Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
10 January 2008

By Ekwow Godwin
Lome
Togo has always enjoyed the paraphernalia of pomp and pageantry every year with elaborate National Parades when the country marks the 13th of January 1967 anniversary which officially symbolizes the day the late President Gnassingbé Eyadema came to power after ousting the country’s second Civilian President Nicolas Grunitzky in 1967.Nicolas Grunitzky who was of northern Kabye and southern Ewe stock with Polish ancestry replaced assassinated first civilian President Sylvanus Olympio after the January 13, 1963 military coup d’etat.

But the celebration of Eyadema’s National Liberation Day has been a source of political controversy with the Togolese opposition parties criticizing it as Togo’s day of shame because the 13th of January is regarded as a double edged sword which carries sad memories marking the day on which Togo’s first civilian President Sylvanus Olympio was assassinated in 1963 by Togolese army veterans from the French Legion.

The controversy has for a long time been sharp, and always polarized the country.

But a press statement released from the office of Pascal Bodjona, government Spokesman last night in Lome announced that the government has suspended the celebration of the 13th of January as a national holiday.

The official statement said that henceforth the 13th of January will now be celebrated in the military barracks.

The statement said Muslims and Christian would now use The 13th of January as a day of National Reflection and prayers alike in the spirit of national reconciliation.

In the past while members of the ruling party savored the glory of a colourful annual festival in which the Armed and Security Forces mounted spectacular national parades with their civilian counterparts on the Boulevard du Mono in Lomé, the Togolese opposition parties who cried outrage, boycotted the events and held solemn church services in the memory of the late President Sylvanus Olmypio.

Even though in 2005, President Faure Gnassingbé in a rare show of the spirit of national reconciliation for the first time in 40 years declared Sylvanus Olympio the Father of Togo’s Independence and called for a national church service in his memory, the 13th of January which has a double meaning in Togo’s political history was still officially celebrated with a grand national military and civilian parade.

Last year the Togolese opposition UFC party condemned the celebrations saying that “it was a matter of regrets for President Faure Gnassingbé to talk of national reconciliation while at the same time he went ahead to celebrate the day of shame marking the assassination of the country’s first civilian Head of State”.

They condemned the celebrations as “a sheer waste of the tax payers money”.

But after three years of deep reflection President Faure Gnassingbé appears to have got a change of heart and mind.

Reliable sources said the decision not to celebrate the 13th of January met with stiff resistance from some die-hard military conservatives who regaled in the 40 years old festival as an occasion for enjoying the fruits of their labour.

But many Togolese independent newspapers alleged that the voices of dissent were later silenced and pacified by President Faure Gnassingbé.

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Copyright © 2008 Ghanaian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

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