Togo: Quiet, there's an election.

The increase in the number of attacks on the freedom of expression since the beginning of 2003 illustrates the exacerbation of tension on the eve of elections in Togo. This document’s objective is to give a few recent examples of the intimidation, arrests and torture used to silence opposition, and to highlight how the situation has deteriorated since the beginning of 2003. In this electoral year, which is traditionally a troubled period in Togo, Amnesty International appeals to the different Togolese parties and to the international community to do everything possible to avoid a repeat of the unrest suffered by the country in 1998, unrest that could plunge the country into chaos and force the civilian population into exile.