Togolese on RFI: "It will be necessary that Faure Gnassingbé listens to his people and leaves power"

In the "Appels sur l'actualité" broadcast on RFI on Tuesday, Togolese spoke out on the repression of PNP demonstrations on Saturday 19 August and on the need to make the reforms before it is too late. Reading !



Reactions of the Togolese in the RFI program "Appels sur l'actualité"

George:Saturday early in the morning, we were on the square there. But before we arrived, the security forces were already there. The time to approach, they began by pulling tear gas. We pulled out, but we came back. Because we want to say something to our leaders. They have to make the reforms to change the Constitution, because we can not dance and appreciate at the same time. They are doing their best, but it is not that. It has to change ! At least if we know that he is going to have the elections and there will be another person, we will remain quiet. We do not want anything. They have only to reform the Constitution. And someone else will come and see. Because the situation is difficult for everyone. All those who have gone out are not politicians. But,

Dominica:Allow us to bow to the remains of all those who fell during this demonstration. I condemn violence wherever it comes from. But I would also like to draw the attention of all my compatriots to the necessity, as much of the democratic expression which is the march. Claims are normal, it's part of a democratic expression. But also the respect of democratic principles especially when defining the itinerary of a march. As much as the political party wanted to express its opinion, there are citizens who go about their business. If it is true that the police have exerted violence on the demonstrators, they will be condemned. But we also saw the demonstrators who molested the police, Who had ripped off their arms and brandished them as trophies of war. We have seen the forces of order that have been disfigured. The images still circulate on social networks. Our country, it is true, needs to move forward in the democratic process.

George: When you go to walk with your bare hands, you see a policeman shooting at you, if you have the opportunity to disarm him, what are you going to do? ... I was not at Sokode. I do not know what happened in Sokodé. But before the protesters went to the police station and ransacked it, if nothing had happened, they were not going to do that vandalism. They were not going to sack the office. It is not possible. Those who have gone to walk are not beasts. They are people who think, or they would not have gone out. If nothing happened to the Office to be ransacked, it would not be ransacked.

Fabrice:The demands of the opposition are well known to all, especially as regards Institutional and Constitutional reforms. Moreover, it is not only the opposition that demands these reforms. The power also has these reforms in its agendas. Except that we do not agree on how to get there. On the opposition side, it is estimated that it is too late. But today, it must be said that as regards the objectives of the march last Saturday, we agree that reforms must be made. It is true that the PNP talks about the return to the 1992 Constitution with the vote of the diaspora. When you take the other opposition parties, the RAC, for example, talks about the reforms prescribed by the APG. On the opposition side, it takes time. But on the side of power, They set up a Commission that works. And there, at this level, it must be said that it feels that it is a little trampling. Because this committee is currently touring the country to get the advice of the Togolese. It must be said that the idea is not bad when it comes to this Commission, because each time we meet, the political actors to discuss the reforms, each one preaches for his chapel. The reason for this was that it was necessary to set up a Commission which was supposed to be neutral. And I believe that today all Togolese are waiting for this Commission to make a very first proposal, if only to feed the debate among the political class so that we really know what this Commission proposes when we talk about reforms in depth, since in reality, This is what the President of the State holds dear, because the other opposition parties are much more wary of the limitation of mandates and the two-round elections. And that is what was contained in the Constitution of 1992. So today we must go to reforms in depth. They are numerous, and there are many problems to be solved. But I confess that today the Commission would have gone a little faster than one would have avoided the marches of last Saturday which demanded nothing but the reforms. Even though on the ground, we regretted a bit the violent nature of the demonstrations, especially in Sokodé. So today we have to go to reforms in depth. They are numerous, and there are many problems to be solved. But I confess that today the Commission would have gone a little faster than one would have avoided the marches of last Saturday which demanded nothing but the reforms. Even though on the ground, we regretted a bit the violent nature of the demonstrations, especially in Sokodé. So today we have to go to reforms in depth. They are numerous, and there are many problems to be solved. But I confess that today the Commission would have gone a little faster than one would have avoided the marches of last Saturday which demanded nothing but the reforms. Even though on the ground, we regretted a bit the violent nature of the demonstrations, especially in Sokodé.

