Tonton Macoutes

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Tonton Macoutes

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Tonton Macoutes [Haitian Creole,=bogeymen], personal police force of dictator Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) of Haiti. Unpaid volunteers who were directly responsible only to Duvalier, they were given virtual license to torture, kill, and extort. They murdered hundreds of Duvalier's opponents, sometimes publicly hanging the corpses as warnings. After Papa Doc's death (1971), his son Jean-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc) changed their name to the National Security Volunteers, though they continued to terrorize the citizenry. After the overthrow of Baby Doc (1986), although officially disbanded, the group continued to spread terror.

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Tonton Macoute

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | © The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Tonton Macoute a member of a notoriously brutal militia formed by President François Duvalier of Haiti, active from 1961–86. The name is Haitian French, apparently with reference to an ogre of folk tales.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Tonton Macoute." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Tonton Macoute." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (December 27, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-TontonMacoute.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Tonton Macoute." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved December 27, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-TontonMacoute.html

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The Oxford American College Dictionary | 2009 | © The Oxford American College Dictionary 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

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"Tonton Macoute." The Oxford American College Dictionary. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Revenge of the Tonton Macoute. (Haitian terrorism)
Magazine article from: The Progressive; 5/1/1993
Free Article First test for democracy. (new president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide)
Magazine article from: National Review; 2/11/1991
Free Article Edwidge Danticat: the Haitian novelist turns from fiction to memoir.
Magazine article from: Bookmarks; 11/1/2007

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Revenge of the Tonton Macoute. (Haitian terrorism)
Magazine article from: The Progressive; 5/1/1993; ; 700+ words ; ...President Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier's Tonton Macoutes. The zinglando are the Macoutes' successors. A French-Canadian priest...violate the women," he says. "They are partly Macoutes, partly on drugs. They work for the army...
Tonton again: Haiti. (coup)
Magazine article from: The Economist (US); 10/5/1991; 700+ words ; ...brought in Swiss experts to train a palace guard of 50 recruits. (General Cedras, recalling the Duvalier family's tonton-macoutes, said Mr Aristide was an apprentice dictator.) The high command saw its grip on the president loosening. It struck...
`Breath, Eyes, Memory' Author Tells of Life in Haiti
Transcript from: NPR Weekend Edition - Sunday; 4/24/1994; 700+ words ; ...one tale, in the book, of the Tonton Macoutes, on page 138. First of all...In the fairy tales, the Tonton Macoutes was a boogeyman, a scarecrow...respect your elders, then the Tonton Macoutes will take you away. Outside...
EX-DUVALIER AIDE CLAIMS POWER AFTER COUP IN HAITI.(Main)
Newspaper article from: Albany Times Union (Albany, NY); 9/19/1988; 700+ words ; ...and the re-emergence of the Tonton Macoutes, a paramilitary security force...critics of the Namphy government by Tonton Macoutes, a paramilitary squad of killers...apparent re-emergence of the Tonton Macoutes, the army wanted to stop these...
DEMONSTRATORS GATHER IN SORROW AND IN ANGER MAN WHO SET HIMSELF ABLAZE HONORED AS 'MARTYR'; PROTESTORS DECRY US MILITARY AID TO HAITI
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 9/5/1987; ; 700+ words ; ...message to the military junta, the Tonton Macoutes former secret police and the...that America is training the Tonton Macoutes, who for 29 years destroyed...destroying it." Though the Tonton Macoutes militia was disbanded, many...
As U.S. invasion looms, Haiti's ruling class fears mob violence. (Originated from Boston Globe)
Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; 7/23/1994; ; 700+ words ; ...Luc Desir, the chief of the Tonton Macoutes, Francois Duvalier's brutal...The direct descendant of the Tonton Macoutes, the group is responsible for...home of Madame Max, another Tonton Macoutes leader. Her house was dechouke...
The young men step into Haiti's old chaos.
Magazine article from: The Economist (US); 9/24/1988; 700+ words ; ...parallel police force called the tonton-macoutes, whose firearms are backed...when, on September 11th, some tonton-macoutes walked into a church, machinegunned...who were connected with the tonton-macoutes. Haiti's illiterate young...
Haitians worry about what will happen once U.S. troops leave. (Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)
Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; 1/26/1995; ; 700+ words ; ...believe that the FRAPH and ``tonton macoutes,'' the army-backed thugs who...I have a nagging fear that the macoutes will still come to my house and...struggling for change.'' FRAPH and macoutes were used by the old military to...
Interview: 'I'd Like to Go Back'; Baby Doc claims life was better under his iron rule.(Jean-Claude Duvalier)(Interview)
Magazine article from: Newsweek International; 4/12/2004; 700+ words ; ...poverty and violence? Your personal militia, the Tonton Macoutes, was accused of human-rights abuses. Haiti doesn...time, there was corruption, but we fought it. The Tonton Macoutes were first and foremost volunteers who defended national...
NAMPHY OUSTED AS HAITIAN LEADER.(Main)
Newspaper article from: Albany Times Union (Albany, NY); 9/18/1988; 700+ words ; ...fighting involved army factions and members of the Tonton Macoutes, dreaded agents that terrorized Haitians during the...sunglasses shooting in the air, scaring people away. Tonton Macoutes traditionally wore sunglasses. He said when the shooting...

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