Dakar Protests: Senegal Regime Faces Authoritarianism Claims

Members of the Senegalese civil society and the Togolese diaspora met this Friday in Dakar, at the head of the FRAPP, to denounce the political situation in Togo. They expressed their concerns in the face of what they call “authoritarian drift” marked by a repression of dissident votes and a restriction of public freedoms. “The mutism of ECOWAS and the African Union on the Togolese case risks devoting the impunity of authoritarian regimes,” alerted Alioune Tine, human rights defender. Togolese organizations had already expressed their concerns concerning the respect of rights and freedoms in the region. Togolese nationals have testified to arbitrary arrests, intimidation and a climate of generalized fear in their country. A peaceful march is scheduled for this Saturday, July 5 in Dakar to protest this situation. Several figures of Senegalese civil society have expressed their solidarity with the Togolese people. Mamadou Mbodj, of the F24 movement, established a parallel with the situation in Niger and Guinea, while Guy Marius Sagna, of the FRAPP, called for Pan -African solidarity. “Africa will not be released in silence. What is happening in Togo concerns us all, “he said. Party participants called on African and international bodies to intervene for a peaceful crisis resolution. International interventions have already taken place in the past concerning political situations in West Africa. According to Emedia, at least seven dead have been identified as the presidential election in Togo approaches.