Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In 1990, France began pressuring Eyadéma to adopt a multiparty system, but he resis-
ted. The following year, after riots, strikes and the deaths of pro-democracy protestors, 28
bodies were dragged from a lagoon and dumped in front of the US embassy, drawing at-
tention to the repression in Togo.
Eyadéma finally agreed to a conference in 1991, where delegates stripped him of his
powers and installed an interim government. However, Eyadéma-supporting troops later
reinstalled Eyadéma. Back in power, the general retaliated by postponing planned elec-
tions, which prompted strikes in 1992. The strikes paralysed the economy and led to viol-
ence, during which 250,000 southerners fled the country.
Eyadéma triumphed his way through ensuing elections throughout the 1990s - elections
typically marred by international criticism, opposition boycotts and the killing of rival
politicians. Amnesty International made allegations of human rights violations, such as
executions and torture, and pressure on the president increased at the same rate that aid
from international donors decreased.
Eyadéma finally left office the way many suspected he would - in a coffin. Following
his death in February 2005, his son, Faure Gnassingbé, seized power in a military coup,
then relented and held presidential elections, which he won. Some 500 people were killed
in riots in Lomé, amid allegations the elections were fixed.
Faure's Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party won legislative elections in 2007, the
first to be deemed reasonably free and fair by international observers. Opposition parties
also won seats in parliament, a political first. Following this milestone, the EU resumed
relations with Togo, which had been suspended for 14 years, and dealings with interna-
tional agencies such as the IMF and the World Bank have restarted.
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People
With about 40 ethnic groups in a population of over six million people, Togo has one of
Africa's more heterogeneous populations. The three largest groups are the southern Ewe
and Mina, and the northern Kabye; the latter counts President Gnassingbé among its pop-
ulation and is concentrated around Kara.
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Religion
