For 3 days in late June, protests erupted in Lome, the capital of Togo, towards a constitutional reform that many see as a manner for the nation’s longtime ruler, Faure Gnassingbe, to take care of his grip on energy indefinitely. Public demonstrations are comparatively uncommon on this small West African nation of 9 million folks, so once they do occur they’re important. And as is usually the case once they occur, final month’s protests have been met with violent repression.
Civil society organizations reported seven deaths among the many demonstrators, blaming not solely the safety forces but in addition native and international militias for the violence. Over the weekend, a court docket opened a judicial investigation into 5 of the deaths, which the federal government has acknowledged, however for which it has denied duty.
In response to the protests, the federal government additionally minimize entry to social media and suspended worldwide media retailers Radio France Internationale, or RFI, and France 24 for 3 months. The current unrest follows earlier demonstrations on June 5 and 6, which had already led to quite a few arrests.
