14163: (Chamberlain) Haitian ex-dictator would like to go home (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

    MIAMI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby
Doc" Duvalier, who has lived in exile in France since 1986, said in a
television interview to be aired on Tuesday evening he would like to return
one day to his Caribbean homeland.
     In excerpts published ahead of the broadcast by CBS Miami area
affiliate WFOR-4, Duvalier deplored the current situation in Haiti and said
the country had "gone backward by 50 years" since he left office.
     Duvalier gave the interview as Haiti has been rocked by protests
against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government. Aristide, a former
Roman Catholic priest, became  Haiti's first freely elected leader in 1991
as the country moved toward democracy after the 29-year dictatorships of
Duvalier and his father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.
     Aristide, who began his second term in office in 2001, is mired in a
political dispute over the results of parliamentary elections more than two
years ago and in recent weeks, thousands of demonstrators have taken to the
streets in several cities to demand he step down. Haiti, with 8 million
inhabitants, is the poorest country in the Americas.
     Duvalier, whose rule was commonly viewed as repressive and corrupt,
dismissed Aristide as no longer effectively ruling the country, and said
poverty had worsened.
     "He does not have the possibility of ruling Haiti anymore. He has been
rejected by the vast majority of the population. He should, according to
me, retire."
     "People are suffering a lot. It is not bearable. It is revolting. I
know of parents who can't have their children go to school any more. Some
families eat every other day," said Duvalier.
     Asked if he wanted to return, Duvalier said "it is my firm intention
as soon as conditions allow," adding he wanted to take part in "rebuilding"
Haiti.
     Duvalier said there were no legal reasons for him not to return, but
he had reasons for not going back now.
     The Haitian government has long accused Duvalier and his advisers of
pillaging state funds, but Duvalier said he would like to see any evidence
of misappropriated money. Under his 15-year rule, a brutal militia called
the Tonton Macoutes  terrorized his opponents.