AU piles pressure on Togo
2005-02-21 11:07
Lome - International pressure mounted on Sunday on Togo's new military-installed leader as the African Union's (AU) peace and security council said it would meet this week to consider sanctions against the west African country.
The council announced in a statement that it would examine the situation on Thursday and if necessary adopt sanctions against the "de facto authorities" in Togo.
The president of the council, Alpha Oumar Konare, earlier criticised as unconstitutional military leader Faure Gnassingbe's decision to remain in power. He said the AU's fundamental imperative was "a return to constitutional legality".
Togo was excluded from all AU activities on February 8 after the military installed Gnassingbe, 39, son of the late president Gnassingbe Eyadema, by subverting the constitution, under which power should have gone to the speaker of parliament until an election.
In an attempt to assuage international criticism, Gnassingbe said he would call elections in 60 days to confirm or overturn his rule. But the Ecowas regional grouping said that by refusing to hand over power immediately to the parliament speaker, Gnassinge had in effect carried out a coup d'etat.
The organisation suspended Togo's membership, imposed a regional travel ban on Togolese officials, recalled west African ambassadors and declared an arms embargo.
A coalition of west African political and human rights groups said it would sue Gnassingbe for human rights violations in the Ecowas Community Court.
The European Union had been among the first to condemn the moves, saying on February 9 that they amounted to a "coup d'etat," and an EU source in Brussels said on Sunday that EU sanctions "seem inevitable" unless Gnassingbe backs down.
Louis Michel, the EU commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, said in a statement: "Faure Gnassingbe and those who support him carry responsibility for their country's isolation. I exhort them to restore constitutional order without delay."
France joined the calls for a quick restoration of "full constitutional legality" in its former colony.
France, which has come under searing criticism from the Togolese opposition for its staunch support of the late president, issued a foreign ministry statement saying Paris "deplores the fact that it was not possible to resolve the question of interim presidential succession with full respect for the constitution".
Washington went further, calling for Gnassingbe to "resign immediately" while halting military assistance to the tiny impoverished nation.
On Saturday, 25 000 opposition supporters demonstrated in the Togolese capital Lome against Gnassingbe's rule, the biggest such march since he was installed.
On Sunday, police broke up a counter-demonstration by Gnassingbe supporters, many armed with clubs spiked with nails, knives and a few hunting rifles.