DUVALIER ON TRIAL: JUSTICE OR JOKE?
Twenty-seven years later, the unimaginable has become real. Former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier has been brought to trial for crimes against humanity.
Will justice finally arrive for the hundreds of thousands who were murdered, tortured, imprisoned, beaten, savaged, and degraded by him and his father, François “Papa Doc” Duvalier?
Camille Chalmers, director of the Haitian Platform for Alternative Development in Haiti (PAPDA), said in an interview, “Of course you can’t get a fair trial against Duvalier in this country. The political system and government we have can’t judge him. First, the culture of impunity is being reinforced as we speak. Second, Duvalier is the source of the government’s inspiration. To judge Duvalier is a bit like judging itself.”