March 2, 2004
Exiled Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier told a television reporter he wants to return to his homeland now that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has fled. "This is my country," Duvalier told WFOR-CBS4 on Monday in an interview in Paris. "I'm ready to put myself at the disposal of the Haitian people."
But Duvalier said he doesn't plan to run for president. "That is not on my agenda," Duvalier said through a translator.
The deposed dictator said he requested a diplomatic passport several weeks ago and is in constant contact with people in Haiti. Accused of human rights violations, mass killings and stealing at least $120 million from the national treasury, Duvalier fled to France in 1986, 15 years after succeeding his father, the late Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.
"I think I'm getting close and that I will soon have the opportunity to go back to my country," he said. Duvalier also said he was not involved with the rebels who helped force Aristide out of office Sunday. He applauded the "prompt action of the international community," welcomed the presence of U.S. Marines and said the country should stabilize quickly.
But Reed Brody, special counsel for the group Human Rights Watch, said: "Duvalier's return to Haiti would be a disaster, unless it is to face justice." "His dictatorial regime was responsible for thousands of political killings and arbitrary detentions," Brody said. "It would be such a step back for Haiti to have Duvalier play a role in Haitian politics."
Duvalier had been named president for life at age 18 following the 1971 death of his father. Tens of thousands were killed during the 29-year Duvalier dynasty and hundreds of millions of dollars stolen. Brody said the exact number of killed is unknown.
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