Gilbert Bawara, who wanted to defend the process of national reconciliation led by UNHCR, faced a problem: how Faure Gnassingbe, the head of state, expected the Togolese people to forgive and reconcile Screaming of the executioners), whereas he himself could not pardon his brother of blood who acknowledged his wrong and publicly asked for forgiveness?
For the emissary of the government, the case of Kpatcha Gnassingbé is much more of ordinary justice.
"The president's brother is not in custody because he is the brother of the president. He is in custody because he has been found guilty by the courts of an offense that has nothing to do with the reconciliation process we are talking about, "Gilbert Bawara said.
An intervention that once again emphasizes the distinction between transitional justice that UNHCRRUN and ordinary justice take on, as Gilbert Bawara put it.
According to UNHCRRUN, transitional justice is based on four essential points:
1- The right to the truth or the need to know - (Faure Gnassingbe had the right to the truth in the Kpatcha case);
2- The right to justice (restorative or penal) - Faure Gnassingbé was entitled to criminal justice, his brother having been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
3- The right to reparation (In the case of Kpatcha Gnassingbe, the court did not find that there was any damage to be paid)
4- The obligation to carry out institutional reforms as guarantees of non-repetition - Faure Gnassingbé has the keys of his army in hand and disposes of all the maneuvers possible and necessary to put his brother Kpatcha Gnassingbé out of harm's way.
Paradoxically, for the Togolese people to whom "forgiveness and reconciliation" are almost imposed, the four elements required in transitional justice are not in the soup:
1- The victims did not have the right to the truth about the atrocities suffered by both.
2- No criminal justice for those who wanted it (files of complaints languish in the corridors of a justice that not only delays in ruling, but almost inspires confidence).
3- Almost no repairs. Estimated in the order of 40 billion CFA francs, only 1 billion CFA francs has been foreseen by the government for repairs in the state budget for fiscal year 2017. However, according to the latest confidences of Mrs. Awa-Nana Daboya, President of UNHCRRUN, this sum (1 billion) is not even disbursed.
4- No guarantee of non-repetition There are no reforms to reassure the Togolese people. The same actors who committed the atrocities yesterday continue cheerfully their methods and are even decorated by the Head of State. No more than February 2017, the army still interfered in a mission to regulate public order, causing a death and injuries in a public demonstration.
In short, contrary to what Gilbert Bawara was trying to make yesterday believe on the plates of the television channel Africa24, Faure Gnassingbé is rather the best placed to forgive his brother, unlike the people. Since at least Kpatcha Gnassingbe, the "executioner" of Faure Gnassingbe, has done his mea culpa contrary to those who killed, tortured, wounded and dismissed some of the Togolese people in exile.
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