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With the goal to create a hunting park of 80 km 2
were over 10,000 peasants from Keran Oti district in the
north in 1991, driven from their lands.
In April 1991, the opposition conducted demonstrations in
a number of cities. On April 8, more than 1,000 people
occupied one of Lome's most important districts, built
barricades and demanded Eyadema's departure. The government
responded violently again, over 30 were killed and an
unknown number injured. On April 12, the political parties
of the opposition were legalized and Eyadema published an
amnesty for the political prisoners and launched a
democratic opening.
On August 28, a National Congress appointed Kokou
Koffigoh as provisional prime minister. He was president of
the country's Law Council and a well-known figure in the
defense of human rights. The National Congress also
established a Legislative National Assembly that removed
Eyadema from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces and banned him from running for the 1992 presidential
election.
On November 26, 1991, the National Assembly decided to
dissolve the RPT, but this triggered a military coup. Two
days later, the military occupied the government building,
disbanded the legislative assembly and captured Koffigoh for
several hours. According to
Countryaah data,
about 20 people were killed by military patrols. The coup
makers blamed the legislative assembly for consisting of
extremists who backed President Eyadema. The political
parties and other opposition organizations called for
organizing the resistance to prevent the return to
dictatorship.
The complicated political situation in Togo is further
exacerbated by economic, social and tribal problems. Eyadema
belongs to e.g. the northern part of the Kabye tribe,
dominating the military with 12,000 soldiers. In turn, Prime
Minister Koffigoh represents the people of the South, the
country's largest ethnic group. Under these circumstances,
negotiations on the transfer of power to civilians began in
1992. A timetable for returning to democracy was established
and the electoral corps was registered.
The opposition broke with Koffigoh in January 1993, met
in Benin and appointed a new parallel government. That same
month, the presidential guard killed over 100 protesters in
Lomé, sending thousands of people fleeing to Ghana and
Benin.
Eyadema agreed to hold elections in August. Under civil
war-like conditions, he "won" 96.5% of the vote, in an
election characterized by opposition as pure fraud. The
popular protests escalated, and in January, Eyadema escaped
unscathed from an assassination attempt by 100 armed men. 67
were killed.
The opposition won the parliamentary elections in
February, but Eyadema declined to allow one of its leaders,
Edem Kodjo to form government without the participation of
the RPT. The Renewal Action Committee, which comprised
opposition groups, therefore decided to boycott parliament,
and paralyzed the government for most of the year.
In July, extensive flooding of Lomé caused 150,000 people
to lose their homes. In September, 3 weeks of rain destroyed
entire villages, roads and bridges - especially in the
country's northern and central parts. 21,000 people lost
their homes.
In August 1996, Kodjo resigned from the Prime Minister's
post and was replaced by Kwassi Klutse from the RPT. In
July, the opposition strengthened its contacts with a view
to gathering, so as to overturn Eyadema. The president had
now been in power since 1967 and was subjected to pressure
from even the military to liberalize the political system.
The EU decided to grant $ 30 million in aid to the
government for use in the areas of health, education and the
construction of roads in rural areas. |
