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BBC NEWS: Wednesday, 23 February, 2005, 17:21 GMT

Togo anger at African sanctions

Members of Togo's government have expressed their anger at the measures imposed on their country by neighbouring African states.
The African Union meets on Thursday to decide if it will follow the lead of West African body Ecowas and impose sanctions on the country.

Faure Gnassingbe was installed as the new leader two days after the death of the former president, his father. Togo hastily changed its constitution to allow him to take power.

The move outraged the African and international community, prompting the imposition of sanctions from the regional grouping, Ecowas.

'Unfair'

Togo has since reversed the constitutional changes but Mr Gnassingbe, who has promised elections within 60 days, is refusing to step down.

The BBC's Liz Blunt in Togo's capital, Lome, says that finally the government, which had so far maintained a remarkable silence about the measures taken against it, is now expressing its anger.

A member of parliament told the BBC that he was particularly hurt by Togo being suspended from Ecowas, an organisation which President Gnassingbe Eyadema had helped to create.

"This is really unfair because Ecowas today, as a community, has been created first of all by President Eyadema and President Gowon of Nigeria and they are taking sanctions against us?" he said.

Former Togolese Prime Minister Joseph Kokou Koffigoh said that although EU sanctions had economically damaged President Eyadema, Togo had never faced this level of criticism from fellow African countries.

"Even if he had troubles with the Europeans, he used to [...] in Africa, in our region, behave like in his own family," he said.

"But being sanctioned and punished by your own family, I think, symbolically, is very, very important."

The government-backed Togolese Movement for Justice and Human Rights has also said that the decision to isolate Togo is inappropriate at a time when the country needs understanding and support.

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