Infamous Criminal 'Baby Doc' Welcomed

proudfootz · #1 by **proudfootz** » Feb 04, 2012 7:03 pm

Somehow not surprising....

The Martelly administration has made Duvalier critics uneasy by filling its ranks with former officials from the Duvalier era and grown children of members of the former dictator's inner circle.

Since his return, Duvalier has traveled around the capital and countryside, hobnobbing with friends, dining at high-end restaurants and even attending a memorial service for the victims of the 2010 earthquake.

http://news.yahoo.com/rights-groups-bla ... 33859.html

A Haitian judge announced Monday former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier will face trial for corruption, but will not face any charges for the murders, disappearances, torture and other human rights abuses committed during his 15-year rule because the statute of limitations has expired. "Unless this ruling is overturned on appeal, it’s just going to be another confirmation to people in Haiti that the justice system is always on the side of the rich and the powerful and doesn’t serve even to punish the worst atrocities," says Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch. "For Jean-Claude Duvalier to come back to Haiti and not be prosecuted is a slap in the face to the thousands of people who were killed and tortured under his rule."

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/1/is ... ean_claude

THWOTH · #2 by **THWOTH** » Feb 14, 2012 5:36 pm

Let's hope the amount of US aid being pumped into Haiti might act to limit the influence of the Baby Butcher and his cohorts.

Wiðercora · #3 by **Wiðercora** » Feb 14, 2012 6:20 pm

Do I even want to know why he's nicknamed Baby Doc?

james1v · #4 by **james1v** » Feb 14, 2012 6:58 pm

I thought he was dead. Wishful thinking on my part? :think:

Corneel · #5 by **Corneel** » Feb 15, 2012 8:10 am

Wiðercora wrote:Do I even want to know why he's nicknamed Baby Doc?

Because his father, president of Haiti before him, was nicknamed "Papa Doc".

THWOTH · #6 by **THWOTH** » Feb 15, 2012 12:48 pm

Papa Death would have been a more apposite sobriquet.

Nicko · #7 by **Nicko** » Feb 15, 2012 1:53 pm

THWOTH wrote:Let's hope the amount of US aid being pumped into Haiti might act to limit the influence of the Baby Butcher and his cohorts.

What possible reason is there to suppose this?

Are you under the impression that the US history of intervention in Haiti has been to Haiti's benefit?

Duvalier - the murderous dictator - was an ally of the US.

It is Aristide - a democratically elected reformer with the impertinent idea that Haiti's resources should be used to benefit Hatians - who the US opposed.

THWOTH · #8 by **THWOTH** » Feb 15, 2012 3:06 pm

Nicko wrote:Are you under the impression that the US history of intervention in Haiti has been to Haiti's benefit?

I was not referring to that but to post-earthquake aid. http://haiti.usaid.gov/

proudfootz · #9 by **proudfootz** » Feb 16, 2012 3:22 pm

Nicko wrote:
THWOTH wrote:Let's hope the amount of US aid being pumped into Haiti might act to limit the influence of the Baby Butcher and his cohorts.

What possible reason is there to suppose this?

Are you under the impression that the US history of intervention in Haiti has been to Haiti's benefit?

Duvalier - the murderous dictator - was an ally of the US.

It is Aristide - a democratically elected reformer with the impertinent idea that Haiti's resources should be used to benefit Hatians - who the US opposed.

That the US backed the coup to throw out Aristide and outlaw the most popular political party in Haiti to ensure democracy wouldn't take hold is symptomatic of our meddling with nations trying to determine their own course for the benefit of their own people.

The US continued to prevent Aristide from returning for the next seven years. Just last week, President Barack Obama called South African President Jacob Zuma to express "deep concerns" about Aristide's potential return, and to pressure Zuma to block the trip. Zuma, to his credit, ignored the warning. US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal a concerted drive, over years, to hamper the return of Aristide to Haiti, including diplomatically punishing any country that helped Aristide, including threatening to block a UN security council seat for South Africa.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... tide-haiti

The current regime's links to the bloody dictator doesn't bode well for any change in how the US runs Haiti.

