under Baby-Doc rule, are now suing him.9

There is a debate over whether there is a Haitian statute of limitations on the crimes involved. Baby-Doc Lawyer Gervais Charles said it is well-established that the statute of

7 http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/185 8 Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti http://ijdh.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Press-release-1-17-2011.pdf Amnesty International http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2152-haiti-duvalier-reactions-of-amnesty- international-to-the-charges-against-baby-doc.html 9 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/20/3116936.htm?section=justin Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 5 limitations in Haiti is 10 years — the amount of time within which criminal charges must be laid for certain crimes.10

While it is easiest for Haiti to prosecute Baby-Doc now that he is in the nation of Haiti, there are also other legal systems around the world. Look at what has happened with WW II and other war criminals. If some nation gets possession of the accused, brings them to a relevant court, they get tried, decades after the crimes they accused of.

Legal documentation of Mr. Duvalier’s crimes includes:  A July 3, 2009 order from the First Court of Public Law, of the Federal Court of Switzerland, which notes that the Haitian government had informed it of current criminal proceedings against Mr. Duvalier as late as June 2008;  The Decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Jean- Juste v. Duvalier, No. 86-0459, dated January 8, 1988, finding Mr. Duvalier liable for over $500,000,000 for his misappropriation of public monies for his personal use; and  An extensive accounting of Mr. Duvalier’s misappropriation of public funds conducted for the Haitian government by a U.S. accounting firm between 1986 and 1990, establishing the theft of over $300,000,000 U.S.D. of public funds. http://ijdh.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Press-release-1-17-2011.pdf http://open.salon.com/blog/ezili_danto/2011/01/16/obamas_change_in_haiti_the_return_ of_jean_claude_duvalier http://www.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Rights-Groups-Urge-Haiti-to-Bring- Duvalier-to-Justice--113879004.html http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/195

UN human rights officials aid Haiti in sorting out what can be done about Mr Duvalier’s historical behavior. There is also a review on-going regarding what happened while he was residing in France, with regards to an abundance of charges various people raised through European court systems. This link dated 18 January. http://reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/VVOS-8D8P7S?OpenDocument&rc=2&cc=hti http://reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EGUA-8D8V6J?OpenDocument&rc=2&cc=hti http://reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/VDUX-8D8UW2? OpenDocument&rc=2&cc=hti

However, the UN denies any role in getting Baby Doc arrested.11

10 http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/01/19/haiti-baby-doc-lawyer.html#ixzz1BVYY1vcU 11 http://www.innercitypress.com/un1duvalier011811.html Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 6

Bel Politic reports, mid-day Jan-18, that Baby-Doc has now been arrested by Haitian Police, or taken into custody. http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/196 http://www.jsf-post.com/2011/01/18/jean-claude-duvalier-fait-face-a-la-justice-en-haiti/

There are multiple tales, with news arriving out of context, subject to misinterpretation. The author, of the story about the arrest, got a text message that Baby-Doc has returned to his hotel room. The assumption was that this was after the arrest, as opposed to after some other goings on, which was later borne out by other news media stories. It could mean that he appeared before a judge, then got released. http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/197 http://www.newsok.com/former-haitian-dictator-is-leaving-court-after-day-of-questions- before-judge/article/feed/236036?custom_click=pod_headline_latin-america

Haiti may charge Baby-Doc with corruption, theft, misappropriation of funds, and other alleged crimes committed during his 1971-1986 rule. Later next news stories confirm he was brought before investigating judge Gabriel Amboisse who is to decide which charges (if any) should move forward says Port-au-Prince chief prosecutor, Aristidas Auguste. Supposedly he is not under arrest, just under questioning.

Security forces have been deployed everywhere Baby-Doc goes, airport, parades (airport to hotel, then hotel to judicial HQ), hotel, judicial HQ. This included helicopters supporting the move from hotel to judicial HQ. Some roadways were blocked by Baby- Doc supporters who oppose judicial action against him.

Several sources have reported that Baby Doc came to Haiti on a round trip ticket,12 where he was expected to return to France Thurs Jan-20. Some tickets can be extended to a later date, and I imagine the Haiti judicial system may not want him to leave until the judge investigation has completed. There are also questions over the validity of his passport, which has been confiscated by the judicial system, pending resolution of these issues, which could take months.

On Wednesday Jan-19, one of his lawyers said Baby Doc plans to remain in Haiti, fight the charges against him, and reenter Haitian politics.13

Do you remember the case of Little Paul? (I can share my notes on that case by request.)

The charges against LP seemed insane through western eyes, yet he gets imprisoned, goes before a judge, is released, imprisoned again, goes before a judge, spends some time in prison, goes before judge multiple times before being released.

