“What have you done to my country?” said the former Haitian president Jean-Claude Duvalier Thursday in a Port-au-Prince court, facing for the first time his former victims, after refusing to appear before the court for three times.
The remarks of the former dictator, inaudible, were repeated by a clerk. They provoked applause from his supporters in the room when the judge Jean-Joseph Lebrun asked if he assumed responsibility for his years in power from 1971 to 1986.
“I think I have made every effort to ensure a decent life for my country,” said “Baby Doc”.
“At that time, the government was managing the poverty but public enterprises were functioning well (…) and Haitians sent their children to school. I can not say that life was pink but people were living decently,” he argued.
“When I came back (in January 2011, editor’s note), I found a country plagued by corruption. (…) It’s my turn to ask: what have you done to my country?” he asked.
In a dark suit, white shirt, Jean-Claude Duvalier was seated just before 16:00 GMT with his partner Veronique Roy in front of a packed house, where there were also present former victims and human rights organizations.
Son of the former dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Jean-Claude Duvalier took power in 1971 at the age of 19. Chased in 1986 by a popular revolt, he made a spectacular return to Haiti in January 2011 after 25 years of exile in France where he allegedly deposited more than $100 million.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers have welcomed Thursday the fact that the former dictator was finally brought to justice.
Jean-Claude Duvalier is “a true dictator, who revealed his true character,” told AFP a former political prisoner, football player Robert ‘Bobby’ Duval.
Exiled under the dictatorship, Alix Fils-Aime welcomed that “a dictator had to appear before a court.”
On behalf of francophone Amnesty International Canada, Beatrice Vaugrante welcomed on Twitter “a historic day for justice” with “Duvalier facing his victims.”
The hearing ended shortly after 20:00 GMT. A new hearing was scheduled for next Thursday.
Supporters of the former president, 61 years old, had demanded the end of the hearing, arguing his ill health, as he appeared weak, hardly moving and speaking in a very low voice.
He left the court without making any statement. Outside the building, dozens of people dressed in black and red colors of the old regime demonstrated in favor of the former dictator.
On February 21, following his third absence from court, the judge ordered for “Baby Doc” Duvalier to be brought to justice to answer several complaints for arbitrary arrests, torture and illegal detention.
In January 2012, a judge ordered the dismissal of the embezzlement count in a criminal court for, but did not hold the prosecution for crimes against humanity, saying the facts were prescribed.
This decision provoked outrage among human rights organizations and victims who appealed the ruling.
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