[23], The lack of funds coming to the Tonton Macoute was a result of those funds being intercepted by the Duvalier dynasty which was sometimes taking nearly 80 percent of international aid to Haiti, then turning around to pay only 45 percent of the debts the country owed. She recalls the particular case of one of her fellow plaintiffs who was forced to travel from northern Haiti with her husband's severed head in a bucket during the father's reign and was only released from Fort Dimanche during the son's reign, as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States. A confidential memorandum of the Secretary of the Navy (in Gaillard, 1981: 238-241) criticized these indiscriminate killings against natives during several weeks. In July 1920, H.J. _ During this period, most of the killings and executions targeted small groups of individuals and therefore can not be listed here. Some civilians who had attempted to flee were killed. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (ICHR), Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 1990-1991, Organization of American States (OAS), General Secretariat, Washington, D.C., 1991. . Even the most conservative estimate makes it one of the largest massacres on a single day in Latin America in the 20th century. All the victims were Duvalierists and close to the Duvalier family, or to Papa Doc himself. Hundreds were rounded up or disappeared into the bowels of Fort Dimanche, the notorious dungeon prison where many of Papa Doc's victims lost their lives. 589-636. Lemoine, Patrick, List of victims of Duvalirism. This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 02:18. Literature. In 1970 the militia was renamed the Volontaires de la Scurit Nationale ( VSN, Volunteers of the National Security). Duvalier created the militia, because he felt threatened by the Haitian army. 1915-1920: Several thousand civilians were killed by the US occupying forces, along with the Haitian gendarmerie commanded by US officers, who were fighting an insurrection of armed peasants, the Cacos, mainly in the rural areas of the center and Northeast of the country. "Marking the 50th anniversary of one of the bloodiest and senseless days of the Duvalier dictatorship," she says, "will be for so many of us, a day of collective catharsis. The names, in Crole, of the US officers who committed acts of violence against civilians, are still present in collective memory in the affected areas: Ouiliyanm (Lieutenant Lee Williams), Linx (Commandant Freeman Lang) and Captain Lavoie (Gaillard, 1981: 27-71). Gaillard, Roger, Les Blancs dbarquent, II. The Tonton Macountes were a staple in the country putting Papa Doc's opponents in their place. [1] According to one witness, the police and army provided protection for the attackers, encircling the church. The BRAC was disbanded after Batista fled to Spain in 1959 as communist forces moved into Havana. Trouillot, Michel-Rolph, Les Racines historiques du rgime des Duvaliers, Deschamps, Port-au-Prince, 1986. The Gestapo in a sense became somewhat of a paramilitary force as well during the war. This subject is politically and emotionally charged. [16], When Franois Duvalier came to power in 1957, Vodou was becoming celebrated for its purely Haitian heritage by intellectuals and the griots after having been let go for years by those with education. Keyboardist/vocalist Paul French reemerged at decade's end with art-rockers Voyager, which issued three albums between 1979 and 1981. Schmidt, Hans, The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 1971. Later on the same day, peasants from Guyton and Coligny, assisted by army soldiers from Saint-Marc, Artibonite, travelled to Gervais and carried out further killings in retaliation. Several families were entirely wiped out. Frre, Grard-Alphonse, Liste partielle des victimes de la dictature duvaliriste, 1957-1986, not dated. Also, for the first time in Haitis history, women (Trouillot, 1990: 153 and 167), children and even infants were targeted by the regime. [9][11] They began to be called the Tonton Macoute when people started to disappear for no apparent reason. Baby Doc, his deranged son, took over and continued the terror. For a detailed list of the most emblematic individuals responsible for executions and killings committed by macoutesand the military, see Pierre-Charles (2000: 45-49). Haiti since Duvalier, Touchstone, 1990. Cette vido prsente des tmoignages recueillis par Amnesty International en 1985 sur