Americans are Being Made to Finance the Murder of Togolese Children

The dictatorship that has ruled Togo for the past 52 years has been one of the most brutal and repressive regimes on the African continent. Not even children in Togo have been spared of the government's brutality. This was demonstrated a few days ago when a boy was shot and killed during the military crackdown of the protests in Togo. This is far from being the first time that the dictatorship in Togo has targeted children. In 2013, 12 year old Anselme Sinandaré was killed by the security forces in Togo. The security forces in Togo also indiscriminately fire teargas, which has, on numerous occasions, led to children and even infants being suffocated by the tear gas. In one particular occasion, the security forces fired teargas into a home with a baby inside.

As deplorable as these actions on the part of the Togolese government is, the United States continues to turn a blind eye to these atrocities and it continues to finance the government of Togo. Earlier this year the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) approved of a $35 million threshold program for Togo. The Federation of Afrikan Liberation believes that it is wrong for the United States government to continue to spend the money of tax payers in support of a government that brutalizes children in Togo, especially since African American children here in the United States live in communities that are impoverished and neglected. While the U.S. provides military training for the Togolese soldiers who shoot and teargas children, African American children in Baltimore attend schools that do not have proper heating for the winter.