The Togolese press this week dwelt on the Lome University crisis in light
of President Gnassingbe Eyadema's visit to the campus early in the week.
The pro-opposition "Nouvel Horizon" opens with the headline, "Lome University
crisis: Eyadema visits students on campus."
The paper notes that "several observers were expecting the Togolese
leader to discuss with a lot of nobility the thorny problems of the students,
but the man disappointed his audience."
According to Eyadema, protests undermining the campus are the work of
students manipulated by Togolese students in Germany who are spreading
misleading information through the Internet.
After recalling the sequence of events during the meeting, the paper
concludes: "In the final analysis, Eyadema's visit did not solve much and
the most important remains to be done."
"Carrefour," also critical of the government, says the president's visit
was a failure.
"The Togolese authorities have confirmed their failure to take responsibility,"
it adds.
The paper lists all the problems confronting the students and the Togolese
authorities' attitude to them.
It states: "We agree to admit that the General's statement did not convince
the students."
Eyadema's statement "is no surprise at all; it has been repeated so
many times over the years that it is no more than an old scratched record,"
it writes.
The pro-official "Le Soleil" gives a different version in an article
headlined: "Eyadema resolves crisis."
The weekly holds the Lome University Students' Council responsible for
the unrest in the university institution.
It writes: "Today, the new tension on the campus is due to the non-respect
of the rules in force by the university students' council."
It states that "once again, they (the students) were naive and fell
into the opposition's trap in the interest of their manipulators."
"It can be said that the opposition still wants to use the university
to achieve its ends," the paper adds.
Another pro-government paper, "La Depeche," dwells on the organisation
of the early presidential elections and states: "The elections will be
held in October."
It adds: "We should hold the elections because the world is watching
us and our authorities are plying their credibility and furthermore, the
diplomatic pressure is intense."
"We have to be careful because the world is growing tired of our country,"
observes "La Depeche," echoing the views of the French President Jacques Chirac.
