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afrol News, 11 March - After a period of relative calm, the Togolese press now faces a seemingly massive government-led assault. A number of seizures have befallen a number of newspapers close to the opposition over the last ten days. According to information collected by the French media watchdog Reporters sans frontières (RSF), on 4 April, the Interior Minister had ordered the seizure of copies of 'La Tribune du Peuple' for "offensive comments". Kodjo Afatsao Siliadin, the weekly newspaper's editor and author of the article in question, has gone into hiding. The day before, the newspaper had criticised the treatment by three agents of the Togo Armed Forces (FAT) of a blacksmith accused of theft. Death threats have been repeatedly aimed at Lucien Djossou Messan, news editor of the weekly 'Le Combat du Peuple' and senior member of the Togolese press corps. In its 2 April edition the newspaper said that, "for some time, real and specific death threats" had been made against the editor. RSF recalls that Messan had been sentenced on 5 June 2001 to twelve months in prison for "falsehoods and use of falsehoods." He was freed by a presidential pardon after five months of imprisonment. On 8 April, several hundred copies of 'Motion d'Information' were seized for publishing a story saying that a dozen opposition students escaped "a wave of planned arrests". On 9 April, several thousand copies of Regard were confiscated, following an article on massive human rights violations accusations in Togo by Amnesty International. According to the newspaper, the case was dropped at the NATO Commission on Human Rights in Geneva because Togo was supported by other "countries violating human rights". The 4 January 2000 Press Code, allowing the Minister of Interior and Security to seize any publication with "offensive content" is apparently now being systematically exploited in order to render the opposition harmless. This code has been under constant criticism, and RSF has confronted Interior Minister, General Sizing Walla on the issue and demanded reform. Togo has been in the focus of press watchdogs for a period of several years, following the alleged repressive regime of President Gnassingbé Eyadéma. The ongoing so-called Inter-Togolese Dialogue between the government and the opposition theoretically had assured a freer position for the press. Human rights are an essential part of the dialogue. Reports by various human rights groups indicate that the Togolese press freedom situation has not improved significantly over the last year. According to the '2001 World Press Freedom Review', the Togolese government "has made enthusiastic use of its amended Press Code to seize newspaper editions and arrest journalists" over the last year.
Sources: Based on RSF, and afrol archives
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