Kufuor's Togo Trip Comes Under Criticism

Ghana's newly-installed President John Agyekum Kufuor has come under criticism for taking part in the 34th anniversary of the coup that brought Togo's president Gnassingbe Eyadema to power.

Kufuor, and his New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been vehemently against coups, especially as its predecessor, the Progress Party, was ousted in military coup.

The NPP has persistently criticised former president Jerry Rawlings for coming to power in a coup and successfully obtained a Supreme Court injunction that stopped the celebration of Rawlings' second coup on 31 December 1981 as a holiday.

That may be why Kufuor's visit to the Togolese capital, Lome, last Saturday, has triggered a negative reaction from the public.

"The criticism is not over President Kufuor going to Lome," said former foreign minister, James Gbeho.

"That he is entitled to do and should do in order to maintain good relations between two countries. The criticism is over the occasion for which he chose to go," he said.

Gbeho, a seasoned diplomat, said that perhaps Kufuor was new in the job and did not realise the political quagmire that would accompany the visit.

Eyadema, Africa's longest serving president, has been criticised for his refusal to democratise his country which is under sanctions from the European Union over the issue.

His human rights record has also come for serious criticism.

Gbeho said: "The 13th of January signifies nothing else in Togo than the day on which president (Sylvanus) Olympio was brutally murdered in 1963 and there has always been come controversy over the celebration of this day. It is sad that our president has been deceived into participating in this affair."

Olympio's son, Gilchrist, who lives in exile in Ghana, said in a radio interview that he was "puzzled" that Kufuor's first visit should be to a "political dinosaur."

"We have the highest respect for president Kufuor. Now we don't want to blame him for going to Togo. All we are saying is he should have had better advice. He should have been a little circumspect before going to Togo," Olympio said.

Presidential adviser for public affairs Elizabeth Ohene has sought to justify the trip, saying for the economy to work, Kufuor should be at peace and ensure that the country is surrounded by peaceful neighbours.

"He was always going to go there to say thank you very much for coming (to my inauguration). This is a new administration. We hope we will live in peace," she said.

Ohene said the anniversary that Kufuor attended and received one of the country's biggest honours, the Great Cross of Mono, was coincidental.

But many people who phoned into a radio programme that discussed the trip did not think it was coincidental, calling it "hypocritical" and demanding an apology.