12 http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/200 13 http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/01/19/haiti.duvalier/?hpt=T2 Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 7

Now here is Papa Doc where the charges appear vastly more serious, yet he is released to go to his Hotel ... is he under house arrest there? They used the terminology: "You SHOULD not leave the country until this is resolved." People can interpret the word “should” different ways, like maybe it is optional. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/18/haiti-baby-doc-duvalier-court http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/01/baby-doc-duvalier-to- be-questioned-by-haiti-authorities-after-surprise-return/1 http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/01/18/duvalier-questioned-haitian- prosecutors/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41135181/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/18/world/main7258198.shtml http://www.torontosun.com/blogs/themotts/2011/01/18/16939861.html http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2147-haiti-flash-duvalier-duvalier-led-to-the- prosecutor-s-office-of-port-au-prince.html http://haiti.mphise.net/haiti-prosecutor-charges-baby-doc-graft-theft-security-advisory

Arrival suspicious “Baby Doc” arrived, Sunday Jan-16, riding on Air France One, which is either normally reserved for the President of France, or is a meaningless call sign when landing at airports around the world, signifying that France is # 1 anywhere. The photo of the plane looks like an April Fool joke to me. http://www.belpoz.com/picture-9480 http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/190

Official representatives, of the governments of France and Haiti, claim that their governments had no advance notion that Baby-Doc was returning to Haiti, until he actually landed. There was no mandate that he inform them of his travel plans. http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/188 http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/193 http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2140-haiti-duvalier-baby-doc-back-in-france-on- january-20.html Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 8 http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2146-haiti-duvalier-france-is-not-implicated-in-the- return-of-duvalier.html

The day of his return, he allegedly held a press conference for the foreign media, at the Caribe Convention Center, which banned Haitian journalists. We do not know who gave orders to the Haitian police to keep out the Haitian news media. I say allegedly, because I expected to see news stories emanating from that conference, a whole lot faster. As of mid-day Jan-17 news stories were still talking about his surprise return, nothing about any official announcements he may have made. http://www.belpolitik.com/blog.php/189

Historical Perspective

One of Baby Doc’s companions is Ms Veronique Roy,14 who has been variously described as his girlfriend, his wife, his public relations officer, and the grand daughter of a former Haitian president, Paul Magloire,15 from 1950 to 1956, who came to power in a military coup. This was before the Duvaliers took over.

Key past events alleged16 in Haiti17 history, involving the Duvalier family:

 1940’s = “Papa Doc” served in a variety of capacities within Haitian government, rose to high popularity because he spoke for the masses, not the land owning minority. Much of the wealth of the family, before their involvement in government, was thanks to their Tobacco monopoly.  1957 – Voodoo physician Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier18 seizes power in military coup and is elected president in 1964.19  1958 – Tonton Macoutes formed (secret police of the Duvaliers).  1971 – “Papa Doc” Duvalier dies and is succeeded by his 19-year-old son, Jean- Claude, or "Baby Doc",20 who also declares himself president-for-life.  1979 – Baby Doc's mother Simone, believing she had to renew a pact with the devil that her husband had made 22 years earlier, married her son Jean-Claude in a ritualistic voudou rite.21

14 http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~htiwgw/familles/fiches/034848.htm 15 Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Magloire 16 Some events I am only seeing ons source mentioning. 17 Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti Historical perspectives http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/2011/01/jean_claude_baby_doc_duvalier.html MSNBC Time Line http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41109012/ns/world_news-haiti/ 18 Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Duvalier 19 Different sources have varying interpretations of many aspects of Haiti history. 20 Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Duvalier Biography http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/01/17/f-haiti-duvalier-bio.html 21 http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/01/17/f-haiti-duvalier-bio.html#ixzz1BSrDhY00 Quotes from Haiti: The Duvaliers and Their Legacy." By Abbot. Baby Doc returns to Haiti 4/6/2018 Page 9

 1980 – The extravagance of Baby Doc wedding to Michel Bennet, estimated at $ 3 million, alienated many Haitians living in poverty.  1986 – Baby Doc flees Haiti (with the help of the USA) in the wake of mounting popular discontent, ending the 29-year family dictatorship, and is replaced by Lieutenant-General Henri Namphy as head of a governing council. There is a controversy over monies “Baby Doc” left with him, which some people argue should be returned to Haiti. This has led to a number of court trials over the years, with people fighting over that money.  1993 – Baby Doc lost most of his wealth in his divorce from Michele.  1999 – A French court threw out a law suit claiming Baby Doc was illegally in France.22  2003 – A journalist revealed that as part of an investigation into the looting allegations, authorities had raided the villa Mr. Duvalier and his wife rented in Mougins shortly after they arrived in France. The authorities say they caught Mrs. Duvalier trying to flush a notebook down the toilet. It logged recent spending — $168,780 for clothes at Givenchy, $270,200 for jewelry at Boucheron, $9,752 for two children’s horse saddles at Hermes, $68,500 for a clock, $13,000 for a week in a Paris hotel….23  2004 - Transparency International estimated that while in office, Duvalier embezzled between $300 million and $800 million US.24

 2007 – A Swiss Court blocks access to some of $ 6.2 million, which Baby Doc had placed in a Swiss bank account, when he was in charge of Haiti. President Rene Preval says “Baby Doc” is free to return to Haiti, but if he does so, he would face trial. This was after a radio interview where “Baby Doc” asked Haitians for forgiveness for “errors” made during his rule. However, when he did return, the police initially quoted that there is no outstanding warrant for his arrest, and the Prime Minster said he was free to return, there are no charges against him.

 2009 – A Swiss court pledges to return some money to Haiti, from Baby Doc’s Swiss bank accounts.25  2010 – A Swiss court releases $ 4.6 million to Baby Doc.26 This money had previously gone to others, who are ordered to return it. This was because statute of limitation on freezing his funds had run out in 2001,  2011 – Baby Doc returns to Haiti from France, at age 59. He was met at the airport by many people who knew he was coming.

22 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/341691.stm 23 http://www.jsf-post.com/2011/01/18/jean-claude-duvalier-fait-face-a-la-justice-en-haiti/ 24 http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/01/17/f-haiti-duvalier-bio.html#ixzz1BSsGjOCQ 25 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7886863.stm 26 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8497754.stm