Haiti pays its respects to Preval

(11 Mar 2017) Several thousand Haitians filed past the remains of former President Rene Preval on Friday ahead of a state funeral that a senator sought to delay until further tests are conducted to definitively establish the cause of death of the two-term leader.
Preval lay in an open, flag-draped casket at a museum dedicated to heroes of the country's independence.
The procession of people who came to pay their respects included dignitaries and civil society figures as well as groups of school children and other citizens.
President Jovenel Moise came and expressed condolences to the family and then left without making a public statement.
A funeral was scheduled for Saturday, capping six days of mourning for a president who led the country during the devastating January 2010 earthquake and its chaotic aftermath.
Family members have said that Preval, who died March 3, had a heart attack on the way to the hospital. The 74-year-old former leader had health problems including prostate cancer in the past.
Preval was the only democratically elected president to win and complete two terms in Haiti, a country that has been characterized by political upheaval throughout its history. An agronomist by training, he kept a low profile in office even in the aftermath of the earthquake, which led some to criticize him for not showing leadership at a time of crisis.
He was elected by a landslide in 1995 as the chosen successor of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who has not commented publicly on his death and did not come to the viewing on Friday.
His second term was characterized at the start by a sharp rise in kidnappings and widespread hunger due to higher food prices followed by the earthquake. The government said the disaster killed about 310,000 people but the precise death toll is unknown.

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