THE DICTATORS

Here is a list of just some of the dictators who were/are supported by America.

The list also shows many of their brutalities.....

If you see any blue text, you can click on it to go to a web-site which proves that what is on this page is true and that there are no lies.

NAME OF DICTATOR

NATION AND PERIOD OF RULE

OTHER DETAILS.....

Emperor Bao Dai

Vietnam: 1926-1945

South Vietnam: 1949-1955

	He was the French puppet emperor during the French rule of Vietnam
	While the Vietminh, a Communist guerrilla group, was fighting against French rule and against Bao Dai, America actually supported Vietminh
	However, after the Chinese Revolution of 1949, America was afraid that Vietminh would end up as a Chinese puppet, so America started supporting the unpopular Bao Dai and the French
	However, the French were defeated in 1954
	The UK, the USSR and the USA agreed to split up Vietnam into North and South: the North was Communist and the South ruled by Bao Dai
	After that the USA undertook the protection of South Vietnam and began to provide help to the dictator
	Afterwards, Bao Dai, whose corrupt and inefficient dictatorship had become an embarrassment for America, was disposed by another dictator, Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngo Dinh Diem

South Vietnam: 1955-1963

Buddhist

73-year-old Buddhist burning himself in protest against the leadership of Vietnam

	While his nation was struggling for independence against French rule, he was living in Europe and the USA
	He led a military coup against Bao Dai and declared himself President
	Under the Geneva Conference, there were supposed to be free elections to be held to unite North and South Vietnam.
	However, knowing that the Communists would win by 80%, Diem and America (under Eisenhower) both prevented democratic elections from taking place. How kind it is of America!!!
	His rule became increasingly dictatorial as guerrilla resistance from the Communist-sponsored Vietcong grew in the following years
	Him and his ruling classes were corrupt Catholic landowners who had little respect for their peasants they ruled and did not share their Buddhist religion
	The Vietnamese, who were mainly Buddhists, hated Diem so much that some of them burnt themselves in protest
	America decided to get rid of him and supported a military coup against him when he was assassinated
	There were 8 different governments between 1963 and 1975. They were all very corrupt, dictatorial and supported by the American army during the Vietnam War.
	Many war crimes were committed by the Americans against the South Vietnamese people.

Chiang Kai-shek

China: 1928-1949

Taiwan: 1949-1975

	Had a corrupt, dictatorial and ruthless regime
	He himself was proud and stubborn
	Successful in winning support of foreign powers, especially America and Britain, during the Civil War but did not gain any support of ordinary Chinese people
	Much of the support he gained from the West to fight against the Japanese (who had invaded China), was actually stored to fight against the Communists during the Civil War
	In fact, he used his best troops to block supply routes to the Communists rather than to fight the Japanese
	Dealt ruthlessly with protests
	Despite all the wartime hardships he forced the peasants to pay taxes to his army

Syngman Rhee

South Korea:1948-1960

	His corrupt police state brutalized and terrorized its opponents to such an extent that western news correspondents were forbidden to report it
	South Korea was governed by the tyrannical and unrepresentative regime of Syngman Rhee
	Ruled until 1960 when he was deposed by Park Chung Hee
	Rhee used troops to force the legislature to provide for popular election of the president
	Rigged and manipulated the elections
	His regime was set up with the help of America and with the protection of the American army
	The USA and the UN came to defend his regime from Communist invasion of North Korea between 1950-1953.

Park Chung Hee

South Korea:1960-1979

	His Korean Central Intelligence Agency was responsible for the surveillance, intimidation and purges against his political dissidents
	In 1972, he imposed martial law and introduced a new constitution which allowed him to rule indefinitely
	In the following months, numerous emergency measures restricted civil liberties and removed political opponents.
	Although the economy improved under his rule, the South Koreans hated his regime
	In 1979 demonstrations in the cities of Pusan and Masan were met with violent suppression
	He was assassinated in the same year
	Sent an army to help the USA during its invasion of Vietnam

General Chun Doo Hwan

South Korea:1980-1988

	In December 1979 he ousted senior military officers, took control of the army, and subsequently thwarted efforts toward constitutional liberalization
	In May 1980 leading opposition politicians were arrested and opposition demonstrations were suppressed with great violence
	After a series of student demonstrations, Doo Hwan was forced to make democratic reforms and free elections
	Throughout the rule of pro-American South Korean dictators, there were many student demonstrations against America which supported the dictators.
	Many such demonstrations still take place after South Korea had become a democratic nation
	allowed western multi-nationals to operate in his country

