wants a new chapter in Togolese politics. Inset: Gilchrist Olympio
President Faure Gnassingbé has been making amends and
a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address human rights abuses between 1958-2005. Te Commission has received over 18,000 submissions and is expected to publish its findings later this year. But many think that these political and
economic changes are superficial and that Togo must change its political culture at a deeper level. An ANC party member, who requested not to be named, said that the Togolese people felt betrayed by Gilchrist Olympio, and that police corruption and brutality continued to be a problem. Guillame Coco, an activist with the
“ One year on from the
first free presidential elections in 43 years, Togo’s government has taken steps towards political reform and fiscal transparency.”
still thought that further steps were needed to bridge the political divisions between the two parties. When Gilchrist was asked about Fabre’s claims that the UFC was re- inforcing the power of a dictatorial regime, he responded sharply: “I don’t think Fabre and company are a major political force in this country.” Gilchrist does not hold a position in the
government, but said the UFC ministers were playing a watchdog role and pushing for political reform within the govern-
ment. He said that the elections were not entirely free and fair and that there was an abnormally high level of abstention, but the only way forward was to cooperate with the RPT government. “You cannot run a country on such
deep divisions – look at Côte d’Ivoire,” he said. “Tis is what wrecked our coun- try but I think we are overcoming it.” He said the UFC was pursuing a policy of decentralisation to ensure that power was not simply concentrated in the hands of the state. Local elections, to be held later this year, would help diffuse the power currently held by the central government. While deep divisions continue to define
Togolese politics, the government has re- sponded to international pressure by seek- ing to address the human rights abuses of the past. In 2008, with the assistance of the EU and the UN, the government initiated
Mouvement Citoyen pour l’Alternance (MCA), also thinks that little has changed. Coco had been detained by police with 15 other activists before the election results were announced and was held for more than six months in prison. He was released late last year. Te government claimed that the activists were planning to stage a coup, an assertion that Coco rejects. He claims they were not physically harmed or tor- tured because local and international hu- man rights groups closely monitored their cases. But leading human rights groups in Togo offer a different perspective. Clau- dine Akianyo Kpono, the Togo coordina- tor of NGO the West African Network for Peacebuilding, said the human rights situation in Togo had vastly improved and that Togo now had many of the markers of a democratic society, such as freedom of political association and a free press. Amnesty International’s Togo director,
Aimé T. Adi, said that reports of human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by the government had lessened in the past year. Amnesty has operated clandestinely in Togo over the past 16 years, but Adi said that it now has more freedom to work and has participated in consultations with the government’s National Human Rights Commission. However, Adi said that post- election violence was still a major issue. While human rights activists consider
the waning reports of human rights abuses a victory, many Togolese remain sceptical about whether the elections have brought about substantive changes to the country’s political culture.
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