Duvalier breaks silence

[EFerrari]

Duvalier breaks silence

Says he came home to help in reconstruction
Saturday, January 22, 2011

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti - Former Haitian dictator Jean Claude Duvalier has told nationals that he decided to end his 25 year exile in France and return home to help in the reconstruction of the country following the January 12 earthquake last year that killed an estimated 300,000 people and left more than a million others homeless.

In a prepared statement, Duvalier, who made a surprising return here on Sunday also expressed condolences to the families of those killed.

"When I made the decision to come back to Haiti to commemorate this sad anniversary with you, in our country, I was ready for any kind of persecution," Duvalier said in a soft spoken voice.

"But I believe that the desire to participate by your side in this collaboration for the national reconstruction far outweighs any harrassment I could face.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Duvalier-breaks-silence#ixzz1EiH9v5zP

[EFerrari]

1. Looks like Bob Bar beat Lanny Davis to this one:

Former US Lawmaker Assisting Duvalier as Human Rights Groups Call for Prosecution

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti -- A former U.S. congressman was among a group of American attorneys accompanying former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier as he spoke in the country's capital Friday.

Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr said he is not serving as Duvalier's attorney, but is in Port-au-Prince to consult, assist and be Duvalier's voice to the international community.

Barr represented Georgia's 7th District in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, and was the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee in 2008. He currently practices law and runs a consulting firm based in Atlanta.

"We have been asked by the former president and his family to assist him in his efforts," Barr told reporters in Port-au-Prince.

He is representing Duvalier along with two other Georgia attorneys -- Ed Marger and Mike Puglise -- according to a statement on Barr's website.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/01/22-1

[Judi Lynn]

2. What a horror show. No doubt Lanny Davis is consulting, anyway.

We all might have assumed Bob Barr got his fill of underhanded behavior when he acted as a Congressional Impeachment Manager during Bill Clinton's last term, and left politics after that.

By accepting this work with Duvalier he tells us he's back to feed again.

I'm very curious about just how far BACK his involvement with Duvaliers goes, anyway. In the following article Barr mentions he was in Haiti 30 yrs. ago. That would have been during Papa Doc's nightmarish era.

~~~
Lawyer: Duvalier wants U.S. entity to disburse frozen funds
By Moni Basu
January 22, 2011 -- Updated 2058 GMT (0458 HKT)

http://i.cdn.turner.com.nyud.net:8090/cnn/2011/WORLD/americas/01/22/haiti.duvalier.barr/t1larg.bob.barr.gi.jpg

~snip~
After the earthquake, Duvalier pledged some of the money to the Red Cross for relief efforts. His attorney in Haiti, Reynold Georges, told CNN that Duvalier had already transferred money to the agency.

"There have been media reports for more than a year about a donation from Mr. Duvalier for Haiti earthquake relief, but the American Red Cross has no record of ever receiving any donation from him," said Laura Howe, spokeswoman for the Red Cross.

In any case, she said, the Red Cross is not willing to accept Duvalier's money.

"We simply would not accept a donation from someone accused of taking funds from the coffers of a government entity," she said.

More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/01/22/haiti.duvalier.barr/?hpt=T2

[EFerrari]

3. Dung beetles are cleaner than these people. n/t