Laurent Kabila

Congo DR: 1997-2001

Persons displaced by ethnic conflict in Eastern Congo

Joseph Kabila

Joseph Kabila- the new dictator

	took control of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997 after a bloody war in which his supporters and Rwandan and Ugandan allies killed tens of thousands of civilians
	In a second civil war, Kabila's forces, like those of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congolese rebels allied with them, have all engaged in indiscriminate attacks on civilians, extrajudicial executions, rape, and destruction of property, with the result of massive displacement of population.
	During his nearly four years in power, Kabila regularly and ruthlessly violated the human rights of the Congolese people, killing, torturing, imprisoning, and causing the "disappearance" of any who he thought threatened him or his regime.
	Among those who suffered most were political opponents, leaders of civil society, human rights activists, and journalists
	Kabila handed out rights to exploit the vast mineral riches of the country to his commercial and military cronies (including American and western multi-national companies)
	while the economy as a whole disintegrated and ordinary people lacked food, medicine, and other basic needs of life, particularly in Kinshasa and other urban areas.
	He enjoyed the support of troops from his home region of Katanga, whom he in turn favored with regular pay and supplies. But other units, ordinarily left unpaid, preyed on citizens to support themselves.
	International businessmen, many of them based outside the region, have milked the wealth of the Congo while their governments exert no effective pressure for peace.
	In 1997 the U.N. Secretary-General sent a team to investigate war crimes committed by all parties during the first Congo war. Kabila blocked their work, but the investigators returned with enough information to conclude that combatants in the first Congo war had committed crimes against humanity and perhaps genocide.
	When he died, his son came to power in a very undemocratic method. But America, as a reward for allowing American multi-national companies to undermine the Congolese people, Colin Powell (American Secretary of Foreign Affairs) invited the new young dictator for dinner as soon as he came to power!!

Idi Amin

Uganda: 1971-1979

	Followed an erratic, tyrannical, and increasingly bloody course that left the country in shambles
	Killed 300,000 Ugandans during his rule
	Found refuge in Saudi Arabia, a friendly state of America

General Sani Abacha

Nigeria: 1993-1999

	Banned all political activities and parties
	Formed a military autocratic regime
	Fired and arrested political opponents
	Allowed western oil companies to exploit the nation's resources and damage the environment
	Despite international outcry, in November 1995 the Nigerian government hanged writer and dissident Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others. Saro-Wiwa, a member of the Ogoni ethnic group of southern Nigeria whose Niger River delta land has long been exploited for its oil deposits, had brought the plight of the Ogonis to the attention of the international media.
	Saro-Wiwa led protests demanding that proceeds from oil mining in the Ogoni homeland be used to help the Ogoni people, and calling on Royal Dutch/Shell Group oil corporation to clean up the environmental damage it had inflicted.

Francisco Franco

Franco

Spain: 1939-1975

	Supported by some western nations in winning the Spanish Civil War
	He himself was a fascist
	Ordered tens of thousands of executions during and after the Civil War to guarantee his power
	Although he was excluded by the United Nations, America signed with him a military assistance pact
	Supported by America mainly because he was anti-Communist and managed to murder them

General Humberto Castelo Branco

Brazil: 1964-1966

	Gained extraordinary powers
	Suppressed the opposition, especially the Left, who were anti-American
	Restrained civil liberties

Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo

Guatemala: 1985-1991

	Committed Human Rights abuses
	Although America had publicly announced that it would stop supporting the regime, reports later showed that the CIA had supported it financially and military with $10 million and that the CIA agents had worked to suppress reports of killings and torture by the army

Roberto Suazo Cَrdova

Honduras: 1981-1985

	Although a liberal democrat, the army had a lot of power during his rule
	The USA held military exercises along with other pro-American guerrilla groups on Honduras' land to fight against Nicargua

Anastasio Somoza

Somoza

Nicaragua:1936-1956

	A military-minded autocrat, he crushed all opposition with the aid of the National Guard
	Ruled NIcaragua for 20 years with the support of the USA
	Amassed a personal fortune during his corrupt, dictatorial rule
	He was succeeded by his son and then by other members of his family: Luis Somoza Debayle, Anastasio Somoza Debayle and others
	Him and his family ruled the nation for more than 40 years
	His family were more or less a corrupt royal family in a so-called Republic
	For sometime, his family abolished the constitution and declared Marshall Law
	Rigged the elections
	Him and his family headed the so-called Liberal Party

