By Edouard Guihaire | Agence France Presse – Friday January 21, 2011
Ousted Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier apologized to the victims of his 15-year regime and said he had returned to work for national reconciliation.
"I am here to show my solidarity at this difficult moment," he said in his first full public statement since ending his 25-year exile and making a surprise landing back in Haiti late Sunday.
"Baby Doc" Duvalier added he also wanted to "voice my deep sorrow to my fellow countrymen who say, rightly, that they were victims under my government."Speaking in a weak voice to a room packed full of journalists, the 59-year-old called for "national reconciliation" in Haiti and said he had hoped for a "rapid resolution to the political crisis."
Duvalier, who spoke mainly in French laced with a few words of Creole, said he wanted to offer "sympathies to my millions of supporters who, after my voluntary departure from Haiti in 1986 to avoid a bloodbath and to allow a swift resolution to the political crisis, were left to themselves."
The ex-dictator said that thousands of his supporters "were cowardly assassinated, suffocated, interrogated, subjected to tire necklaces burnings; their houses, their possessions were pillaged, uprooted and torched."
But his words are unlikely to calm tensions here, with many unanswered questions about his sudden return for people with long memories of his brutal 1971-1986 rule.
Many fear he is seeking a return to power by capitalizing on the current political chaos stalking the quake-ravaged Caribbean country.Duvalier, who was forced to flee in 1986 amid a popular uprising, did not explicitly rule out taking on any political role.
Haiti, already struggling to recover from the devastating January 2010 earthquake and a cholera outbreak, is also caught up in deepening political turmoil due to disputed presidential elections.
"The electoral system is broken," said popular singer Michel Martelly, who came in third place in November's presidential elections according to initial results released by Haiti's election commission (CEP).
Martelly worries he will be pushed out of the second round run-off, against the recommendations of international monitors from the Organization of American States.
"We'll take to the streets peacefully if the CEP doesn't accept the OAS recommendations," Martelly told journalists.
The OAS said many of the tally sheets it reviewed had been tampered with or altered in favor of President Rene Preval's chosen candidate, Jude Celestin.
It has recommended that Martelly, not Celestin, should square off against former first lady Mirlande Manigat in the run-off.
The United States, backed by Britain and France, has already warned Haiti's leaders that they should follow the OAS recommendations to ensure a credible government is in place or risk losing international support.
Stepping up the pressure on Preval, the US State Department said Friday it had revoked visas for an unspecified number of Haitian government officials.
"Our focus at the present time is in ensuring a free, fair, credible election process in Haiti," spokesman Philip Crowley said.
"To the extent that there are individuals connected with episodes of violence or corruption, we will not hesitate to take appropriate actions."
Memories of Duvalier's repressive regime remain vivid, and human rights groups have accused him and his late father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, of presiding over decades of unparalleled oppression and abuse.
Thousands are believed to have been killed or tortured, many victims of the vicious secret police, the Tonton Macoutes, which was loyal to the Duvalier family.
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Amnesty International said Haitian officials were opening a probe into alleged torture and killings. "It's an important moment for fighting impunity," said Gerardo Ducos, Haiti researcher for Amnesty.
One theory, which has gained wide currency here, is that Duvalier returned hoping to get back some $5.7 million frozen in Swiss bank accounts.
Under a Swiss law that goes into effect on February 1, the last of Duvalier's frozen assets could be confiscated and returned to Haiti even if the Port-au-Prince government has not taken legal action to get them.
The law sets forth two conditions, however -- that the failure to take action was due to the weakness of the state's structures, or the unavailability for trial of the affected person.
"If Duvalier goes back to Haiti and is not prosecuted, then he could say I was available for prosecution, and you didn't prosecute me: Give me my money back," said Reed Brody, counsel to Human Rights Watch.
The Swiss government alleges Duvalier looted between $400 million and $900 million from Haiti during his rule.
