wfn.org | {AACC] Ecumenical Partners Statement on Togo

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ALL AFRICA CONFERENCE OF CHURCHES
CONFERENCE DES EGLISES DE TOUTE L AFRIQUE

www.aacc-ceta.org
     Tel: 254 - 20 - 4441483, 4441338/9 · Fax: 254 - 20- 4443241, 4445835
 · Email: secretariat@aacc-ceta.org

General Secretariat: Waiyaki Way, P.O. Box 14205 , 00800 Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya

 Our Ref:

STATEMENT BY TOGOLESE CHURCHES ECUMENICAL PARTNERS ON THE SITUATION IN TOGO

      As Togo churches partners, we are following the serious
deterioration of the social and  political arena in Togo for the last two
weeks with a great anxiety, especially from Sunday 24 April 2004 night,
date of the presidential elections. Those elections were
organised  hastily, according to figures mentioned by the National
Electoral Committee (CENI) and	the Home Ministry, situation which did not
enable people to display their constitutional right in registering on the
electoral lists. An average of people below 30% were registered in regions
favourable to the opposition parties while people above 85% were registered
in the regions favourable to the governing party.

     As we emphasized in the final statement we made after our ecumenical
assignment in Lomé from 28 March to 2 April 2005, there were signs of
serious social degradation in Togo, considering the high level of tension
that was prevailing within the social strata, between the opposition and
the governing parties, between the military and the people, not to mention
the general suspicion about the elections organisation. Considering all
this, we had suggested that true and fair discussions be carried on between
the political parties in order to appease the political situation and that
the elections be postponed to a negotiated and approved date by all parties
so as to make sure that they are transparent and fair and to avoid possible
counterfeits and after-elections confrontations.

      The Togolese government, supported by the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS), chose to maintain the election as initially
scheduled; despite the risk of civil war mentioned by the then Minister for
Home Affairs, in charge of the electoral process, and the protestations
from the opposition political parties.

     Unfortunately the situation started deteriorating as expected, right
from the elections night.

As partners of Togo s churches we appeal:

1)	 to the Government of Togo:

	  - to perform his constitutional duty in protecting Togolese
people s lives as well as  their citizenship rights, by seeing to it that
the military do not use war weapons against unarmed civilians;

2)	 to Togolese political parties :

	  -to meet in a sudden burst of patriotism so as to discuss about
the possible ways out of the political crisis;

	  -to ask their members not to attack foreigners and plunder their
properties;

3)	 to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN):

	   -to send delegates to Togo in order to help to put an end to the
on-going confrontations and massacres of civilians;

	   -with the support of the international community, to facilitate
talks between Togolese political parties in an atmosphere of justice and
impartiality;

	 -to urgently meet Togolese government so that massacres of
innocent civilians cease;

      4)  to the European Union, France and Germany:

	    - to take advantage of their special relationship with Togolese
government to bring the Togolese government to avoid human right abuses,
care for the wounded people and guaranty safety of all Togolese, including
opposition leaders, pastors and priests whose life is currently under threat;

	   -  to join the AU delegation in order to facilitate the dialogue
between the Togolese parties.

5)	 to the Economical Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS):

	   - to listen to the aspirations of the people of Togo in order to
avoid a terrible crisis.

6) to the churches in Togo:

	   -to continue playing their prophetic role in Togo (we assure
them of our support and prayers in these hard times when the lives of some
pastors and priests are at stake) ;

	   -to use their moral authorities in order to facilitate talks
between the political parties;

	  -to work towards a genuine reconciliation between all Togolese
people, through their taking part efficiently into talks between opposition
and the ruling party.

7) to the people of Togo:

	  -to resist violence and seek peaceful solutions to their problems;

	 - and to accept to reconcile with one another.

 Done in Nairobi, Bremen, Montpellier, Paris and Geneva on Thursday 28
April 2005, by	the following churches and ecclesiastical organisations:

 All African Conference of Churches, the Bremen Mission, Cevaa-Communauté
d Eglises en Mission, Defap-Service Protestant de Mission, Fédération
Protestante de France, World Council of Churches, World Alliance of
Reformed Churches.