Duvalier Quotes & Sayings

When people talk to me about tyranny, it makes me laugh and gives me the impression that people suffer from amnesia. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

People of Haiti, I am the heir to the political philosophy, the doctrine and the revolution which my late father incarnated as president-for-life [and] I have decided to continue his work with the same fierce energy and the same intransigence. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

I am currently in Haiti to help the Haitian people in their reconstruction. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

All I know is politics. Really, politics takes up most of my time; it's nonstop. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

I've wept for Haiti a thousand times over the years since my first trip during the Duvalier reign. — Carol Guzy

It is the destiny of the people of Haiti to suffer. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

God and the people are the source of all power. I have twice been given the power. I have taken it, and damn it, I will keep it forever. — Francois Duvalier

Communism has established centres of infection ... No area in the world is as vital to American security as the Caribbean ... We need a massive injection of money to reset the country on its feet, and this injection can come only from our great, capable friend and neighbor the United States. — Francois Duvalier

The president is here, strong and firm as a monkey's tail. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

Revolutions are not made with literature. Revolutions equal gunfire. — Francois Duvalier

I never had the financial means that the media said I had. I laugh when I hear the amounts, $400 million, $800 million. Where do they get this imagination? — Jean-Claude Duvalier

In 25 years of exile, I've never had a frozen account, either in Switzerland or elsewhere in the world. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

At Al Jazeera, the first story I did was to sit down with a former Haitian dictator, Jean-Claude Duvalier, and grill him about crimes against humanity. Al Jazeera is giving me the opportunity to tell important stories and stories that I want to tell. — Soledad O'Brien

I know the Haitian people because I am the Haitian people. — Francois Duvalier

I'm the one who initiated the democratic process. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

I want to take this opportunity to express, one more time, my deep sadness to those countrymen who feel, rightly, that they were victims of my government. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

There has not been one day since I left that I have not thought about Haiti. — Jean-Claude Duvalier

I accept the people's will. As a revolutionary, I have no right to disregard the will of the people. — Francois Duvalier