A leading Haitian civil society group condemned plans Wednesday to stage a national funeral for late dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who died over the weekend without having been judged for his crimes.
The office of Haiti's current leader President Michel Martelly has said that protocol requires that a former head of state be accorded national honors, but has yet to announce a date for the service or to decide on a period of mourning.
The Group of Citizens and Organizations of Civil Society, an activist umbrella group, launched a petition against any official honor being conferred on a man who was driven from office and into exile by popular protests in 1986.
"Today, in the name of the blood of the victims, of the broken families, of the exiled brain power, and of our country forever battered, civil society organizations as well as the country's citizens, rise against the ultimate insult that would represent state funerals for the dictator Jean Claude Duvalier," the group warned.
The petition writers denounced what they said was an attempt to whitewash the legacy of Duvalier's regime, and that of his father and fellow self-declared president for life Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier before him.
Tens of thousands of supposed opposition activists are thought to have died at the hands of the Duvaliers' militias during their quarter-century of rule, in which they presided over a system of corruption that opponents allege continues to this day.
The late leader's 31-year-old son, Nicolas Duvalier, refused to comment on preparations for the funeral, saying simply: "It's for state protocol to decide."
Nicolas Duvalier is a former advisor to Martelly, whose government is seen as close to the surviving Duvalier camp, but said it was "not the moment" to comment on reports he himself intends to stand for election to the senate.
Despite the fury of human rights activists and surviving victims of the regime, Duvalier's death on Saturday of a heart attack aged 63 has not generated much public passion in Haiti, which is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake.
Haiti's only newspaper, Le Nouvelliste, first reported the death on Wednesday in an edition dated "Monday to Wednesday."
A leading Haitian civil society group condemned plans Wednesday to stage a national funeral for late dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who died over the weekend without having been judged for his crimes.
The office of Haiti’s current leader President Michel Martelly has said that protocol requires that a former head of state be accorded national honors, but has yet to announce a date for the service or to decide on a period of mourning.
The Group of Citizens and Organizations of Civil Society, an activist umbrella group, launched a petition against any official honor being conferred on a man who was driven from office and into exile by popular protests in 1986.
“Today, in the name of the blood of the victims, of the broken families, of the exiled brain power, and of our country forever battered, civil society organizations as well as the country’s citizens, rise against the ultimate insult that would represent state funerals for the dictator Jean Claude Duvalier,” the group warned.
The petition writers denounced what they said was an attempt to whitewash the legacy of Duvalier’s regime, and that of his father and fellow self-declared president for life Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier before him.
Tens of thousands of supposed opposition activists are thought to have died at the hands of the Duvaliers’ militias during their quarter-century of rule, in which they presided over a system of corruption that opponents allege continues to this day.
The late leader’s 31-year-old son, Nicolas Duvalier, refused to comment on preparations for the funeral, saying simply: “It’s for state protocol to decide.”
Nicolas Duvalier is a former advisor to Martelly, whose government is seen as close to the surviving Duvalier camp, but said it was “not the moment” to comment on reports he himself intends to stand for election to the senate.
Despite the fury of human rights activists and surviving victims of the regime, Duvalier’s death on Saturday of a heart attack aged 63 has not generated much public passion in Haiti, which is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake.
Haiti’s only newspaper, Le Nouvelliste, first reported the death on Wednesday in an edition dated “Monday to Wednesday.”
