Money may have driven Duvalier’s return
| ANALYSIS |
 |
WASHINGTON — The mystery of Jean-Claude Duvalier’s return to Haiti, out of the blue and in a moment of national chaos and instability, may be explained not by a thirst for power but another gnawing human need: money.
The former dictator said Friday that he flew home after nearly 25 years in exile “to show my solidarity at this difficult moment,” and he expressed “deep sorrow” for those who say they were victims of his regime.
But human rights activists and experts believe it may have been a maneuver to prevent the confiscation of at least $5.7 million in frozen Swiss bank accounts.
“It would seem to be the most plausible explanation when you put these pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together,” said Reed Brody, counsel to Human Rights Watch and a former prosecutor in Haiti.
The theory, which has gained wide currency in Haiti, stems from a law passed by Switzerland that goes into effect on Feb. 1 which would allow for the confiscation of the last of Duvalier’s frozen assets and their return to Haiti..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110124com3.html
0 comments
Post a Comment