"Penniless" Baby Doc apologizes to Haiti

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier wants his former subjects to know how very sorry he is.

In a frankly bizarre radio address, the now exiled dictator who began his reign at the age of 19 admitted that "bad things" may have, in fact, occurred during his rule. Duvalier wisely omitted specifics, but claimed he "solemnly take(s) historical responsibility" for Haiti's miserable condition during his 15 years in power. Baby Doc also took the unusual step of begging the Haitian people's forgiveness, requesting "forgiveness from the people, and ask(ing) for the impartial judgment of history".

Broadcasting in French, a language only around 10% of his former countrymen can actually understand, the former dictator admitted his dire financial straits, saying he has been "broken" by his 21 years in exile in France. The irony of having a former dictator who embezzled a fortune from the poorest country in the western hemisphere talking about his hardships has not gone unnoticed by the relatively small handful of Haitians who were able to understand Baby Doc's unusual mea culpa. This report quoted a Haitian man named Robert Duval, who hit the nail on the head when he said "I don't accept his apology. He killed thousands of people, stole money and destroyed the psyche and heart of a people. This guy should be in jail and I'm just waiting for him to come back so that can happen."

The chances that France will extradite Duvalier to Haiti to stand trial are roughly equivalent to my chances of winning the Miss Venezuela contest, but one has to wonder why Baby Doc is suddenly in such a confessional mood? He certainly hasn't been at a loss for opportunities to apologize for his misrule in the past 20 years, so why now?

Baby Doc rocks the cash box

One of the great things about being a dictator is the concept that the state and the maximum leader are a united entity, aka, l'etat c'est moi. This concept is especially useful when it comes to building a retirement fund, and you're willing to play fast and loose with the barrier between public money and your own private bank account.

There have been many dictators who have been described as thieves, but only a select few have been rapacious enough to be described as kleptocrats, that is, running a form of government whose very basis is stealing everything that isn't nailed down. Among the most famous of the 20th century's kleptocrats were Haiti's infamous Duvalier dynasty, and both François "Papa Doc" Duvalier as well as his corpulent successor, son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, were two of the most talented kleptocrats ever born.

During their 29 year rule, the Duvalier dynasty had the dubious distinction of turning an already poor Haiti into the poorest nation in the entire western hemisphere, and among the very poorest on earth. Corruption, always a problem in Haitian history, was kicked into overdrive, and the state even dabbled with extortion, using their feared secret policemen (the Tonton Macoutes) as bagmen to shake down the public for funds ostensibly intended for chimerical government projects, and instead, went straight to the Duvalier's pockets. When Papa Doc kicked the bucket in 1971, Baby Doc took over right where his old man left off, trying to squeeze every last cent from his terrified citizenry. By the time Baby Doc was forced into exile in 1986, the Duvalier dictatorship had stolen enough money to last several lifetimes.

After 21 years of living the high life in Cannes, France as one of the world's most sordid political refugees, the years of doling out for champagne, Ferrari maintenance and most ruinous of all, a divorce from his wife Michèle, have finally caught up with him: he's broke. Almost flat broke, in fact. So naturally, Baby Doc is on the prowl for any recoverable financial assets that might help get him back on his feet, and he appears to have hit the jackpot. Baby Doc is set to recover nearly $6.5 million dollars in embezzled money from heretofore frozen Swiss bank accounts when the clock runs out on a challenge to the funds by various Haitian governments.

Apparently, the Swiss government can only freeze assets for a certain length of time, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Haiti's infamously disorganized governments have failed to perform any of the legal work to recover the Duvalier fortune within the required time limit, so Jean-Claude has patiently waited for the clock to expire before taking control of the money. The Haitian government is upset, if only because they, along with Baby Doc, the Swiss, and everyone else on earth, knows that the accounts contain stolen money, but perhaps that should have spurred them to work more diligently to recover it? Then again, it may very well have cost more than $6.5 million in legal fees to recover it, so who can say for sure?

For now, though, it looks like Baby Doc will be getting the last laugh ... and the $6.5 million. I just wonder how long it will take him to blow through this fortune.

Never thought I'd see this

Because I update this blog frequently, I'm constantly on the lookout for news stories involving world dictators. Even a jaded tyrannophile like myself is still occasionally startled by a news item, like this one from the French International Herald Tribune - in Haiti, loyalists long for dictator's return.

Few dictators on earth have done as much damage to their country as Haiti's infamous Duvalier dynasty. François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his corpulent son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier were the quintessential dictators: kleptocratic, brutal and most all, widely despised. There is certainly no shortage of anger about Haiti's miserable political culture, but even I could not imagine for a moment that there was anyone in Haiti itself who would wish for Baby Doc to return from exile, much less wish for a return to Duvalierist rule.

"I'm going to die a Duvalierist, but I hope Jean-Claude comes back before that happens"

Since Baby Doc fled in 1986, Haiti has remained a mess, both politically and economically. Numerous coup d'etats, a successful rebellion, violent crime and the hemisphere's worst poverty have all made "the pearl of the Antilles" a little slice of hell. Playing devil's advocate for a moment, Haiti was a mess during the Duvalier regime, too. And while the Duvaliers bled the nation's pocketbook dry, I suppose order was more or less maintained thanks to the country's infamous secret police.

So is that tiny measure of stability worth the sort of dictatorship the Duvaliers imposed upon Haiti? I'd like to say no, but then again, I'm not Haitian.