LOME, 7 February 2005 — The military in the West African state of Togo faced mounting international criticism yesterday after it hastily swore in a son of veteran President Gnassingbe Eyadema to succeed him on his death.
Less than 24 hours after the announcement that Eyadema had died while being flown to France for emergency medical treatment, Togo’s leadership was condemned by the pan-continental African Union (AU) and the ECOWAS economic grouping of West African states while the EU warned that any unconstitutional actions could threaten relations.
EU aid commissioner Louis Michel called on Togo’s leaders to respect the constitution after the death Saturday of 69-year-old Eyadema, who had governed unchallenged for three decades, warning that otherwise its ties with the EU could suffer.
After Eyadema’s death the Togolese Army immediately announced the swearing in of one of the late president’s sons, Faure Eyadema, while officials said the country’s borders had been sealed off.
The man who under the constitution should have been named interim president, parliamentary Speaker Fambare Natchaba Ouattara, was reported to be heading toward the country’s land border with Benin, having been prevented from returning to Togo by plane after the army sealed the borders and airports.
Parliament yesterday changed the country’s constitution, in a move which paved the way for Faure to assume power legally. In an extraordinary session of Parliament, deputies elected Faure as head of the national assembly, a move which allows him to rule unchallenged until June 2008.
