I pointed out previously that Togo was one of the few countries that voted in support of the United States’ decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. To express its gratitude to these countries, the Trump Administration has decided to hold an exclusive party for the nations that voted in support of this decision. This will include Togo. The hypocrisy behind this all is that Donald Trump is now expressing his support for the people of Iran as they protest against the oppression that they are facing, while also ignoring the protests that has been going on in Togo since August. The U.S. is watching Iran, but also deliberately turning a blind eye to the people of Togo.
Donald Trump isn’t the only political candidate from 2016 to demonstrate hypocrisy in this regard. Hillary Clinton has also expressed her support for the protests of the Iranian people, but has not said a word on Togo. This is consistent with her position as Secretary of State when she visited Togo and did not utter a single word of condemnation over the severe human rights abuses that were being carried out by Faure Gnassingbé’s government. As I pointed out in a previous article, Robert Mugabe was shunned by the Obama Administration, but the Obama Administration had no issue with embracing Faure Gnassingbé. In fact, Hillary Clinton took a trip to Togo in 2012 where she met with Faure and spoke of the “democratic gains” that Togo was making. The reality was that there were no democratic gains. Faure’s government has always been a dictatorial and repressive one, and elections have always been fraudulent. If there was any doubt about how undemocratic Togo is, one only needs to look at the violence that is being unleashed against the non-violent protesters in Togo. Yet the Obama Administration could not be bothered to condemn the human rights abuses in Togo, just as the Trump Administration could not be bothered to speak out in support of the Togolese people.
One of the few areas where you find bipartisan among Democrats and Republicans seems to be in their disregard for people of African descent, whether it is African Americans who have to protest simply to have their grievances be recognized by the political leaders or the Togolese people who are protesting and still being ignored. As I have argued previously, the race problem in President Trump’s White House is not a lack of diversity. It’s a lack of concern and a lack of real sympathy for the struggles that people of African descent continue to face. As Hillary Clinton has demonstrated, this is an issue that plagues Democrats as well.
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