US embassy cable - 05ACCRA775

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ACCRA 000775 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2014 
TAGS: GH, KDEM, PGOV, PREF, TO 
SUBJECT: TOGO DEVELOPMENTS: ECOWAS AND GILCHRIST OLYMPIO 
SAY ELECTION MUST GO ON 
 
Classified By: Polchief Scott Ticknor, reason 1.5 (B/D). 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  ECOWAS President Tandja issued a press 
release April 22, sent to PolChief by Executive Director 
Chambas, condemning the 3 am statements of Togolese Interior 
Minister Boko and restating ECOWAS's commitment to retaining 
the scheduled April 24 date for the Togo election.  Chambas 
told PolChief he was encouraged that the election could go 
off relatively peacefully. although Boko's statement could 
make the situation more volatile.  On behalf of Nigerian 
President Obasanjo, he is inviting opposition leader 
Gilchrist Olympio and Faure Gnassingbe for a meeting in Abuja 
on April 25 (Olympio said yes and Chambas believes Gnassingbe 
will also agree.)  Olympio is determined to go ahead with the 
election as scheduled.  Ghanaian refugee officials and NGOs 
are preparing for a possible influx of refugees from Togo. 
End summary. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
ECOWAS' Chambas:  The Election Should Go On 
------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C)  On April 22, PolChief spoke with ECOWAS Executive 
Director Mohammed Ibn Chambas, who was in Accra on his way to 
Lome.  When asked about Minister of Interior Boko's call for 
postponing the Togo election, Chambas said Nigerian President 
Obasanjo, Ghana's President Kufuor and Niger's President 
Tandja had quickly consulted today (from Indonesia and Niger) 
and agreed on an ECOWAS position that the election should go 
on as scheduled.  ECOWAS has issued a press release to this 
effect (see para 8).  In addition, Chambas said Obasanjo had 
asked him to invite Gilchrist Olympio and Faure Gnassingbe 
for a meeting in Abuja on Monday, April 25.  Olympio agreed 
today and Gnassingbe had recently agreed in Niamey that this 
would be a good idea, according to Chambas. 
 
3.  (C)  Chambas knew this would be a difficult period, but 
said that before the Boko pronouncement, he was feeling 
encouraged about Togo's election.  He credited the security 
forces with showing restraint, noting that opposition leader 
Akitani Bob had been campaigning in northern Togo without 
incident or restriction of movement.  Akitani had called 
President Tandja to apologize for not being able to break his 
campaign for the recent meeting in Niamey, offering to go to 
Niger on Saturday, April 23.  Chambas said his meeting with 
Olympio today was also encouraging -- Olympio had some 
complaints, but by and large was ready for the election to go 
forward.  ECOWAS has 150 observers on the ground in Togo 
(compared to the 30 they had for the December 2004 Ghana 
election). 
 
4.  (C)  According to Chambas, Togolese leaders see Togo as 
heading toward revolution or reform.  He believes there is a 
consensus for reform and a recognition that, whoever wins the 
election, the only hope for Togo is a national government of 
reconciliation.  The biggest danger is from militant party 
supporters on both sides, who appear to be behind recent 
skirmishes.  He discounted reports of deaths resulting from 
last weekend's violence.  According to Chambas, no one has 
produced evidence that individuals died because of these 
events, speculating that people are falsely identifying as 
political brutality bodies of petty criminals killed by mob 
violence. 
 
5.  (C)  Despite his overall optimism, Chambas thought Boko's 
actions (which he termed "unilateral") could trigger dissent 
and make the situation in Togo more volatile. Chambas plans 
to go to Abuja on April 23 to meet President Obasanjo and 
prepare for Monday's meeting with Olympio and Gnassingbe. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Olympio Ready for Election 
---------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C)  Opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio stated in a BBC 
interview on April 22 that the opposition is determined to go 
forward with this election on April 24 as planned, despite 
Boko's call for postponement.  A top Olympio assistant (also 
a relative)  confirmed to PolChief this was the opposition 
position, repeating Olympio's statement on the BBC that 
Bokos' actions reflect a sense that the police and military, 
who just voted early, supported the opposition, not the 
government.  The assistant confirmed that Olympio was not/not 
planning to go to Togo for the election because it was not 
safe for him. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Ghana Preparing for Possible Refugee Influx 
 
 
------------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (U)  The GOG and UNHCR have been intensifying their 
preparations for a possible influx of Togolese refugees into 
Ghana.  They have prepared five sites (four in the Volta 
region) which can accommodate tens of thousands of people. 
They hope that many refugees would rely on hospitality from 
family, friends, and good will from their ethnic Ewe 
brethren.  Some Ghana-based NGOs are preparing for a possible 
refugee crisis and have sent staff to the border area. 
 
--------------- 
Press Statement 
--------------- 
 
8.  (U)  Following is an informal Embassy translation of the 
press statement in French issued by President Tandja on 
behalf of ECOWAS on April 22, 2005.  We have faxed original 
copies to AF/W and Embassy Lome. 
 
President Mamadou Tandja, in his capacity in ECOWAS, follows 
with grave concern the evolution of the situation in the 
Republic of Togo, and the message from the Minister of 
Interior to the international press and diplomatic corps on 
April 22 at 3 am which called on the interim President to 
suspend the ongoing electoral process and put in place a 
transition period until certain measures which he (the 
Interior Minister) recommended on his own could be put in 
place. 
 
This declaration came only two days after President Tandja 
hosted a very important and fruitful meeting in Niamey of 
representatives of five political parties involved in the 
election and two days before the April 24 election.  The 
President forcefully condemns this irresponsible initiative, 
which undermines the efforts of ECOWAS and of the 
international community, which is so deeply engaged on behalf 
of the Togolese people and strongly desires to see the 
beginning in Togo of a durable era of peace and democracy. 
 
The President on behalf of ECOWAS reaffirms the commitment of 
ECOWAS to support the electoral process underway in Togo, as 
required by the constitution.  He rejects any effort and 
action taken to disturb public order and bring the country 
into chaos. 
 
The President states that the electoral process must continue 
and that the election must remain on the agreed upon date of 
April 24, 2005.  The President asks the Togolese authorities 
to take, together with the ECOWAS representative in Togo, all 
necessary measures to assure a good electoral process, which 
has already begun for some parts of the Togolese population. 
 
The President recalls the terms of his communique from Niamey 
on April 20, 2005 on the responsibility of candidates, 
parties, or groups of parities in the election.  The 
President appeals to the patriotic and civic sentiments of 
all political classes of Togo as they come out of these 
difficult times, which they do not deserve. 
 
YATES 
 
 
NNNN