12, April 2018
Togo police crack down on anti-government protesters 0
Police in Togo have dispersed an opposition protest in the capital Lome. Reports indicate that teargas was fired to disperse protesters in Lome and in other towns across the country.
Reports indicate that the violent clampdown by the police led to injuries to a number of protesters. Photos shared on social media showed how a vehicle belonging to opposition chief Jean Pierre Fabre was smashed.
Anti-government sentiments have been on the rise in the West African country, one of the few that has no term limits for the president. Incumbent Faure Gnassingbe has been in charge since 2005.
He “inherited” a seat his father Gnassingbe Eyadema had occupied for 38 years till his death. He is in his third 5-year term which started in 2015 and is due to expire in 2020 when elections are next held.
Aside the main push for him to resign immediately, the opposition is also pushing for return of term limits, reforms to the electoral structure and the constitutional courts.
Source: Africa News
14, April 2018
Liberia: President Weah promises media freedom following allegations of gagging press 0
Liberia’s President George Weah has promised to deepen media freedom during a meeting with the country’s media practitioners on Friday.
The Weah administration, which has been in place for a little over three months, has not been spared by the Liberian media.In the face of accusations that he intends to gag the press, the former footballer rather guaranteed them complete freedom.
“I always use you as an example. When I supported human rights in this country, you were against me. But I always remembered you because at that time, what I was doing was to keep the country from being torn apart. And I’m glad you’re here today. Now, together we must create this environment, this awareness, so that Liberians can forgive themselves, and we can move forward “, said Weah.
In March, during a visit to Freetown ,Sierra Leone, the UN rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, called on the Weah administration to build on Liberia’s achievements in this area, insisting on “decriminalizing defamation” and “transforming the media industry .
AFP