Togo : Gnassingbe's Regime of Terror
On the surface Lome , Togo appears to be a travellers paradise with its sandy streets, cool palm-boulevards and rare colonial buildings. Further investigation will reveal a nation ruled as a personal fiefdom of a brutal dictatorial family named Gnassingbe.
Togo is a world were 40 years of dictatorship have left the people broken. A nation were the Gnassingbe family has turned the military into their very own personal security force devoted to keeping them in power. This is a world were NGO groups such as Amnesty International highlight year after year torture, rape, abuse, and repeated cases of civilians being kidnapped and their mutilated bodies being dumped in the middle darkness out at sea by military helicopters.This website will highlight in full the terror civilians live with but also what the Togolese themselves are doing to change their lives.
Objectives of Liberta
The Social-Political group knows as Liberta was formed in 2004 with the following simple aims:
Raise awareness to the injustice and criminality been forced upon the Togolese Civilians
Establishment of 'True' democracy that will benefit the people not just the ruling few
Providing Social-Care to the citizens void of ethnic or political lines by providing subsidized medical clinics and free schooling.
History behind Liberta
As the winds of change brough democracy to many nations across the world in 1990 and 1991, so too was it to sweep across the tiny west african nation of Togo. As in scenes being played out across the world , the Togolese people were to march on the streets in 1990-1991 to demand democracy and human rights, unfortunatley the brutal dictatorship of Africa's longest serving dictator was not yet ready to give up power. As students and civilians marched onto the streets demanding democracy and freedom, the Gnassingbé regime ordered its forces to kidnap, torture, rape and kill all civilians demanding freedom and punish their families. As a result of these brutal actions and the destruction of the country by the dictatorship , since 1990 many people who have had the chance to escape or seek refuge have done so in Europe, Canada and the United States.
The popular accessibility of the internet since 1997 has unabled Togolese citizens and freedom activities across the globe to collaborate more effectively. The internet has meant that stronger links can be maintained and the possibility of 'citizen journalist' has led the way for information and knowledge to be more accessable and no longer suppressable by the Gnassingbé regime.
Since 1990 the Togolese citizens have had their hopes raised on many occasions, they have marched on the streets knowing that they are certainly going to be beaten,abused,raped, tortured and killed with their bodies being dumped by military helicopters out at sea in the middle of the night.
Despite the dangers the Togolese people have shown bravery on many occasions :In 1990-1991 the civilians marched on the streets and formed a "Transitional government" to remove the regime yet were killed by the Gnassingbé Regime
The death in 2005 of "africa's longest serving dictator" Gnassingbé Eyadema in 2005 brought hope that democracy would finally arrive but the failure and greed of the current crop of Togolese political parties combined with the will of the Gnassingbé regime and the military kept the regime in power.
The international outcry at the regime after the death of Gnassingbé Eyadema in 2005 led to stolen elections by the regime. Tens of thousands of citizens again marched on the streets demanding freedom and fair elections but again the failure and greed of the existing political parties combined with the brutal actions of the Gnassingbé dictatorship led to civilians suffering.
790+ civilians being killed
by the regime in 2005 (Source.
U.N report)
4345+ civilians hurt by the Gnassingbé regime in
2005 (Source.
TLHR Report)
70,000+ Refugees displaced by the Gnassingbé regime in 2005 (Source. Afrol news)
The most potent image to represent the attrocities committed by both the Gnassingbe Regime and the Gilchrist Olympio faction is the following image. ( Source - NYTIMES)
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The lack of actions in 2005 by the Togolese opposition politicians led by Gilchrist Olympio and their failure to leave their homes in France to help the Togolese citizens awoken the Togolese to the fact that their so called "Opposition" parties were only interested in gaining power and money.
This forced the Togolese Diaspora living in Europe to come together and form the social-political group known as Liberta.
On the 1st July 2005 Liberta was formed with the aim of bringing "True" democratic values to Togo.
The headquarters of Liberta are located in Great Britain.
Thus Togolese the people have been promised freedom since the early 1980's by the opposition leaders spearheaded by the founder of the Union of Forces for Change (UFC) led by Gilchrist Olympio they now realise that if he was ever to take power they will only bring civil comflict by seeking personal revenge and enriching themselves just as the Gnassingbé regime has. Thus the Union of Forces for Change political party has been in existence for more than 30 years they have no policies to speak off.
The Future of Togo is with Liberta.
An unamed British High Commission officer in Accra recently commented in a Ghanian Newspaper that the difference between all Togolese politicians is that the Togolese president is corrupt and the Togolese opposition politicians are corrupt. The difference is that I can say the Gilchrist Olympio and the opposition are corrupt and not worry about it. But if I say that the President is corrupt in Togo, they will come in the night and kill me".