Rawlings: let’s respect peaceful protests in togo

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has asked the Togolese government to exercise restraint in dealing with the peaceful protests of its citizens.

The former President expressed concern over the number of reported casualty since the protests begun and urged the government to make a conscious effort to prevent a further escalation of the situation.

Togolese protesters for the past few weeks have hit the streets demanding an end to the over 50-year rule of the Gnassingbe family.

The opposition Parti National Panafricain (PNP) party, the main proponents of the demonstrations is calling for the reinstatement of the 1992 constitution which introduced presidential term limits and other regulations they say must be strictly adhered to.

“The description of an imminent civil war by some commentators shows the extent to which the situation has regressed,” former president Rawlings said in a statement issued on Sunday.

He said the : “Intimidating posture of such comments shows clearly how pertinent the need to prevent an escalation beyond this point. Civil war can never bring any gains to the people or government,”

He admonished government troops to take measures that will ensure the protests do not degenerate into a civil conflict of which unarmed civilians will be the ones to suffer the most.

"In the event of a civil conflict, unarmed civilians are those whose blood will be shed the most.
The protestors could have adopted a violent behaviour by now yet they have kept it civil all this while and as such the government troops must equally adopt strides to ensure there is no regression into civil explosion. “he said

“There must be a concise effort to point to how peacefully the people of Togo have declared and agitated for their political right. We must respect their process of getting their cause heard especially as it is characterized by non-violence”