Jean-Claude Duvalier has been ordered to appear before a judge in Port au Prince on Thursday, February 21 to answer to criminal charges of theft and embezzling of state funds.
The order to appear was issued by a judge on February 7 following Duvalier’s failure to appear on that date. Duvalier’s lawyers said he was a no-show because it was the anniversary date of the tyrant’s overthrow 27 years ago and he was concerned for his security. The judge’s order to appear on Feb. 21 means Duvalier could be arrested if he does a repeat.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are sending representatives to attend the court hearing. The Amnesty representative will be Béatrice Vaugrante of the group’s French-language office in Canada (Montreal).
A statement by a group of Haitian grassroots organizations, including the country’s largest association of peasant farmers, was issued on February 18. It contrasts the warm relations between the present Haitian government and the former dictator with the government’s demonstrated indifference to the ongoing suffering of the victims of the earthquake three years ago.
“After the former dictator arrived in the country on January 16th, 2011, many victims of Duvalier’s regime came forward to bring suit for acts committed against them during the reign of the Tonton Macoutes (Duvalier’s secret police),” says the statement. “But ever since Martelly took power, everyone notes that the long-fingered, former dictator has enjoyed substantial protection under the wings of the current administration.”
An earlier Haitian court decision to dismiss charges of human rights crimes against Duvalier is under appeal. The grassroots groups have issued a call for a public protest tomorrow morning near the courthouse demanding that charges of human rights crimes be laid and that victims of Duvalier’s rule receive justice.
The latest example of government indifference is the arson attack last Saturday night on the Acra 1 earthquake survivors camp located in Petionville, a district of Port au Prince. The camp was burned to the ground. A man claiming to be the owner of the land was caught with gasoline cans in his hands. A report yesterday in the Haitian daily Le Nouvelliste says the victims of the arson have not received a visit from government officials nor any offer of assistance. They are living destitute.
A comprehensive analysis of the history of the Duvalier case and the failure of the U.S. government to assist with a prosecution is published today on the Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Watch Blog of the Center for Economic Policy Research in Washington. It is titled, ‘Duvalier hearing this week could be historic, despite U.S. obstruction‘.
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