The African Union’s Peace and Security Council was to meet on Thursday to consider further sanctions against the government of Togo, where the military installed Faure Gnassingbe as president to replace his late father.
The African Union, modelled on the United Nations Security Council, is likely to support measures similar to those taken by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which at the weekend suspended Togo’s membership, imposed an arms embargo on Lome and recalled ambassadors to the country, diplomats said.
”It will be a question of examining the situation in Togo in comparison with the latest developments with the possibility of imposing sanctions if necessary,” said an AU diplomat.
”The idea is initially to reinforce the sanctions taken by Ecowas by extending their application to all AU member states,” the diplomat said.
Also on Thursday, Gnassingbe (39) was in Gabon for talks with President Omar Bongo Ondimba, a veteran leader of French-speaking West Africa, amid the deepening crisis over the Togolese army’s decision to appoint him president two days after the sudden death on February 5 of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema.
His accession to the presidency after the ruling party pushed hastily adopted constitutional changes through Parliament has been deemed a power grab by much of the international community, and Togo has slipped deeper into isolation in recent days.
On Wednesday, the European Union threatened to slap unspecified ”measures” on Togo, joining the United States in backing AU and Ecowas efforts to restore consitutional rule and democracy to the West African nation.
Togo suspended its participation in the AU after the Peace and Security Council threatened sanctions on February 8.
But an AU official stood by the threat and said the organisation could not afford to remain silent on the matter without damaging its credibility.
”To accept this kind of political situation is not tolerable anymore for the AU,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
”One hopes that the African Union member states will not accept it. It is a question of the organisation’s credibility and respect for our principles.”
For many observers, the AU’s handling of the crisis in Togo will be a test of whether the organisation is an effective successor to the moribund post-colonial Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
The OAU, which was disbanded and replaced by the AU in 2002, was frequently criticised for inaction, particularly in dealing with coups d’etat.
In all but one case — the secession of the Comoros island of Anjouan in 2001 — the OAU never imposed any punishment harsher than suspension.
The Peace and Security Council can, among other measures, suspend AU members from the group’s activities, suspend commercial ties with nations where there has been an undemocratic change in government and issue visa bans.
”It is not just symbolism,” AU spokesperson Adam Thiam said. ”The states take the sanctions very seriously because it deprives them of a continental platform.
”[Sanctions] are a way of saying that our principles should be respected,” he said. – Sapa-AFP