les arrestations arbitraires et les actes de. 1969 (July 22): Massive execution of left-wing political prisoners, who had been arrested during the previous days and weeks. [21] Massacres led by paramilitary groups spawned from the Macoutes continued during the following decade. Turits (2003: 169) also contended that Dominican civilians did not participate in the killings, contrarily to Castors perception of the events (1988), as well as that of Haitian collective memory. After the July 1958 Haitian coup d'tat attempt against President Franois Duvalier, he purged the army and law enforcement agencies in Haiti and executed numerous officers as he perceived them as a threat to his regime. Luckner Cambronne was a particularly fierce head of the Tonton Macoute throughout the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. A few days prior to January 17, a Justice of the Peace had ordered the arrest of 27 peasants from Gervais after the destruction of a storage area belonging to another party to the conflict. La Rpublique autoritaire, Le Natal, Port-au-Prince, 1981. During the time of the NKVD, nearly ten million prisoners died in the Gulags, while millions more languished for years in the forced labour camps. _ The racism of the US Marines, most of whom were from the South of the United States (particularly Louisiana and Alabama), has been presented as a factor in the indiscriminate killings of niggers who pretend to speak French (in the words of a US general). Origins and Legacy of Duvalierism, Monthly Review Press, New York, 1990. So widely feared that the Haitian population referred to its members as a mythological creature, the Tonton Macoute, a sort of ghoul who kidnaps misbehaving children and eats them for breakfast, Haitian dictator Franois 'Papa Doc' Duvaliers secret police force, founded in 1959, the MVSN were highly feared, and extremely brutal. Aided in part by the CIA, the BRAC was most notably utilized during the 26 of July Movement which brought Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries to Cuba. (No subsequent reports from international human rights organizations mention this killing). _ *** (Michel, 1998: 36-42; Gaillard, 1973: 87-99). By 1572, fearing that the power of the Oprichniki had reached heights the Tsar could no longer control, Ivan forced the group to disband, making it a crime to even utter their name.
[4] One witness said he saw Romain himself at the massacre, alongside his men;[6] a number of witnesses saw city hall employees among the attackers. THE TONTON MACOUTES In order to intimidate the Garde, which still had some professional standards, Du-valier organized a "militia" which may num-ber some 8,000 men. The Roots of Haitian Vodou". Most of the victims were from the military, social and intellectual elites of the country. According to an OAS report (ICRH, 1991), the roots of the killing lie in a land conflict in the village of Terre-Casse, near Gervais, Guyton and Coligny, opposing several peasant families and local small landowners since 1973. Other individuals were killed in the street or while driving their car. It was that of the sleeve designer. There have been many brutal regimes in history that have employed a secret police service to carry out everything from intelligence activities against its citizens, to terror and mass executions. The Tontons Macoutes wore straw hats, blue denim shirts and dark glasses, and were armed with machetes and guns. The following day, Vilbrun Sam and Etienne were dragged respectively from the consulates of France and of the Dominican Republic, where they had sought refuge, and were lynched by a mob. helvetia 20 franc gold coin 1947 value; tonton macoute massacre. 7, New York, 1996. 1991 (October 2): The army killed at least 7 individuals in Gonaives, Artibonite, including one child and one adolescent, during a demonstration in support of President Aristide. On April 21, 2005, the Cour de Cassation (the highest court in the country) invalidated this judgment; the court based its ruling on a 1928 law that prohibited trial by jury for multiple crimes, although this very law had already been nullified by the 1987 Constitution. As of August 2004, the minister of Justice had asked for the United Nations and the OAS participation in carrying out forensic analysis. Bernard Diederich lived in Haiti for 14 years and had personal experience of the early Duvalier days and the period of Maloire's rule. Repression continued for two to three weeks and led to a total of 30 to 40 victims. Trained in part by the CIA, SAVAK was an extremely repressive police force in a society that dealt with dissidents swiftly. 