It is something of a mystery just why former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier was moved to make a surprise return this week to the homeland he fled in abject disgrace for refuge in France a quarter of a century ago.
Among theories advanced by observers is that he was induced to come by the country's currently embattled president, Rene Preval, as a diversion from Preval's own problems in the hope that it would aid his chances of clinging to power after last November's inconclusive and by all accounts illegitimate election. Another is that it was engineered by French and U.S. authorities for the purpose of undermining Preval. Least plausible is Duvalier's own assertion in a radio interview shortly after his arrival that he was there to be helpful in the reconstruction of the country, ravaged by natural disaster, disease and misgovernance.
Duvalier certainly contributed amply to the latter misfortune during his tenure as Haiti's dictator. From his hereditary ascension in 1971 at age 19, following the death of his father Francois (Papa Doc), to his ouster in 1986, he largely left the running of the country to a clique of corrupt cronies while he pursued a lavish playboy lifestyle and looted the national treasury of hundreds of millions of dollars. His reign was enforced by a brutal militia, the infamous Tonton Macoutes, whose body count is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
Despite this, there were Haitians who greeted his arrival with cheers and cries of "Long live Duvalier" as though he were a national hero instead of a national scourge. Perverse as it might be, to some extent this is more understandable than are his reasons for returning. Roughly half of Haiti's population was born after he went into exile, and to many of them he is something of a mythic figure; and others, even though they experienced the oppressive Duvalier reign, recall it as at least a more ordered and secure time than the country's present -as long as one wasn't on the wrong side of the Duvaliers.
Yesterday, finally, after Duvalier had spent two days at liberty in the plush comfort of a Port-au-Prince hotel, hobnobbing with people not embarrassed to be seen in his company, he was taken into custody by Haitian authorities and later charged with corruption, theft and other counts. This leaves the further mystery of why this wasn't done the moment he stepped off the plane.