Greece Says It Turned Down Duvalier Request for Asylum
Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier, facing mounting protests at home, has asked for political asylum and permanent residence in Greece but has been turned down, a government spokesman said today.
The spokesman, Miltiades Papaioannou, said the request was submitted “two or three days ago” to the Greek Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, and was rejected by the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
He declined to comment on what grounds the government turned down the request.
Opposition leaders have been predicting the imminent fall of Duvalier, who took over as president-for-life from his father in 1971. The family has ruled Haiti with an iron hand for 28 years.
In the Haitian capital today, Duvalier sent his feared Tontons Macoutes secret police into the streets after ordering merchants to reopen their stores or face arrest and confiscation of goods.
Many merchants had until today defied a government edict issued Sunday requesting stores to reopen in the wake of rioting that reached its climax last Friday. Duvalier accused them of responding to what he called “anti-patriotic blackmail.”
Most stores in downtown Port-au-Prince were open late this morning.
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