2022 The Progressive Inc. 931 E. Main Street, Suite 10 Madison, Wisconsin 53703 (608) 257-4626, Memories of a Duvalier Massacre, 50 Years Later. 1902 (August 8): In Petit-Gove, 450 civilians died in a fire which destroyed the town; it had allegedly been lit by the government forces of General Carri to force out the pro-Firmin forces. [citation needed], In 1985 the United States began to shut down funds to Haitian aid, cutting nearly a million dollars from it within a year. Featured peformers: Dave Knowles (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet, vocals), Chris Gavin (bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Paul French (organ, electric . Although the event was investigated by several prominent journalists and the human rights group National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), its existence remains controversial and supporters of Aristide (who was President at the time), as well as the media in favor of him, deny it ever took place. Family members who tried to remove the bodies for proper burial often disappeared. 53 Tonton Macoutes Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Archival Browse 53 tonton macoutes stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Many times they put the corpses of their victims on display, often hung in trees for everyone to see and take as warnings against opposition. Haitian police and military units also acted with impunity. Montas joins an even shorter list of high profile victims, whom Baby Doc is able to identify by name. The Trujillo regimes policy of State-sponsored terror, as well as the racist, anti-Haitian ideology put forward by the regime and Dominican intellectuals, provided the context for these events, although Turits (2003), in a seminal work on these killings identified the defense of territorial integrity (against a perceived Haitianization of frontier areas), as a decisive factor. A judicial inquiry was opened in July 1994. In Delmas 31, the crowd discovered 7 prisoners at the private residence of macouteErnst Bros (Pierre-Charles, 2000: 56). The Tonton Macoutes then tie the ropes around the men's biceps to bind them to the poles and keep them upright. When the Hospital could not supply this, the local funeral homes would be used. The victims of Tonton Macoutes could range from a woman in the poorest of neighborhoods who had the temerity to support an opposing politician to a businessman who refused to "donate" money for public works (which were the source of profit for corrupt officials and even the dictator himself). [9][10] They were then renamed to Milice Civile (Civilian Militia), and after 1962, Volontaires de la Scurit Nationale (Volunteers of the National Security, or VSN). In author Shannon Mayers Forty-Proof series, the 4th installment (titled Midlife Ghost Hunter) uses a voodoo zombie army called the Tonton Macoutes as the main villains army. Cattle was killed or taken away by looting soldiers. With such numbers, every aspect of East German life was infiltrated; schools, hospitals and industrial plants all maintained informants, as did every apartment building in East Germany. Cambronne moved to Miami, Florida, US, where he lived until his death in 2006. [6] Haitians named this force after the Haitian mythological bogeyman, Tonton Macoute ("Uncle Gunnysack"), who kidnaps and punishes unruly children by snaring them in a gunny sack (macoute) before carrying them off to be consumed for breakfast.[7][8]. Learn how and when to remove this template message, Front for the Advancement and Progress of Hati, "Children and the Politics of Violence in Haitian Context: Statist violence, scarcity and street child agency in Port-au-Prince", "2. In rural areas, these attacks against civilian populations, starting in 1919, are still present in collective memory. V no. _ *** (ICHR, 1988; Wilentz 1990; Pierre-Charles, 2000: 141). _ *** (ICHR, 1988: 81; United Nations, 2000: 9). Fifty years on, the victims of Duvalier pre can only evoke these atrocities ceremonially, while a few of those who suffered similarly under his son were recently able to briefly face him in court. Seven of its occupants, aged 20 to 30 years, were shot and killed while fleeing the house. However, women and children were systematically excluded from repression (even the families of the leaders of the various rebellions against Alexiss regime). [6], Led by Emmanual Constant, FRAPH differed from the Tonton Macoute in its denial to submit to the will of a single authority and its cooperation with regular military forces. In November 1988 armed men led by a uniformed soldier murdered Michelet Dubreus and Jean Flix - two members of the popular organization Verit who had signed a public letter identifying participants in the massacre. Tontons Macoutes often stoned and burned people alive. The Duvalier dynasty ended in 1986, but their legacy remained as Fad'H and former-members of the Tonton Macoutes attempted to suppress voter turnout during the 1987 elections. 