Mr. President,

The people of Togo that we are proud to represent would like to thank you Mr. President and the First Lady for your deep commitment to free countries that are enslaved and oppressed by bloody and wicked dictatorships in the world.

We would like to congratulate you for liberating Afghanistan and recently Iraq respectively from the Taliban and the Saddam Hussein dictatorship. We agree with you like you state in many of your speeches and especially in your last State of the Union address that “freedom is a Gift of God to Humanity” and you intent to spread it around the globe.

We, people of Togo come before you today to let you know that for decades, we have been under the yoke of one of the most wicked and blooded dictatorship in the modern world. Second dictatorship in the world after Fidel Castro of Cuba, it is embodied by a corrupted army that kills, maims, abducts and rapes it own people. On the daily basis, our people are sinking into the sorrow of misery that the civilized world you represent has forgotten about us.

Indeed, the people of Togo as well as the world witnessed the death of the old dictator, Eyadema, on February 5th 2005. Despite constitutional provisions which guaranty a smooth transition, the army, to our deepest regret, once again intervened by setting aside the fundamental laws of the Republic to fraudulently appoint Faure Gnassingbé, the son of the late dictator as the new president of Togo.

This chaotic situation looms a darker era for our Togolese people. The ECOWAS, the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union and the international community including the US have all condemned vigorously the coup and called vainly on the new authorities in Togo to restore the constitutional order.

Mr. President, we thank you for your government’s unambiguous position. But so far nothing has changed. Like father, like son. The Army proclaimed president already put a bloody mark on his presidency by killing so many defenseless civilians.

Mr. President, enough is enough. The People of Togo strongly hope that the International Community led the United States of America must find a way to end the bloody dictatorship and to open a window of freedom and democracy for Togo. The people of Togo also deserve to be free.

Mr. President, you stated in your last State of Union address that any oppressed people that rises up for freedom, the people of United State will stand by their side. We people of Togo are rising now for our freedom. May you rise up with us so that “Freedom” the gift of God sees light in our country?

Mr. President may the almighty God bless your family and give you the Wisdom of Solomon so that you can carry the torch of freedom and democracy in the world.

Sincerely,

For the Togolese Diaspora in USA
The President,
Edward Kodjo Bruce
kebruce@comcast.net
Phone: 240-498 5909 / 301-601 0077