‘Fifty Years Of One Family Rule Is Too Much’, Togolese Protesters Want Gnassingbé Out Now
The Oasis Reporters
September 21, 2017
Tens of thousands of people have marched through the streets of Togo’s capital, Lomé, protesting against President Faure Gnassingbé, the number of demonstrators was said to be unprecedented in the history of the tiny country that shares a border with Republic of Benin and Ghana.
The rally is against a vote by the West African nation’s parliament on a bill they fear will allow the president to run for more terms and the protesters are calling for an end to the “Gnassingbé dynasty”.
Internet access has been severely restricted.
Government spokesperson Gilbert Bawara told a local radio station that there was an ongoing internet restriction.
“Even in most developed countries, authorities take control of telecommunications in some cases,” he said.
According to AFP news agency, although mobile internet had been shut down in the capital, wi-fi networks were still working.
BBC Afrique’s Ata Ahli Ahebla reports that demonstrations took place in many cities and that more are planned.
A government concession to introduce a two-term presidential limit through a constitutional amendment failed to dissuade the protesters.
They want Mr Gnassingbé, who has been in power since 2005, to step down.
He succeeded his father, Gnassingbé Eyadema as president when the old man died after 38 years in power in 2005.
There has been violence with a ten year old boy already dead, and Togo’s security minister Col. Damehame Yark blamed opposition members for it, saying they brought weapons to the demonstrations.
Thousands of people across the small West African nation have been demonstrating since last month for term limits on President Faure Gnassingbe, who has been in power since his father died in 2005. The Gnassingbe family has ruled the small West African nation for 50 years.
Security forces killed at least two people and injured several others in demonstrations in August, and used tear gas to break up another peaceful protest this month.
The ruling party voted Tuesday in favour of a draft bill that the opposition says does not include a sentence outlining term limits for the president.
The bill will need to be submitted for a referendum vote by the people next month before it is enforced as a law, parliament chair Dama Dramani said.
Opposition lawmakers have demanded the reinstatement of Togo’s 1992 Constitution in its original form, which only allowed a president to serve two terms.
Patrick Lawson, a spokesman of the main ANC opposition party, said the bill introduced two weeks ago did not take into account the amendments the opposition wanted.
“The country’s voting list is not credible. Besides, the electoral commission and the constitutional court have allegiance to the ruling party. So we don’t approve the idea of a referendum,” Lawson said.
Christophe Tchao, a spokesman for the ruling party, said the party has shown openness.
Thousands of ruling party supporters also were in the streets Wednesday. Some wore white T-shirts that read “Don’t touch my president.”
While Gnassingbe has not said he would run again in 2020, the opposition has said it suspects he will not step down unless compelled to either through reforms in parliament or citizen protests.
Gnassingbe’s father modified the Constitution before his death, to extend his rule.
He adds that the decision by the cabinet to propose a constitutional change to bring about a presidential term-limit has not changed the protesters’ plans. They see it as part of a ploy to extend Mr Gnassingbé’s rule.
The protests were organised by a coalition of opposition parties and civil society organisations.
Amnesty International estimated that 100,000 people marched in Lome, many wearing the red, orange and pink colours of opposition parties as they chanted , “Free Togo”.
One demonstrator, Luc Koffi, told AFP that he wants the president to step down: “We suffer too much, we can’t even find food. What country are we in? We don’t want Faure any more, he must go,” he said.
Local journalist Blamé Ekoué reported that organisers said that they would not relent in their push for a two-term presidential limit and for the release of some of their members who were arrested, charged and sentenced after similar protests last week. In August, two opposition protesters were killed and 13 others wounded when security forces opened fire to break up demonstrations. They chanted: “50 years is too long”.
Next door neighbour, Republic of Benin that had a dictatorship like Togo, quietly democratized in the early 90s with strict term limits and even age limits for Presidential contestants.
Sources :BBC,
FRANCE 24
AP
