Duvalier

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP):

Exiled dictator Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier has ended years of silence to ask Haitians' forgiveness for 'wrongs' committed by his regime and urge supporters to rally around his small political party.

The comments, broadcast nationwide over the weekend in Haiti, were Duvalier's first public address in years and come amid a quiet campaign by allies to see him return from exile in France.

In a speech recorded from Paris, Duvalier said history will be the judge of his 15-year regime, known for killing and torturing opponents and pilfering the national treasury.

"If, during my presidential mandate, the government caused any physical, moral or economic wrongs to others, I solemnly take the historical responsibility ... to request forgiveness from the people and ask for the impartial judgment of history," Duvalier said.

His dictatorship came to an abrupt end on February 7, 1986, when he fled the country during a popular uprising.