General Suharto

Indonesia:1967-1999

	The president who preceded him, President Sukarno, was a popular leader who introduced many democratic reforms and led the nation during its struggle for independence
	But America hated the former leader because of his socialist and nationalist leanings
	Therefore with the help of the USA, Suharto came to power after overthrowing Sukarno and putting him under arm arrest
	During this military coup, General Suharto massacred over 1 million suspected opponents
	Over 300,000 were arrested, many were only released after his 30 year-rule
	Only 800 out of those executed and imprisoned were on trail
	There had been periodic execution, the last occurred in 1990
	Suharto turned towards the west and allowed western multi-national companies to operate in Indonesia
	"Clinton joined his predecessors and colleagues abroad in ensuring the welfare of the Indonesian tyrants and murderers and the foreign corporations that benefit from their rule, blocking and evading congressional restrictions on military assistance." (SOURCE: Noam Chomsky in Democracy Enhancement, Part II)
	In 1975, Suharto invaded East Timor, claiming to restore order to prevent Communists to come to power over there
	Human Rights organizations say that during the invasion of East Timor, Suharto killed more than 100,000 men, women and children
	A report in the USA which was only recently released, proved that the American President Ford, and his Foreign Adviser, Kissinger, had given Suharto the green light to invade East Timor
	Ironically, it was the Western nations who later contributed to Suharto's resignation in 1999 and the independence of East Timor.
	gained western support in return for allowing multi-nationals to set up
	"In November 1993... Indonesia submitted to the UN a resolution requesting an opinion from the World Court on the legality of the use of nuclear weapons. In the face of this atrocity, the guardians of international morality leaped into action. The U.S., U.K., and France threatened Indonesia with trade sanctions and termination of aid unless it withdrew the resolution, as it did. Traditional clients understand very well when a message from the powerful is to be heeded."(SOURCE: Democracy Enhancement, by Noam Chomsky)

Colonel Hugo Banzer Suarez

Bolivia: 1971-1978

Moved from a relatively moderate position to full military control

Reza Muhammed Shah Pahlawi

{or just Shah of Iran}

Shah

Iran:1941-1979

	Was overthrown temporarily but was restored to his throne with the aid of the USA in 1953
	The Americans considered this a triumph but the Iranian people had always resented his rule
	He began to exercise increasing control over the government, keeping it closely aligned with the United States.
	When he used to arrive to Tehran (the Iranian capital) Airport, he used to see the old houses and villages of poor people on his way in the plane. He was so arrogant that he ordered the elimination of the houses!!!
	In March 1959 Iran signed a defense agreement with the United States
	He used helicopters against his own people while they were demonstrating
	Led a dictatorial government which annulled the elections of the lower House Parliament
	On March 2 1975, the shah announced the end of the multiparty system and the formation of a single-party system
	The shah's responses to his opposition were increasingly repressive, and he relied heavily on his secret police, the Savak, which was much dreaded for its harsh methods
	In the late 1970s there were antigovernment demonstrations, both in Iran and abroad, over alleged human rights violations, most of which could be traced to the Savak
	There had been, and there are still, anti-American demonstrations due to America's support to the unpopular Shah

Augusto Ugarte Pinnochet

Chile: 1973-1990

	Supported by the CIA in the military coup against the democratically and legally elected Salvador Allende
	America hated Allende because he made socialist reforms and nationalized American businesses. America wanted a dictator to achieve its benefits
	Allende was assassinated while he was in his Palace
	Suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress, imposed strict censorship, and banned all political parties.
	Embarked on a campaign of terror against leftist elements in the country.
	In his regime, thousands were arrested; many were executed, tortured, or exiled, while still others languished in prison or simply "disappeared"
	The army had a iron grip on the nation
	Led a police state
	When there was a recent debate on whether Pinnochet should be on trail for his crimes against Human Rights, America and other western nations opposed the trail with the excuse that he was too old and sick!!! If Pinnochet was an anti-American dictator, he would have been on trail even if he was paralyzed!!!

Fulgencio Batista

Cuba:1940-44 and 1952-1959

	Led a brutal and corrupt regime
	Rigged the elections
	Suspended the constitution for some time
	His capitalist regime made the rich richer and the poor poorer
	Many important sectors of the Cuban economy were owned by American businesses
	Used US dollars in lavish bribes for his supporters
	Turned a deaf ear to all voices of reform
	Later, in the Bay of Pigs, some of his supporters along with other anti-Communists tried to invade Cuba after being trained and supported by the CIA

P.W. Botha

South Africa: 1978-1989

	Only gave democracy to the white minority
	Treated the native South Africans, who formed the majority, brutally
	Refused to give independence to Namibia

Saddam Hussein

Iraq: 1979-?