1987 (July 1-3): Army soldiers killed 22 workers on strike in the harbor of Port-au-Prince. Les Tonton Macoute se dplacent dans l'ombre, comme des fantmes. 4.00. Cuello, Jos Isreal, Documentos del conflicto domnico-haitiano de 1937. The latter believe the massacre was manufactured to be used against President Aristide. Tonton Macoute Horror Movie 75 subscribers When teenager Jean-Claude is foolish enough to steal from his grandmother, he is hunted by Tonton Macoute, the Haitian Boogeyman he said he no. La Droute de lintelligence, Le Natal, Port-au-Prince, 1992. The Tonton Macoutes, or macoutes, became an important piece of the repression apparatus of the regime, which used them to terrorize, torture and kill opponents (Diederich and Burt, 2005). Students were crushed. After Baby Doc was forced to flee in 1986, the Tonton Macoutes were . Based on a similar French agency, which the African OCRB often worked with, many crimes by the police force itself have gone unpunished, and a particularly effective method of torture, Le Caf, where one is beaten with a baton and then forced to walk an excruciating distance, became commonplace in interrogations of suspected bandits. They are referenced in the Showtime series DEXTER in a fictional storyline. After 40 years, the Stasi disbanded with the fall of East Germany. On April 5, 500 soldiers and macoutes arrived in the area and started the killing. 8 no. This represented the largest forced disappearance under the Duvaliers. Most of the victims of this popular justice lived downtown and, therefore, were macoute chiefs of lesser importance or even miserable wretches (Trouillot, 1990: 155). Former journalist Michle Montas still vividly remembers the bullet-ridden bodies lying on the sidewalk near her home on April 26, 1963. _ *** (Commission Nationale de Vrit et de Justice, 1997: Chapter V, b; Americas Watch, 1991: 4). The name is Haitian French, apparently with reference to an ogre of folk tales. 1929 (December 6): In Marchaterre, in the vicinity of Les Cayes (in the South of the country), the US Marines opened fire on a peaceful demonstration of peasants, killing between 12 and 22 of them. macoutes typically raided a house of alleged opponents, killed its inhabitants, including elderly people, children and servants, with guns and machetes, before moving to another house of an alleged opponent of the regime. A History of Political Violence against the Poor The Blood-Soaked Record of the Duvaliers", "Duvalier, 64, Dies in Haiti; Son, 19, Is New President", "Ogou- Vodou, Voodoo Spirit, Lwa of the Nago Nation", "5. The killings were part of dchoukajagainst macoutes, who were attempting to interrupt the democratic process at the time. _ The websites mentioned above list most of the victims. By
Turits, Richard Lee, Foundations of Despotism. Only one body was recovered and the others may have been disappeared. The occupants of the house were members of a pro-democracy group. Those with the misfortune to be born in Haiti - part of the island of Hispaniola, shared with the Dominican Republic - have long endured a living hell. (Label) 1971 Pulsar / Carlin Music Manufactured by RCA Limited, England. Gaillard (1983: 261), adding innocent victims and Cacos killed in combat throughout the occupation, reached the number of 15,000. The MICIVIH carried out an investigation immediately after the event and concluded that it was a premeditated collective murder., _ *** (Commission Nationale de Vrit et de Justice, 1997: chapter V, section B; MICIVIH, 1994). However, since no material evidence had been brought to the commission, no charges were brought against Lavoie. Papa Doc Duvalier created the Tontons Macoutes because he perceived the military to be a threat to his power. A 1922 internal US army report recognized and justified the execution of women and children, presenting them as auxiliaries of the Cacos (in Gaillard, 1983: 259). _ During the entire duration of the dictatorship of Nord Alexis, opponents were subjected to summary executions, usually upon direct orders from Alexis himself. Les Violations de droits de lhomme lpoque des Duvaliers, Editions du Cresfed, Port-au-Prince, 2000. The Central Office of Banditry Repression, or OCRB was a secret police force formed in the Central African Republic that was formed in the early to 1990s. [26] FRAPH extended its reach far outside that of the Haitian state and had offices present in New York, Montreal and Miami until its disarmament and disbandment in 1994.