Haiti Never, Never Again

• Share

As the Caribbean sun set, an honor guard lowered the billowing red-and-black flag in front of Haiti's presidential palace in Port-au-Prince. For more than two decades that daily ritual had been private: ordinary citizens were not permitted on the street that leads to the sprawling white residence from which the Duvalier family governed Haiti. Last week the twilight flag lowering was witnessed close up for the first time by a crowd of hundreds: "Change it!" they chanted. "Change it!"

Their aim was to rid the country of the flag that Francois ("Papa Doc") Duvalier introduced in 1965 and that has since come to symbolize the dictatorial rule of the Duvaliers. Last week, six days after Papa Doc's son and successor, President-for-Life Jean-Claude ("Baby Doc") Duvalier, had fled to France with his family to avoid a bloody popular uprising, the hated standard was pulled down for the last time. Beginning this week, on the orders of Haiti's new five-man ruling government council, the palace guard will hoist the red-and-blue Haitian flag that had flown before the elder Duvalier took power 28 years ago.

The change was only one of many that swept Haiti last week. As the country's 6 million citizens adjusted to the realization that Baby Doc was gone for good, they exulted in what the Roman Catholic bishop of Cap Haitien called "our second independence." And although the annual pre-Lent Mardi Gras celebration was canceled for fear that the swelling crowds would become disorderly, there were noisy, exuberant gatherings across the land.

Revelers vowed "never, never again" to fall victim to tyranny. Some voiced concern about the course being set by the interim government, which is dominated by longtime Duvalier loyalists. Lieut. General Henry Namphy, the presiding member of the National Council of Government, moved swiftly to defuse the tide of criticism. He summarily abolished the National Assembly, a body that had served largely to rubber-stamp Duvalier policies. Namphy also disbanded the uniformed branch of the despised Duvalier secret police corps, the Tonton Macoutes.

Haiti's international air terminal, which had been closed for six days, reopened. Schools, shut down since Jan. 8, were also given permission to open their doors. So was the popular station Radio Soleil, run by the Roman % Catholic Church, which had helped guide the burgeoning opposition that finally toppled Duvalier and remains a powerful force in the transition.

In his first meeting with the foreign press, the barrel-chested Namphy exhibited a whimsical personality. He spoke as he cut a zigzag path through a room in the palace filled with busts of past Haitian Presidents. When a woman reporter pressed for specific answers about his plans for the country, Namphy pinched her cheek. Said he: "We have only been the government three days, and those have been holidays. Give us a break."

Namphy promised to hold democratic elections but stopped short of saying when. Said U.S. State Department Spokesman Charles Redman: "The government is off to a good start." Privately, the Reagan Administration, which is holding up $26 million in aid for Haiti, hopes the junta will quickly set an election date. Hubert de Ronceray and Gregoire Eugene, leading dissidents during the Duvalier era, announced they plan to run for President.