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Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Story last updated at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16,
2002
Haitian military chief linked to massacre living in
Orlando
The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. - A former Haitian military officer
linked to human rights violations there is living in
Orlando and worked for Walt Disney World until last
week.
Newsweek magazine reported that Maj. Gen. Jean-Claude
Duperval was linked to the April 1994 massacre in the
Haitian beachfront community of Raboteau.
In the raid, soldiers and their paramilitary thugs
burst into dozens of homes, beating and arresting
people. Those who fled to the sea were shot. No one
knows how many people were killed because soldiers
prevented the victims' families from retrieving
bodies.
In November 2000, more than 30 top army officers,
including former military leader Raoul Cedras, were
sentenced to life in prison with hard labor for their
roles in the massacre.
Duperval, 55, formerly second-in-command in the Cedras
regime, was one of the leaders of the 1991 coup that
overthrew Haitian President Jean Bertrand-Aristide.
When Aristide returned to power in 1994, Duperval
briefly served as interim army commander until he was
replaced and transferred to a diplomatic post in
Brazil.
The magazine reached Duperval at his one-story house
in Orlando, where he confirmed that he was the major
general who served under Cedras.
"I want to keep my privacy and don't want to give any
declaration," he told the magazine. "All this is past
for me. I have a daughter to educate and am no longer
in public life."
Attempts by The Associated Press on Monday to locate
Duperval were unsuccessful. A woman who answered a
phone number listed to a "B. Duperval" in Orlando said
he no longer lived at the address. She refused to give
her name and hung up.
Disney spokeswoman Rena Callahan said Duperval worked
in the company's watercraft department from April 1997
until last Friday. The job could have involved boat
rentals or boat transportation, she said.
Callahan said the company performs background checks
on all employees but was unaware of Duperval's past
until recently. She declined to offer additional
details, citing privacy.
Patricia Mancha, a spokeswoman for the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service in Miami, said
Duperval applied for an immigration benefit under
provisions of the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness
Act.
Duperval was granted the benefit in October 2000.
Mancha said the INS opposed the application and has
appealed the decision. She declined to provide the
specific benefit, which could include anything from
naturalization to permanent residency.
Newsweek reported that Duperval has applied for
political asylum. Mancha said she could not comment on
the report.
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