[27]. [6] President Prval, who was democratically elected in November 1995, was in power during the interval from 1996 to 2001. Numa, the taller and thinner of the two, stands erect, in perfect profile, barely . Explore Tonton Macoute's discography including top tracks, albums, and reviews. Tonton Macoutes murdered over 60,000 Haitians. List of battleships of the United States Navy, homonymous Italian Fascist paramilitary organization, Front for the Advancement and Progress of Hati, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Defunct law enforcement agencies of Haiti, The Central Nervous System of Haitis Reign of Terror, http://books.google.com/books?id=LOhHGx4v23oC&pg=PA33, http://books.google.com/books?id=F84K3p923iIC&pg=PA66, http://books.google.com/books?id=bNLG1G2SnpkC&pg=PA202, http://books.google.com/books?id=4IIB0Yu_sL4C&pg=PA21, The Serpent and the Rainbow film which mentions them. During this period, the social movements fighting for the establishment of democracy, human rights and the rule of law were persecuted by the military, former macoutes and paramilitary groups called attachs. The military killed political activists and journalists and organized their disappearance. According to Pierre-Charles (2000: 208), more than 1,500 people disappeared between 1986 and 1990, most of them under the rule of General Henri Namphy, between March and October 1987. Anthropological Reflections on Religion and Violence", "5. Since then, despite the presence of an ineffective UN peacekeeping force, gangs have continued to wreak havoc and murder throughout a country where new graves are guarded to prevent bodies being stolen for voodoo rituals. A fresh take on sports: the biggest news and most entertaining lists. 1991 (October 1 and 2): In the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Martissant, during the two days that followed the coup, army soldiers and paramilitary groups terrorized the local population and killed at least seven individuals, including one adolescent. The Stasi was fundamentally an intelligence agency, and it is estimated that there was one Stasi informant per 160 East German citizens. National Coalition for Haitian Refugees, Americas Watch, Haiti. At least two anti-Aristide youths, Jean-Baptiste Knol and Joseph Leroy, were thrown alive into a burning building. There had been an attempted kidnapping of Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier that morning and his father, Franois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, decided to unleash his wrath, and his henchmen, on the entire city of Port-au-Prince. Following Ceausescus removal from power in 1989, the Securitate survived two more years, until it was disbanded and reorganized by Romanian Parliament. They threatened a 'heap of corpses' at any future mass celebrated by Aristide. While SAVAMA was a new police force in name, many historians argue that SAVAMA was merely an extension of its predecessor, maintaining the same methods as before. [4] Aristide, who had survived at least six attempts on his life after a fiery 1985 Mass had helped spark the unrest which eventually led to the 1986 overthrow of the dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier,[5] was evacuated from the church into a residence inside the church compound. Turits, Richard Lee, A World Destroyed, a Nation Imposed: the 1937 Haitian Massacre in the Dominican Republic, Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. Dressed eerily similar to monks and adorned with an emblem consisting of a severed dog's head and a broom, the Oprichniki led brutal campaigns of terror against potential rebellions, either real or imagined, that the Tsar wished to quell. Indeed, the devastating earthquake now bringing death and heartbreak is the latest in a long line of tragedies to befall a place