In 1991, during the operation 'Desert Storm' against Sadam Hussein,
the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher remarked during a television
interview that "Dictators never give up. You have to chase them out of
power." Was PM Thatcher correct? Several events seem to have proven her
to be just that. One was the defeat of Éyadéma's good friend
Mobutu, the old dictator of Zaire. Another was the attempt, made in vain,
by the Togolese opposition to listen for reason from the dictator Éyadéma.
Éyadéma obstinately refuses to engage in any discussion
with the Togolese opposition to find a means out of the contentious presidential
election of June 1998. The legislative elections, which the Togolese regime
was in such a desperate hurry to organize for the 21st of March, only aggravates
the socio-political crisis in Togo.
The Togolese have tried everything pacific possible to avoid the worse
in their country and to get rid of this dictator who has been like a plague
for the last three decades. With the most recent events, they only have
two clear choices:
- To resign themselves to continual submission under the dictatorship
of Éyadéma and his entourage - To revolt and finish with
this terrible system of dictatorship which has lacerated Togo for 32 years
The first choice will give an image of relative peace "a peace for the
wolf amidst the lambs". The second alternative supposes an intense period
of trouble followed by change .... and a change in what direction? No one
will be able to say. Everything will depend on the leadership.
From one side to another, the choice is difficult but historic. All
the powers of the world passed through such a period and made such a choice.
The Togolese must now have the courage to decide how their history will
be written.
Komlan Akpadjake
Vancouver, B.C.
March 22 1999
