Presidential
Martelly for Presidential Pardon of Duvalier and Aristide
- Monday, April 18, 2011 6:23 PM
PORT-AU-PRINCE - In an interview with the press, via Skype, the President-elect, Michel Martelly, said he has a "plan for the future, not for the past." Martelly said he is in solidarity with the victims of past regimes but believe that granting amnesty to Jean-Claude Duvalier and Jean-Bertrand Aristide would be good to promote reconciliation in a severely test country.
This comes on the heals of calls from victims of the Duvalier living in Quebec who are seeking prosecution for the former dictator. It is alleged that from the years 1971-1986, many were arrested, tortured, threatened and perhaps killed. These persons seeking justice are supported by Human Rights Watch, an international organization.
In the interview, the President-elect promised to end the decades of corruption and waste and restore confidence in the people of Haiti and the international community.
Martelly called on the Haitian diaspora to reconsider their relationship with the mother country and recognizes that the leaders of the country are the ones who failed in their obligations of the past.
Source: Le Nouvelliste