	Was supported by financial and military from America, the west and the Gulf nations to fight against Iran during the Iran-Iraq War
	Killed and tortured many of his political opponents
	Believed to have used chemical weapons against Iran and against his own people while he was getting support from America
	Ironically, when he began to fight against western interests in Kuwait, only then he began to be viewed as a tyrant
	During an Uprising in 1993, the America supported the opponents of Saddam, but then deliberately left them to be killed by Saddam. 250,000 people were killed. The absence of Saddam would have meant that there would be no excuse for America to remain in the Gulf

Muammar al-Qaddafi

Qaddafi

Libya: 1969-?

	Soon after his military coup, Qaddafi had strong anti-Communist views and as a result America supported him for a short time
	The CIA helped him to assassinate an opposition group known as the "Muslim Brotherhood"
	However, Qaddafi eventually pro-Soviet and anti-western and America actually stood against him
	He was injured and one of his daughters were killed in 1986 during American attack when he was accused by America of causing a terrorist attack in West Germany. It was later proved that he wasn't behind but there was no apology from America

Rafael Leonidas Molina Trujillo

Dominican Republic: 1930-1960

	he was trained by members of the U.S. Marine Corps (the Dominican Republic was then under U.S. military occupation)
	In 1930 he was elected president without opposition.
	The Trujillo regime brought economic stability to the country but allowed the people no political freedom whatsoever.
	Trujillo encouraged diplomatic and economic ties with the U.S.
	Trujillo presided over one of the tightest dictatorships in the world.
	With the military as the basis of his power, he and his family directed practically every aspect of the nation's life, from the courts down to the pettiest bureaucrat
	The national economy, while greatly expanded and modernized, was run as the dictator's personal corporation, and the political process was completely dominated by his Dominican Party. Backed at first by the United States, Trujillo used this support to his own advantage in shoring up his power.
	The killer and torturer Trujillo took over the Dominican Republic, remaining a great friend until he began to get out of hand in the 1950s.
	Discontent and criticism, widespread especially after World War II ended in 1945, were met with terror and self-serving propaganda
	At the end, the USA stood against him and he was assassinated

Porfirio Diaz

Diaz

Mexico: 1876-1880 and 1884-1911

	In 1876 he overthrew the government of President Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada and was installed as president the following year.
	Because, under the Mexican constitution, he could not serve two consecutive terms, Diaz retired the presidency in 1880
	He was reelected in 1884, secured passage of an amendment to the constitution permitting a succession of presidential terms, and remained in power until 1911.
	His regime was marked by notable achievements, but also by a brutal tyranny.
	Foreign capital, especially American, was invested in the exploitation of the country's mineral resources
	foreign investors drained a great part of the country's wealth, much of the ancient communal lands (ejidos) of the Native Americans was concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of landowners, and poverty and illiteracy were widespread.
	Manifestations of the resulting social discontent were suppressed by Diaz with an iron hand until the revolution of 1911

Morena Manuel Antonio Noriega

Noriega

Panama: 1983-1989

	when he was head of the military intelligence, Noriega became the most feared man in the country.
	Noriega had been an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for years, including the time when Bush had been CIA director
	when it was discovered that he was a double-agent for both the CIA and the Cuban intelligence, America demanded his arrest
	America invaded Panama in 1989, arrested him and he went on trail
	He was convicted with drug trafficking and money laundering

Anwar Al Saddat

Saddat

Egypt: 1970-1981

	In 1981, Anwar Al Saddat organized a plebiscite in Egypt which asked the Egyptian people whether or not they would allow him to "abduct all of the Egyptian people".
	Of course, very few people took this ridiculous plebiscite seriously since everyone knew that it would be manipulated or rigged
	Only 30,000 Egyptians out of 40 million took part in the elections
	The rigged result was that 99.75% of the Egyptian people allowed the President to abduct all of the Egyptian people!!!!
	As a result, the President arrested hundreds of politicians, following different ideologies, without trial
	And while the arrests were taking place, a famous propaganda song was shown on TV called, "Sadat- We all Love You"!!!!!
	He changed the Egyptian constitution to allow himself to rule Egypt for the rest of his life
	Despite all that, he was known in the western media, and especially the American, as open-minded, peace-loving, democratic......
	He allowed his nation to host an American army which existed from the 1979 until today.
	Opened the doors to western foreign investment, imports and privatization which had resulted in nothing but the deterioration of the Egyptian economy

Husni Mubarak

Egypt: 1981-?

