ecumenical bodies said Friday, May 20, they urged the African Union and the Economic Community of West Africa to bring Togo’s government and the opposition "to the negotiating table" amid fears Christians are suffering because of escalating tensions.
Adding to concern were reports late Friday, May 20, that the opposition’s presidential candidate, Emmanuel Akitani-Bob had a stroke and was flown to the American Hospital in Neuilly, outside Paris, France.
Churches and local missionaries are reportedly especially suffering because of violence in the African nation between supporters of Togo’s new president Faure Gnassingbe and supporters of opposition leaders. "Some have said that government leaders want to take to actions against churches in days to come," one native missionary said in a statement seen by BosNewsLife News Center, apparently on condition of anonymity.
Violence erupted in Togo following presidential elections on April 24 and the announcement that Faure Gnassingbe, the son of former president General Gnassingbe Eyadema, had been elected to succeed his father as president. Observers claimed the election was fraudulent.
Citizens took to the streets in protests, many of which reportedly turned deadly. "Over 100 people, most protesters armed with slingshots and machetes, have been killed since the election. Thousands of Togolese worried about escalating violence have fled to neighboring Ghana and Benin," added Christian Aid Mission (CAM), which supports indigenous missionaries in the troubled nation.
CHRISTIANS IN DANGER
"Togolese Christians may be in even more danger than other citizens because, according to one native mission leader, the new government perceives them as unsupportive. He says that shortly before elections were to be held in early May, three church leaders approached authorities to ask for postponement of voting. Now, the mission leader believes, the government may turn against all Christians and crack down on their freedom," CAM said.
Christians comprise about 29 percent of Togo’s roughly 5.5 million strong population, according to official estimates. In addition missionary workers are also "facing not only growing danger but also growing poverty. Togo’s current situation has worsened an already struggling economy, making survival even more difficult for native missionaries," CAM claimed.
The WCC agreed and noted that "once again, it is the people of Togo who are paying the heaviest tribute to the situation left by the sham of the recent elections, with 20,000 refugees in neighboring Benin and Ghana and several hundred dead". It statement came on the heals of a final letter issued after the weeklong Conference on World Mission and Evangelism.
HEALING AND RECONCILIATION
In it the WCC urged churches everywhere to become "healing and reconciling communities of hope," open to all. "God calls us to be a community of hope. ‘Called in Christ to be reconciling and healing communities’, we have continued here in Athens the task of defining the kind of community God desires us to become, a community that bears witness to the Gospel in word and deed; that is alive in worship and learning; proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all."
The Conference on World Mission and Evangelism met in Athens, Greece, from May 9 till May 16 under the theme "Come, Holy Spirit, Heal and Reconcile! Called in Christ to be Reconciling and Healing Communities." It was one of the broadest gatherings of Christian churches and organizations in the early 21st century, the WCC said.
The ecumenical appeal was made in an 18 May joint statement that emphasized that the election was "a sham", and that its results "in no way legitimize the power in place". (With reports from Togo, Greece, BosNewsLife Research and Stefan J. Bos)
