POLITICAL ACTORS FACING THE QUEST FOR A TOGOLESE IDENTITY AND NATIONAL RECONCILIATION (Professor Essohanam BATCHANA)

With an area of 56,600 km², Togo is home to some forty ethnic groups. In this small territory of less than 7 million inhabitants (RGPH1 2010), there are more than 109 political parties of various tendencies. Since the colonial era, these actors animating the political scene have been tearing each other apart over vital issues, leading to political crises and inter-community clashes. These acts of violence led political authorities, as early as May 1963, to create a Reparations Commission to compensate victims of political persecutions between April 27, 1958, and January 13, 1963. Forty-six (46) years later, the government was again obliged to create another reconciliation body, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (CVJR). This commission examined politically motivated violence between 1958 and 2005 and made recommendations to reform Togolese society.

These reforms are struggling to materialize, as the actors involved in the process cannot agree on their implementation. In a historical approach, this communication shows that in Togo, consensus has always been difficult to find: controversial memorial dates, misused national emblems, elusive national heroes, etc.

It also attempts to understand political dissensions in Togo and questions the feasibility of reforms if the actors themselves are not reformed.

Read the full communication: Panel 5b Political actors facing the quest for a Togolese identity and national reconciliation_Prof BATCHAN