New protests in Togo as efforts to start talks stall

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BY Unknown Saturday, December 02, 2017 0

New protests in Togo as efforts to start talks stall

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Lome on Saturday for the third time this week to demand the exit of President Faure Gnassingbe, with little sign of progress on promised talks.

Gnassingbe, who has ruled Togo for more than 15 years, pledged in November that his government would hold talks with opposition groups “within several weeks”, but has kept silent since then.

Regional mediators including Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and Guinea’s President Alpha Conde have been working to open up negotiations between the two sides.

“For now the Guinea and Ghana presidents are trying to have ‘appeasement measures’ taken so that the talks can start,” Jean-Pierre Fabre, leader of the National Alliance for Change, told AFP during the protests Saturday.

“The protests are going to continue until our demands our met,” he said.

The protests which have gripped Togo since late August have been organised by a coalition of 14 opposition parties, who say they will talk only if the government releases detainees, lifts the ban on demonstrations in several northern cities and sends troops back to their barracks.

Gnassingbe has been president of the West African nation since 2005, taking over after the death of his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years.

The opposition parties want two-term limits for presidents, applied retroactively to prevent Gnassingbe from contesting the 2020 and 2025 elections.

“These coming talks need to be frank and sincere,” and focus on “the terms of Faure’s departure, either now or in 2020,” when new elections are scheduled, said Adjoa, a market vendor who was attending the Lome protests.

Buhari, Quattara worry over Togo

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BY Unknown Thursday, November 30, 2017 0

Buhari, Quattara worry over Togo

President Buhari (L) with Côte d’Ivoire President  Alassane Ouattara (m)

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Ivorian counterpart, Mr. Alassane Ouattara, have expressed concern over the political instability in Togo, and warned the crisis could have regional consequences.

Both leaders expressed their concern during a bilateral meeting in Abidjan on the margins of the 5th AU-EU Summit.

“We must have a solution in Togo. The friends of the opposition and authorities must talk to them on the steps to jointly take to achieve stability. They must work towards gaining the trust of each other.

A statement by Mr. Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), quoted the quoted Buhari as saying that, ‘‘there will be regional consequences for instability in Togo and this will surely come at a cost to development’’.

The Nigerian leader also had a separate bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel where the issue of stemming the tide of illegal migration of Nigerians to Europe took the front burner.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen legal migration and made a commitment to expand discussions on how to stem the tide of illegal migration.

On security, President Buhari told the German Chancellor that his government’s commitment to the security of lives and property in Nigeria remains absolute.

Reaffirming the nexus between security and job creation in Nigeria, President Buhari said prompt attention is being given to the gainful employment of youths in Nigeria through education and the acquisition of skills and vocational training.

He said Nigeria and Germany can draw from the experiences to cooperate effectively in the area of investing in youths for a sustainable future.

In her remarks, the German Chancellor appreciated the strides made by the Buhari administration in revamping the economy and promised to increase support for Nigeria in dealing with terrorism.

Merkel said 58 German companies are operating in Nigeria, adding that more companies have indicated interest to invest in the energy, manufacturing, agriculture and construction sectors.

President Buhari also had fruitful bilateral discussions with Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Vice President of the Gambia Fatoumata Tambajang.