'President for life' Duvalier survived several assassination attempts

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Haiti's ruler, Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, has died after 14 years in power.

President Duvalier, who declared himself 'president for life' in 1964, died at the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince.

He is believed to have been seriously ill for some time - his ailments included prostate cancer, heart trouble and diabetes.

During his time as Haiti's absolute ruler Mr Duvalier, 64, survived at least six assassination attempts.

A doctor by profession, Francois Duvalier was lawfully elected as president in 1956.

He then set about consolidating his power by means of force and playing on the superstitious nature of many Haitians.

He destroyed the power of the Roman Catholic Church by expelling itsarchbishopin 1969 and encouraging the pagan cult of voodoo.

His safety was ensured by his personal militia, the feared Tontons Macoutes - Haitian slang for "bogeymen".

President Duvalier made sure the Tontons Macoutes vastly outnumbered the Haitian army, reducing the chance of a successful coup.

Lucky 22nd

He was as superstitious as many of those he ruled and, in later years, would only venture outside the presidential palace on the 22nd of each month.

He believed that on the 22nd he was guarded by his voodoo spirits and organised many significant events of his life for that date.

He was delighted when US President John F Kennedy, on whom he had placed a curse, was assassinated on 22 November 1963 - a fact which enhanced the reputation of his alleged voodoo powers.

President Duvalier is believed to have left orders for his death to be announced on the 22nd although it is thought he may have died several days ago.

He is expected to be succeeded by his son Jean-Claude, known as "Baby Doc".

The 20-year-old student was publicly declared his father's heir last year.

The Japanese embassy has been in a state of siege since last December

All 14 Tupac Amaru rebels were killed, including their leader, Nestor Cerpa Cartolini.

One hostage - supreme court judge Carlos Giusti Acuna - died, as well as two Peruvian soldiers.

The end to the hostage crisis came at 1530 local time (2030 GMT) as about 15 soldiers in ski masks swarmed over the roof of the building.

A series of explosions shortly afterwards left a gaping hole in the roof of the embassy. Several smaller explosions were said to be caused by booby traps left by the rebels.

Jubilant troops

The assault lasted 40 minutes. As gunfire echoed around the compound, the hostages staggered, crawled or were carried out of the embassy. Several were injured.

They included the Peruvian Foreign Minister, Francisco Tudela, and the Japanese Ambassador, Morihita Aoki.

As the gunfire died away, jubilant soldiers tore the Tupac Amaru rebel flag from the roof of the embassy and the Peruvian President, Alberto Fujimori, joined some of the former hostages in singing the national anthem.

Massive risk

The president has taken sole responsibility for the surprise decision to send in the troops.

It was a massive risk: the Japanese government, one of Peru's main trading partners, had been pressing him for a negotiated settlement to the crisis.

In the end, he went ahead without even letting them know.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Ryutaro Hashimoto, expressed regret at that decision, but also thanked President Fujimori.

"It is not important whether we had prior knowledge of the move. The important thing is that the hostages were freed," he said.

The siege began on 17 December when the Marxist rebels stormed a diplomatic cocktail party, seizing more than 400 guests, most of whom were freed in the next few days.

They are believed to have chosen the Japanese embassy because of Japan's support for President Fujimori, who is of Japanese immigrant parentage.

Mr Fujimori has made his political reputation by taken a strong line against Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebels in Peru.

He is likely to use the successful outcome of the siege as avindicationof his tough stance on terrorism. 

archbishop:大教主

vindication:the defense that serves to justify a claim or deed（辩护，辩明）