Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier: Five Reasons Why Haiti's Former Leader Is Infamous

Christian Science Monitor:

Outside the posh hotel where Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has lodged since unexpectedly returning to Haiti on Jan. 16, supporters of the former dictator have gathered in a show of support, some of them yelling: "The revolution is going to start!"

They seemed drawn by nostalgia and embellished memories of the Duvalier era, which lasted for nearly 30 years. "Baby Doc" Duvalier became the successor to the regime in 1971 when at the age of 19 he took over from his father, "Papa Doc" François Duvalier (indeed, he started off as a physician). As the following five slides attest, Baby Doc's infamy precedes him.

Read the whole story: Christian Science Monitor

Comments

[rbouloute]

09:32 PM on 01/23/2011

Crime is crime! However crimes committed under Aristide's regime far outweigh the ones commtted under Papa Doc and Baby Doc combined...

[reluctantWASP]

02:38 PM on 01/21/2011

It doesn't seem like Haiti has had a stable government since Mr. Duvalier left office. Instead of arresting him, they should put him back in the Presidential palace. After all, it's not as if he could do any worse than what Haiti currently has.

[Roger Ochs]

03:33 PM on 01/21/2011

Dictatorship is only a stable government to those who admire Franco and his ilk. The Duvaliers (with a good bit of US assistance) set the stage for the current poverty of Haiti.

[procrustes13]

04:34 PM on 01/22/2011

The first post-Duvalier provisional government was put into the hands of a virulently anti-nationalist Chicago school finance minister who proceeded to experiment on the country and was widely reviled and there was massive destabilisation caused by him. Naturally the International Community demanded his presence in every government since then as a condition to keep receiving any kind of assistance whatsoever. No wonder there is Duvalier nostalgia.

[Edward Standley]

11:36 AM on 01/21/2011

He should be tried for his crimes against Haiti and Hatians. If convicted, He should spend his sentence with a shovel chained to his hands, helping to clear rubble in Port au Prince till his sentence is completed. It would be a small justice for what he has done to that country.

[procrustes13]

11:03 AM on 01/21/2011

One reason not listed there because it is so obscure but is what makes him one of the worst leaders of any country at any time anywhere is his decision to destroy the country s pig population and destroy the life savings of the peasantry. They did this because the Reagan Administration demanded it. So publicising it reflects badly on important people.