Word: tontons
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...novel The Comedians, Graham Greene described a similar time in Haiti: "No one dared move on the roads at night; it was the hour when only the zombies worked, or else the Tonton Macoutes." That infamous paramilitary force of Dr. Francois (Papa Doc") Duvalier and his son Baby Doc was disbanded by decree after Jean-Claude fell from power last year, but in spite of repeated promises, it was never disarmed. The provisional government has prosecuted only a few of the most notorious thugs. "It isn't easy to get rid of something as basic as the Macoutes," says Aubelin...
...particularly hopeful about the election's outcome. The call for a substantial change in the provisional government has been stilled in the face of continuing U.S. support for the regime. Today, Aristide is advocating instead a "historic national unity" across class lines "to prevent Duvalierists and the Tonton Macoutes from taking power...
Perhaps the best that can be said of Haiti these days is that the worst has not come to pass. The country has not lapsed into civil war. The Tonton Macoutes, President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier's brutal secret police, have not resurfaced, contrary to widespread rumors that they were regrouping in the Dominican Republic. The shaky rule of the National Council of Government continues under the uninspired leadership of Lieut. General Henri Namphy, but the oft-predicted coup has not materialized. One year after Duvalier and his family fled to exile in France, Haiti continues to limp toward...
...each step forward seems to be offset by disappointing setbacks. Since Duvalier fled and the dreaded Tonton Macoutes disbanded, large pockets of the Haitian countryside have degenerated into lawlessness. Contraband flowing into the country has fueled a rash of burglaries, arson attacks and murders. After all of Haiti's ports were reopened last fall, illegal rice from Miami hit the market, undercutting local farmers. Inevitably a battle erupted between farmers and profiteering smugglers that has yet to quiet. "Smuggling is unfortunately the No. 1 growth industry in Haiti," says a Western diplomat. "Crime is not far behind." Last week...
While the Port-au-Prince government is preoccupied with law-and-order, the ^ populace is more disturbed by the slow pace of justice. Although two Duvalier cronies, including Luc Desyr, the former Tonton Macoutes chief, have been packed off to prison, scores of others have been allowed to slip out of the country. Says Manigat: "The government is perceived as weak and slow in the de-Duvalierization of the country...