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| Tens of thousands of people have taken part in a violent protests in Lome |
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Angry
crowds are demostrating in the capital of Togo in a third day of protests
against electoral reforms they say favour the ruling party.
Two
previous days of unrest in Lome saw violent clashes between security forces and
thousands of demonstrators during which stones were thrown, tear gas was fired
and about 30 people were injured.
It follows
recent electoral reforms ahead of a poll this year.
Protesters
want an end to the system allowing unlimited presidential terms.
Togo has
been run by the same family for more than four decades.
President
Faure Gnassingbe took power in 2005 following the death of his father,
Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years. He was re-elected in 2010.
Buildings
vandalised
The BBC's
Ebow Godwin in the capital, Lome, says tens of thousands of people have taken
part in the protests.
He says the
unrest forced the closure of the city's main market, popularly known as
Assigame, and other leading shops, paralysing commercial activities.
Anti-riot
police fired tear gas at protesters who threw stones, vandalised buildings and
set tyres on fire along the capital's streets.
At least 10
policemen and 17 protesters are thought to have been injured in the previous
two days of protest.
At one
stage on Wednesday evening, paramilitary police pursued several opposition
protesters into a Catholic Church where they had sought refuge, our reporter
says.
The
protesters want a reversal of amendments to Togo's electoral code adopted by
the country's parliament last week, which include parliamentary and
constituency reforms.
They say
the changes favour the ruling party.
Operation
Save Togo, a coalition of campaign groups which organised the protests, said it
would continue with the demonstrations until President Gnassingbe agrees to
hold a dialogue over the reforms.
Demonstrators
want a return to the Togo 1992 constitution which limits the mandate of a
sitting head of state to two terms.
The
constitution was amended in 2002 by parliament which was dominated by the
ruling party.
Alphonse
Kpogo, one of the Operation Save Togo leaders, told the BBC: "What puts
more oil into the blazing fire is the adoption, unilaterally, of the new
electoral code. The movement Save Togo says we cannot just adopt unilaterally
new laws like that.
"There
must be a consensus over the adoption of these laws. Either they accept to hold
dialogue to get consensus before going to the elections or we will chase them
out of power through a revolution."
The
Togolese government, which has appealed for protesters to be law abiding, says
the electoral reforms were the result of extensive dialogue with civil society.
Legislative
polls are expected to be held in October, however a precise date has not been
set.
As I am directly informed by a nonparticipating citizen - The protests have been peacefully in the beginning and the military forces (which are police forces at the same in Togo) attacked the protesters (concrete numbers unknown but they are really many over 10000 at least) by tear gas granades and sharp ammunition. She had been eye witness how soldiers throw tear gas into her church and a six years old baby died painfully by the gas. Many many dead people - so 30 injured are a bad joke. A day before terror squads of the police/soldiers where patrol the streets at Ebe (the area of protest) breaking into houses and beating up everything that lives - children, women, old people - everybody without any reason - house by house, everybody who live there ... It is a shame that it took 3 days before any media bring this up in the news what is going on in Lome, Togo since FIVE days now. It started monday by a general strike by the whole population ...
ReplyDeletethis government is a dictatorship and the promised reforms look exactly like that: unlimited legislative periods for one and the same president ... this government calls that reforms ...