POSITION OF THE HUMANIST INTERNATIONAL REGARDING THE CONFLICT IN TOGO

kirjoittanut: European Regional

Zurich, 2nd of May 2005

To the European Union
To the United Nations
To the European Press
To the Governments of Togo and France


Humanists denounce the situation of violence following the proclamation of election results establishing Faure Gnassingbé as president of Togo. Once again the government has succeeded in manipulating the elections and angering the people, then using the pretext of the resulting violent overflows to justify the use of terror in the country.

These are practices exercised many many times since the political take over of Eyadéma and which continues with this latest election. To these can be added: fraud, intimidation, theft of ballot boxes, manipulation of the press and harassment of people in order to maintain a dictatorship and to prevent the setting up of a democracy.

The Togolese people are feeling betrayed once more. The ray of hope that emerged at the time of the announcement of new elections with the involvement of the opposing parties and the surveillance of the EU, of CEDEAO, has been shown to be a fraud and a masquerade. Once again the people have been deceived by the announcements of the official representatives: CEDEAO validated the vote, talking solely of "anomalies", the EU was happy with only announcing its "serious preoccupation" with the situation and France with putting all possible obstacles to prevent a stand of the EU.

The Humanist International denounces those opposition parties and groups of objectors, that responding with violence legitimize the army’s game of power. Thus allowing the government, using the pretext of "re-establishing the rule of law”, to reinforce without shame the presence and the power of its army, and justifying the repression and the exactions of its soldiers, punishing, torturing and murdering those that oppose them by wishing to establish democracy.

Humanists declare:

It is necessary to end the violence, the death, and the suffering of the oppressed people of Togo. These violent actions belong to prehistory and not to the present. All governments, political parties or armed forces that are not ready to let the people express themselves except through violence must be denounced and removed from power. Peace, democracy and justice will not come about with guns and the blood of a whole country, nor by the exodus of terrorized populations, nor by the silence of a submissive people.

It is why humanists call on all forces present: government, army, parties and opposition groups, to stop all violence, physical, psychological and moral and all acts of intimidation in order to put the conditions in place for a real dialogue to begin.

If the Togolese government dares to proclaim itself democratic, it must make laws appropriate to a democracy and to its constitution: this implies the establishment of the free expression of the people, of the press and all forces present. It must cease all acts of intimidation and manipulation and must end all acts of terror and violence by the army and all groups in its service.

As long as this government does not show indisputable signs of opening, of the establishment of freedom of speech and stopping of the violence of the armed forces in the streets and throughout the country, we will denounce the established power in Togo as a dictatorship, and its legitimacy will be considered null and void.

The Humanist International demands that the international community and in particular France, the EU and the United Nations

• involve themselves and engage in a dialogue for peace, in a strong and determined manner
• put in motion measures to avoid the injustices and the hindrances to democracy in Togo
• do not recognize the result of these elections
• ask for new truly democratic and transparent elections with the presence of observers guaranteeing the electoral process

Sincerely,
Daniel Horowitz

Europen Regional General Secretary