	Egypt has long been a key country for U.S. strategy in the Middle East and will soon host some 23,000 U.S. troops for long-scheduled military exercises, Operation Bright Star. The Cairo West airbase could be an important forward-supply base for attacks on Afghanistan.
	Following a resurgence of political violence in the early 1990s, the government introduced anti-terror laws giving the security and intelligence services greater powers of arrest and detention and rounded up thousands of suspects.
	There are now 20,000 political prisoners who were not put on trial
	Among them are individuals who were arrested as children in their early teens and who remain incarcerated as adults. Others were kept in prison though their sentences had expired.
	The state also uses emergency rule to refer civilian defendants to military courts or to exceptional state security courts, in effect creating a parallel court system under direct government control.
	Since 1992 hundreds of civilians have been referred to military courts. These trials, sometimes held en masse, fail to meet international fair trial standards: basic rights, such as the right to appeal, have been routinely violated, even in cases where the defendants faced and were punished with the death penalty.
	These measures have been used widely against Egyptians attempting to exercise peacefully basic political rights like freedom of association or freedom of expression, as well as persons accused of committing or advocating acts of violence.
	Non-governmental organizations, professional associations, the media, trade unions and political parties - all have had their work hampered by laws aimed at silencing them and increasing governmental control over their activities.
	Torture in Egypt is widespread and systematic. Security forces and the police routinely torture or ill-treat detainees, particularly during interrogation. In his January 2001 report to the Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture cited thirty-two cases of death in custody, apparently as a result of torture, occurring between 1997 and 1999.
	The 1992 Anti-Terror Law also criminalized non-violent political opposition, and was used to arrest and bring to trial persons not accused of committing or advocating violence but simply of alleged affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.

King Hussein

Jordan: 1952-1999

	In 1970, he fought against the Palestinian Liberation Organization for several reasons, including gaining the acceptance of the USA
	In 1973, he suspected that Egypt and Syria were going to fight against Israel, so he flew with his plane, secretly on his own, to warn Golda Meir, the Israeli premier at that time. However, the Israelis ignored his warnings.
	By signing the treaty with Yitzhak Rabin in 1994, Hussein made his country basically out of the Arab-Israeli conflict and arrested many Jordanians who tried to help the Palestinians without trial.
	The Parliament in his country is relatively weak and does not participate in the decisions involving relations with the USA or Israel.
	"A marked deterioration in respect for basic freedoms has seriously affected the ability of Jordanians to make informed choices on election day. It's worrying when individuals are afraid to engage in peaceful political activities or to even express their views -- because they may be arrested, face criminal prosecution, or lose their jobs," Hanny Megally, executive director of the Middle East division of Human Rights Watch commenting on the 1997 Parliamentary elections.
	political activists, students, writers, and researchers have faced a variety of sanctions -- ranging from detention, criminal prosecution, and imprisonment to harassment, job loss, and blacklisting -- because they expressed views on political subjects that the government preferred remain off-limits.
	"Such measures have created an atmosphere in which the right to free expression is under siege," Human Rights Watch says.
	In the 1950s, a large group of politicians following a range of ideologies were tortured.
	According to the current General Secretary of the Jordanian Communist Party, who had been one of those prisoners, a former Nazi was the trainer of torturers and the methods ranged from electric chairs to injecting chemicals which caused severe pains in their bodies.
	Most polls show that the treaties signed by King Hussein with the USA and Israel were done against the will of the Jordanian people.

King Abdulla

Jordan: 1999-?

	During the Intifada and amid increasing anti-Arab actions from Israel and the USA, King Abdulla had actually increased economic trade with both nations.
	Just after the Intifada had started on the 28/9/2000, King Abdulla signed a treaty with Bill Clinton, the former President of the USA, for free trade between the USA and Jordan, weakening the Jordanian local industry.
	In the year 2001, the Jordanian government began to implement restrictions on political opinion on the Internet- something which rarely occurs in the world.
	Demonstrations demanding the end of Israeli-Jordanian relations during the Israeli invasions of Palestinian areas in April 2002 were crushed.
	Peaceful anti-American demonstrations, leaflets and other political actions were prevented or even crushed by the Jordanian government.

