Togo: outcry against Faure to continue next week

By on November 10, 2017

togo-faureThe alliance of 14 parties of the opposition has announced several days of protest for next week following three days of public outcry which ended Thursday.
The tiny West African country since August 19 has been rocked by political protests calling for the reinstatement of 1992 constitution, with presidential term limit.
The current constitution modified in 2000 during the tenure of late President Gnassingbe Eyadema, makes the presidential tenure limitless allowing current leader Faure Gnassingbe to run as much as he can though in power since 2005, the year of the death of his father.
The opposition, regrouped under an alliance wants the return of the 1992 constitution with two-term limit, with immediate effect – meaning the departure of Faure at end his current tenure to end in 2020.
Thousands of Togolese heeded the call of the opposition for three-day protest which ended Thursday.
The protests were nationwide but authorities banned protests in the cities of Sokode and Bafilo in the north of the country known as strongholds of the new opposition leader Tikpi Atchadam from the Parti National Panafricain (PNP).
The opposition accused the regime of clamping down on protesters with strong military presence in these two cities.
Thursday, at the end of three-day protest, Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson, a key leader of the alliance hailed the mobilization across the country, with official reports saying 17 cities took part in the protests.
The interior minister, Yark Damehane also commended protests which took place in a peaceful manner.
Several people have died since August 19, the beginning of the demonstrations.
Thursday, reports emerged over an attack on a group of artists campaigning on the side of the opposition. The artists were reportedly attacked by a military jeep which fired at the group’s vehicle in the northern suburb of capital Lomé while galvanizing people to join the protest.
One artist was reportedly shot but only sustained injuries on his face.
Yark denied the reports arguing that his department was not informed any casualty.

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