PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – The life of Haiti’s former dictator, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, will be celebrated at a private Mass tomorrow, his lawyer said, ending speculation about government plans for an official state funeral.
Duvalier died of a heart attack on Saturday aged 63, closing the book on a political dynasty notorious for corruption and human rights abuses in the western hemisphere’s poorest country. No official announcement has been made, but the Miami Herald cited one anonymous official who said the government did not want to do anything to gloss the dictator’s image, and wished to respect victims of his regime. Instead, a private Mass will be held on Saturday morning at Saint-Louis Gonzague, the country’s top Catholic high school, Duvalier’s lawyer Reynold Georges confirmed yesterday. He did not say if, or where, Duvalier’s body would be buried. A spokesman for Haiti President Michel Martelly initially said protocol required a state funeral for all heads of state, but the government might stop short of declaring a period of national mourning.
That prompted loud protests and an online petition opposing any state honors for Duvalier.
Martelly’s administration is seen as close to figures from the Duvalier era, and on Saturday the president paid tribute to Baby Doc on Twitter as “a true son of Haiti.”