dubbed the Island of the Damned. These assassinations were ordered by dictator Papa Doc himself as a part of reprisals against an embryonic anti-Duvalier guerrilla group known as Jeune Haiti that had landed in the region (but none of them were in Jrmie). During the 28 years in power of Papa Doc and his playboy son and heir, Jean-Claude Duvalier, or Baby Doc, the Tonton Macoutes and their henchmen killed between 30,00 and 60,000 Haitians, and . _ * (These events were often mentioned in interviews with witnesses and in an OAS report (ICHR, 1991: 469) but no exhaustive study has been conducted on the subject). Many times the corpses were put on display, often hung in trees for everyone to see. At the end of the day, 25 bodies were found but 80 had disappeared and were never found. According to Pierre-Charles (1973), the urban lumpenproletariatwas the social background of most macoutes. Duvalierism since Duvalier, NCHR/ Americas Watch Committee, October 1986. _ ** (Gaillard, 1983: 186-190, 237-241, 259-262; Trouillot, 1990: 102-107; Manigat, 2003: 71-74). Some of the most important members of the Tonton Macoute were vodou leaders and this religious affiliation gave the Macoutes a sense of unearthly authority in the eyes of the public. From the very well known and notorious, to others that may be new to the reader, here are ten of the most vicious, terrifying secret police forces in (mostly) modern history. Nonetheless the regime pushed forward and even had a national party for the Tontons Macoute. [17], The Tontons Macoute were a ubiquitous presence at the polls in the 1961 presidential referendum, in which Duvalier's official vote count was an "outrageous" and fraudulent 1,320,748 to 0, electing him to another term. Article created on Monday, March 3, 1997. Jolibois, Grard, LExcution des frres Coicou, Port-au-Prince, Le Natal, 1988. His son, Baby Doc, then replaced him and ruled until 1986. Sign-up for our free weekly e-mail newsletter. He walked the streets at night, looking for children who stayed out too late. Premier crasement du Cacoisme, Le Natal, Port-au-Prince, 1981. Lemoine, Patrick, Fort-Dimanche, Fort-la-Mort, CIDIHCA, 1996. Gaillard, Roger, Les Blancs dbarquent, III. The total number of victims was close to a hundred. Menu Showing Editorial results for tonton macoutes. The total number of victims remains unknown. From their methods to their choice of clothes, Vodou always played an important role in their actions. His house was set on fire, with a seven-month-old baby inside. Romulus, Marc, Les Cachots des Duvalier. A Milcia de Voluntrios da Segurana Nacional (em francs: Milice de Volontaires de la Scurit Nationale, MVSN), comumente conhecidos como Tonton Macoute (literalmente "Tio do Saco", em crioulo haitiano, aludindo s figuras do "homem do saco" ou "bicho papo") [ 1] era uma fora paramilitar haitiana inspirada no fascismo [ 2] criada em 1959, e Wilentz, A., The Rainy Season. It's likely the most familiar name on the 1971 debut album by British jazz-rockers Tonton Macoute isn't that of any band member or even engineer Martin Rushent (who went on to produce the Buzzcocks, Stranglers and Dr Feelgood among many others). [1] Haitians named this force after the Haitian Creole mythological Tonton Macoute (Uncle Gunnysack) bogeyman who kidnaps and punishes unruly children by snaring them in a gunnysack (macoute) and carrying them off to be consumed at breakfast.[2][3]. Some victims of Stasi psychological harassment had mental breakdowns, or even committed suicide. The de-facto regime relied on paramilitary death squads known as FRAPH, which carried out most of the executions and persecution of opponents and alleged opponents. In 1918 and 1919, many Caco prisoners were systematically executed once they had been disarmed, following explicit, written orders (in Gaillard, 1981: 32-39, 49, 214, 307). The Duvaliers relied on a secret armed militia called Tonton macoutes(its official name was the Volontaires de la Scurit Nationale, or National Security Volunteers), which imposed a rule of terror on the Haitian population (Diederich and Burt, 2005). The Tonton Macoutes wore straw hats, blue denim shirts and dark glasses, and were armed with machetes and guns. Duvalier, who declared himself president for life, created the Tonton Macoute the following year in 1959. According to the National Palace Chief of Police, Jean Tassy, 2,053 individuals were killed from 1957 to 1967, in the police headquarters alone (Pierre-Charles, 1973: 56).