Francois Duvalier (known as Papa Doc)

Haiti: 1957-1971

	All the candidates for the new body elected on April 30, 1961 were Duvalier followers.
	A life term as president for Duvalier was authorized by a new constitution proclaimed in 1964.
	Rebel groups within the country remained active, despite the oppressive tyranny of Duvalier and the Tontons Macoutes (his army).
	By 1967 the president had executed some 2000 political enemies and driven others into exile..
	In Haiti, Washington reacted with some ambivalence to the murderous and brutal dictatorship of "Papa Doc" Francois Duvalier, finding him a bit too independent for its taste.
	Nevertheless, Kennedy provided him with military assistance, in line with his general program of establishing firm U.S. control over the hemisphere's military and police as they undertook the task of "internal security" that he assigned them in a historic 1962 decision.
	Kennedy also provided aid for the Francois Duvalier International Airport in exchange for the Haitian vote to expel Cuba from the OAS (Organization of American States).
	In January 1971 the legislature amended the constitution to permit Duvalier to name his son, Jean Claude Duvalier (or Baby Duc), as his successor.

Jean-Claude Duvalier (known as Baby Duc)

Haiti: 1971-1986

	The 19-year-old Duvalier became president after the death of his father on April 21, 1971; the position was reaffirmed for life by a constitutional revision in 1985.
	When he took over in 1971, relations rapidly improved, and Haiti became another "darling" of the business community, along with Brazil under the neo-Nazi generals and other right-thinking folk.
	USAID undertook to turn Haiti into the "Taiwan of the Caribbean," forecasting "a historic change toward deeper market interdependence with the United States," Trouillot observes.
	U.S. taxpayers funded projects to establish assembly plants that would exploit such advantages as enormous unemployment (thanks in part to USAID policies emphasizing agroexport) and a workforce -- mainly women, as elsewhere considered more docile -- with wages of 14 cents an hour, no unions, ample terror, and the other usual amenities.
	The consequences were profits for U.S. corporations and their Haitian associates, and a decline of 56% in wages in the 1980s. In short, if not Taiwan exactly, Haiti was an "economic miracle" of the usual sort.
	Advisers loyal to his father's regime still held important positions, and his mother exercised considerable influence.
	An exodus of refugees to the Bahamas and to the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a result of political oppression and deepening poverty, drew international attention to the Duvalier regime
	The 1985 steps to enhance democracy in Haiti were "an encouraging step forward," the U.S. Ambassador informed his guests at a July 4 celebration. The Reagan Administration certified to Congress that "democratic development" was progressing, so that military and economic aid could continue to flow -- mainly into the pockets of Baby Doc and his entourage.
	It also informed Congress that the human rights situation was improving, as it was at the time in El Salvador and Guatemala, and today in Colombia, and quite generally when some client regime requires military aid for "internal security."
	The House Foreign Affairs Committee, controlled by Democrats, had given its approval in advance, calling on Reagan "to maintain friendly relations with Duvalier's non-Communist government."
	Haiti's legislature unanimously adopted a new law requiring that every political party must recognize President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier as the supreme arbiter of the nation, outlawing the Christian Democrats, and granting the government the right to suspend the rights of any party without reasons. The law was ratified by a majority of 99.98%. Washington was deeply impressed. (SOURCE: Democracy Enhancement, Part II, by Noam Chomsky)
	As a result of rising opposition Duvalier fled Haiti in early 1986 and settled temporarily in France; a junta succeeded him.
	This was described by the Wall Street Journal with engaging frankness: after "huge demonstrations," the White House concluded "that the regime was unraveling" and that "Haiti's ruling inner circle had lost faith in" its favored democrat, Baby Doc.
	"As a result, U.S. officials, including Secretary of State George Shultz, began openly calling for a `democratic process' in Haiti." Small wonder that Shultz is so praised for his commitment to democracy and other noble traits.
	The meaning of this call for democracy was underscored by the scenario then unfolding in the Philippines, where the army and elite made it clear they would no longer support another gangster for whom Reagan and Bush had expressed their admiration, even "love," not long before, so that the White House "began openly calling for a `democratic process'" there as well. Both events accordingly enter the canon as a demonstration of how we "served as inspiration for the triumph of democracy in our time" in those wondrous years (New Republic).

SOURCES:

Human Rights Watch

Microsoft Encarta

Longman History

Modern World History by Ben Walsh

Al Jazeera