Abel:We have the impression that the party in power seeks to gain time each time by multiplying Commissions on Committees, while they are majority in the National Assembly, and with an initiative taken, if only by their Their own deputies together with the opposition members, these reforms could be carried out in a short time. We are being told that intellectuals will have to reflect on these reform issues. We know very well that the commission that was set up is made up of intellectuals, but we know very well those intellectuals who never hide their desire to support the regime in place and therefore the whole population is really dubious about The work of this committee is what, moreover, To push the thousands of Togolese to go down the streets last Saturday with everything that followed. To say that the Togolese have confidence in this commission, it is too quickly went into work. The question is not whether or not the opposition is participating, but the question is that the proposal to be made by this committee can go in the direction of what is required by the majority of the population, which is transparency at the level Elections and reforms at the level of the institutions of the country, namely the Constitutional Court, the CENI and why not the army. And so if this commission does not go into depth by proposing concrete things to the population, you see that it would be difficult for the people to accept the work of this commission which, already, Is in the process of going against the proposals of the population on the uninominal ballot with two rounds. The whole population is totally in doubt. We are waiting for the results to see if what this commission is going to offer us will be a better thing.

Commentary by Ibrahim on Facebook: The Commission created by the President of the Togolese Republic has no raison d'être. During its tour throughout the country, this Commission did not receive the approval of the population.

Paul: Since the Global Political Agreement in 2006, the outlines of all the reforms have been outlined. All the Commissions and the meetings that followed, you take the conclusions of these commissions, you will see that all the main lines are drawn. The Togolese is only asking the government in power, for 12 years, to convene a Constituent Commission that will write the new Constitution and carry out all constitutional and institutional reforms ...

Is the street the only way to get things done? In any case, when one arrives there, it is a finding of failure for the power in place. Should we recall or remember the massacres of 2005 that led Faure to power, making Atakpame the biggest bloodbath. The Togolese say that this power knows only violence. All arguments, all Commissions, all meetings, excuse me the expression, the power is borrowed royally and saves time.

If the whole people mobilize in the street, the people are often less wrong than they think. The ruling class is the most wrong. And therefore the truth of the people is the truth of God. The power in power should listen to the people. This is my deepest conviction ....

Joseph on Facebook writes:Democracy in Togo is null, first there is unequal electoral division, one-round voting, unlimited mandates and above all the confiscation of all the levers of power by the same clan for 50 years. President Faure would do well to listen to the people. Burkina Faso and the ICC are not far off.

Samuel:Before continuing, let me bow to the memory of the compatriots who fell during the demonstrations of 19 August. It is true that there is a merger of the opposition parties, which agree to show even more, and I believe that if the demonstrations are only those which call for reforms, there is no Of problem. And if the event is a citizen and it is in accordance with the legal provisions that accords with the text on the demonstrations in the country, there will be no problem at all. But when there is overflow, there is damage, there is loss of human life, I think we must stop to ask questions.

I would like to follow the instructions of the state, but I believe that this commission was a commission too. I have the impression that there is a dilator around the head of state who, by faith, blindly trust his collaborators who do not tell him the truth of what the people want today. There is an urgent need for speedy reform. The reforms will benefit only the regime that is already in place, which is well established throughout the country and has nothing to lose ...

This Commission tour is a means, but I confess that with all the Respects I have for authority, it is one way too much.

Jacob:Exactly, I am of the same opinion as Samuel, this Commission does not need to be. Commission Chairperson, Mrs. Awa Nana has already taken a stand for the current government, because we have heard it. She said, regarding the elections to two rounds, that Togo does not have the means to organize the elections to two rounds. You see already, so this commission does not have to be. To ask the elections to two rounds or the vote of the diaspora as well as the return of constitution of 1992, is it worth the death of the human being?

What is happening in Togo is too much. It is necessary that this regime listens to the people, it is time that this fiftieth anniversary regime emerges. We do not want any more. The people are tired. It is the total ras-the-bowl. Faure Gnassingbé will have to listen to his people and leave power.