The various reports on the 2005 massacres that have allowed Faure Gnassingbe to seize power have not yet had a judicial follow-up as the unprecedented protest regime is trying to repeat the same macabre feat. Those who had the fatal idea to put on the street the militias during the marches of October 18 and 19 and who are preparing to do the same things at the next events, with the same idea to reissue the scenario of 2005 , must postpone their deadly adventure, at the risk this time of getting into serious trouble.
Images of people in civilian clothes, handguns, machetes and clubs in their hands or in brand new 4X4 cars that YarkDamehane clumsily portrayed as self-defense groups in a Republic have gone around the world. The same applies to their actions, including the violence perpetrated against citizens, demonstrators and domestic violence. In the international community where the Gnassingbe regime has a heavy record of human rights violations, it is consternation, better, anger. And it was from Washington that the first reaction came amid a severe warning. At the State Department, there is clearly talk of government-sponsored militias.
According to several sources, the US would even have a list of civilian sponsors as military that could be subject to prosecution, in case this scenario is re-issued. "The United States is deeply concerned about the escalation of violence and the restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly in Togo related to protests over proposed constitutional reforms. We are particularly concerned by reports of excessive use of force by security forces and report that government-sponsored militias use force and the threat of force to disrupt demonstrations and intimidate civilians.
This is the first time in decades that the State Department itself has taken a clear and clear position on the events shaking Togo with the wave of violence that goes with it. This is to say that in Washington, we have now taken the measure of the situation and the Togolese case is followed very closely. And as if that were not enough, it is the turn of Paris, especially the Quai d'Orsay that is to say the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France to invite the same day in the dance, with almost the same words.
"France remains attentive to the evolution of the situation in Togo. We condemn the violence that has been observed there. We are concerned about the reports of the presence of men in civilian clothes alongside the police, who can be likened to militias. We hope that the Togolese Government respects the right to protest. The demonstrations must be expressed in a peaceful way, "answered the spokesman of the Quai d'Orsay, in question to a response at the press briefing of 25 October. For several observers and analysts, these two reactions are a strong warning for Faure Gnassingbe and his extremists who have already been illustrated in the past by making hundreds of deaths.
Washington's reaction to the imam of Sokodé kidnapped as "eminent" is a bloody disavowal to the regime that wanted to make him a dangerous preacher, a terrorist to be clear. The setbacks at the diplomatic level continue for Faure Gnassingbé. This is the mask of a bloodthirsty regime that falls in a few weeks after more than a decade of diplomatic lobbying in which the regime's supporters have sold only cosmetic partners. The reality is sad.
The latest revelations of "Jeune Afrique" on the involvement of the regime of Faure Gnassingbe in the coup d'état of Gilbert Diendéré in Burkina Faso against the institutions of the transition of this country actually participate in undermining the regime and bring the proponents of Lome to keep a low profile.
A dialogue for the exit of Faure Gnassingbé in 2020?
Washington and Paris call for a dialogue between the actors of the crisis. Alassane Ouattara, in a press briefing after the mini-summit of the ECOWAS organized on Tuesday in Niamey, exposed three tracks for a way out of the crisis. It must be said, no president of ECOWAS will publicly take the floor to humiliate Faure Gnassingbe, but the situation behind the scenes is less comfortable for the tenant of the palace of the Marina.
Heads of State of ECOWAS clearly asking Faure Gnassingbé to commit to giving up power in 2020 at the end of his third term. A proposal that rejects the interested party who wishes to run for a fourth, and perhaps a fifth. In Niamey even if the words of President Alassane Ouattara remained ambiguous and seemed very confused, it does not remain that during the meeting behind closed doors, the Heads of State reminded their colleague from Togo the need for him to commit to leaving power in 2020 to preserve stability in his country and, beyond, in the region.
France, which is following this issue very closely, hopes that the political crisis in Togo will be resolved before the next EU-Africa summit scheduled for late November in Abidjan. Faure Gnassingbé's refusal to follow up on the solutions of his peers in the region will certainly aggravate the situation and further isolate him on the regional scene.
One thing is certain, despite the repression, the violence of the militias, the 14 opposition parties do not give up. So are the Togolese in the diaspora who are lobbying these days for the ICC (International Criminal Court) to join in the case of Togo. The next test for the opposition, but also the power, will be the events of 7, 8 and 9 November next
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