Looks like 'disaster capitalism' at work:

Official denials aside, the United States has embarked on a new military occupation of Haiti thinly cloaked as disaster relief. While both the Pentagon and the United Nations claimed more troops were needed to provide “security and stability” to bring in aid, violence was never an issue, according to nearly all independent observers in the field.

The military response appears to be more opportunistic. With Haiti’s government “all but invisible” and its repressive police forces “devastated,” popular organizations were starting to fill the void. But the Western powers rushing in want to rebuild Haiti on a foundation of sweatshops, agro-exports and tourism. This is opposed by the popular organizations, which draw from Haiti’s overwhelmingly poor majority. Thus, if a neoliberal plan is going to be imposed it will be done at gunpoint.

http://www.indypendent.org/2010/02/18/us-in-haiti/

The generosity of people contributing aid which never reached those in need was betrayed:

January 13, 2011

WHILE THE U.S. responded to the initial disaster with 20,000 soldiers and a 17-ship naval blockade around the island, other countries, including Cuba and Venezuela, and NGOs rushed to deliver food, water and temporary housing. But since the initial aftermath, conditions for Haitians have actually deteriorated in Port-au-Prince and across the country.

Today, according to the Miami Herald, at least 810,000 people are still trapped in 1,150 tent camps throughout Port-au-Prince. These quake refugees have little hope of finding transitional housing, since only 15 percent of the promised temporary shelters have been built.

And forget about reconstruction. Not even 5 percent of the rubble in Port-au-Prince has been cleared for building new, permanent housing.

The NGOs collected hundreds of millions of dollars, but many have sat on the funds, saving them for future projects. The Red Cross, for instance, collected $479 million in donations for Haiti, but has only spent or committed $245 million to aid projects.

In a scathing study of relief efforts titled "From Relief to Recovery," Oxfam indicted the NGOs and the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHCR). Roland Van Hauwermeiren, country director for Oxfam in Haiti, stated, "Despite the success of emergency lifesaving aid after last year's earthquake, long-term recovery from the disaster has barely begun."

The worst offender is the ICHR. As Haitian journalist Christophe Warny wrote:

"Everyone counted on the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, with its co-presidents Bill Clinton, the UN's special envoy to Haiti, and Haiti's prime minister, Jean-Max Bellerive. Disappointingly, it has met just three times in 10 months, few projects have been confirmed, and there's poor coordination between the sponsors. Haitian civil society has been spurned. The donor states...seem a long way from the $10-15 billion target announced: just 10 percent of donations have materialized."

Without effective reconstruction, Haitians in Port-au-Prince were been left vulnerable to storms and disease, both of which struck at the end of last year. Hurricane Tomas turned the camps into cesspools of human excrement and trash.

Worst of all, a cholera epidemic has exploded across the country. The World Health Organization reports that the disease has killed more than 3,600 Haitians, and in excess of 170,000 have been infected. Epidemiologists fear that as many as 600,000 will contract the disease in the coming years.

http://socialistworker.org/2011/01/13/h ... -abandoned

Nicko · **#10** by **Nicko** » Feb 16, 2012 3:35 pm

About the only prediction one can make is that the Haitians will get the short end of the stick.

As usual.

FACT-MAN-2 · **#11** by **FACT-MAN-2** » Feb 16, 2012 10:02 pm

Nicko wrote:About the only prediction one can make is that the Haitians will get the short end of the stick.

As usual.

More properly expressed, perhaps, as "are" getting the short end of the stick, eh? :doh:

Nicko · **#12** by **Nicko** » Feb 16, 2012 10:19 pm

FACT-MAN-2 wrote:
Nicko wrote:About the only prediction one can make is that the Haitians will get the short end of the stick.

As usual.

More properly expressed, perhaps, as "are" getting the short end of the stick, eh?

That would not be a prediction, that would be an observation. An accurate one, though, I agree.

Ultimate · **#13** by **Ultimate** » Feb 17, 2012 12:13 am

Nicko wrote:
FACT-MAN-2 wrote:
Nicko wrote:About the only prediction one can make is that the Haitians will get the short end of the stick.

As usual.

More properly expressed, perhaps, as "are" getting the short end of the stick, eh?

That would not be a prediction, that would be an observation. An accurate one, though, I agree.

Don't worry. I'm sure the new president will fix everything. He can write a song that will cheer up everyone with cholera.