Duvalier detained....what next?

A relatively gaunt Baby Doc Duvalier mysteriously appeared on the eve of the silver anniversary of his dramatic departure from Haiti. The self-appointed "President for Life" feigned his best sheepish posture and made his way (under UN guard) to a hotel in the posh hills of Petion Ville where he promised a press conference to explain his surprise return.

An exiled former dictator cannot just hop on a plane and appear in a country for which he can be tried for war crimes without some sort of diplomatic intervention, and probable promises of protection/amnesty.

Did Rene Preval really lure Duvalier back to Haiti to have him tried for his crimes?

I don't think Preval is that benevolent, and neither do I think Duvalier is as stupid as he looks.

As we say in Jamaica "supn inna supn" (something suspicious is afoot), and it would appear that one of my favourite women in the world (and I mean that) journalist Michele Montas of Radio Haiti, widow of Jean Dominique, activist and subject of the most powerful documentary I've ever watched "The Agronomist", saw the potential for the corruption to continue and rallied the troops to block this travesty of justice.

I really believe that Preval allowed Duvalier to return as a weapon of mass distraction to heighten confusion in this election period. He'd likely throw his weight behind Preval's candidate (ironically), or announce his own intentions to vie for the Presidency. Complete chaos would ensue with the international community up in arms and the streets of Port-Au-Prince once more transformed into a post-apocalyptic scene (as if it can get any worse) of furiously burning tyres, blocked streets, and clashes with UN troops. No one knowing any more than the other about what this all means.

It is still unclear what Duvalier's detention, passport seizure, release, and charges of theft and misappropriation of funds will really mean within the context of the impotent Haitian justice system.

Does anyone in Haiti besides a few older influential idealists like Michele Montas, or powerless and scarred victims of Baby Doc's tyranny, really care or understand the historical significance of his reign, departure and return?

Is justice a dish best served cold....as in 25 years cold?

In Jamaica we have grown largely cynical about this sort of thing and many are waiting for the announcement of his exoneration on some silly technicality that reeks of corruption. Shortly after which he will once more disappear for France and return to obscurity, leaving a few dozen dead and maimed in his wake, and it would have all been for nought.

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