A video of a French army officer threatening a local journalist in Togo has led to accusations that colonial attitudes are not dead yet. Lieutenant-Colonel Romuald Létondot has been forced to apologise after being caught on camera intimidating photographer Didier Ledoux at a demonstration in Lomé on Tuesday.
The video of the altercation was published on the popular French left-wing website Rue 89 on Wednesday and had been viewed close to 200,000 times by early Thursday.
In the video, an irate Létondot is seen confronting Ledoux and demanding he delete his photos.
"Do you know who I am?," Létondot asks. "I'm the advisor to the chief of staff of the army. Do you want me to call the RCGP [Presidential Guard Commando Regiment] to sort this out? Then I'm asking you to delete the photos. Is that complicated?"
Later in the video, when Ledoux protests that he is only doing his job, Létondot turns to one of the Togolese gendarmes and says: "Book him."
Létondot, who will finish his tour in Togo in 15 days, apologised to Ledoux at the French embassy in the Togolese capital.
The officer told France 2 TV that the incident happened after demonstrators had thrown a stone at the military vehicle he was driving in.
France 24 on the Togo video
"I showed the evidence to a Togolese gendarme when I realised I'd been photographed and that this photograph could have been misinterpreted, which was the case. I got angry, my intention being to prevent a photo being taken without permission."
The army, the French Ministry of Defence and the French Foreign Ministry have all condemned Létondot's actions.
The incident raised concerns that the image of the French army, which has thousands of soldiers and advisors based in some of its former colonies in Africa, could suffer.
Togo, a west African country situated between Ghana and Benin, gained independence from France in 1960.
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French Military Assistance is Pro Coup dEtat in Africa
France was providing military assistance to the coup détat Guinean troops on 28 September 2009 when they massacred over 150 civilians and raped or sexually abused over 100 women in Conakry.
On 20 May 2010, France was providing military assistance to the coup détat military supporting Andry Rajoelina in Madagascar when 600 pro-coup troops attacked 20 gendarmes (statistics from the Rajoelina military) who dared oppose Andry Rajoelinas regime. Hundreds of unarmed civilians were prevented from leaving the scene by the Rajoelina troops. Four people died, including a pastor and a 65-year old civilian.
Why hadnt France stopped providing military assistance to the Guinean coup détat regime after it gained power via coup détat in December 2008? Why does France still provide military assistance to the Andry Rajoelina regime that came to power in Madagascar by way of a military coup détat in March 2009? The answer is simple: it is Frances policy to provide military assistance to pro-France regimes in Africa whether or not they gained power via coup détat.
Please consider:
- France provided diplomatic protection to Andry Rajoelina in early March 2009, when he was actively engaged in efforts to overthrow Madagascars democratically elected president.
- France provided a surveillance aircraft to Madagascars coup détat military in June 2009.
- On 23 July 2009, France provided a high civilian honor to the former defense minister of Madagascars democratic government, citing her resignation when giving her the award (she later served as vice-prime minister of the coup détat government and briefly as prime minister under Andry Rajoelina).
- Two high-ranking French military officers (a general and the military attaché at the French Embassy in Antananarivo) received military decorations from the Malagasy coup détat military.
- While benefitting from French military assistance, soldiers of the Andry Rajoelina regime shot unarmed protesters in March, April, and September 2009 and in May 2010, leaving about a dozen dead and many wounded.
- On 14 July 2010, France hosted 40 Malagasy coup détat soldiers who marched down the Champs-Elysees to help France celebrate Bastille Day. Among the invitees was Gen. Ndrianarijaona, one of the leaders of Andry Rajoelinas coup détat.
France has yet to explain to the Malagasy people how many French military advisors are in Madagascar, what they are doing, and what training and equipment France is providing to Madagascars coup détat military.
In the case of Madagascar, the US State Department has publicly declared We find military assistance is particularly problematic and question why anyone would want to continue military assistance to a nonconstitutional government.
France should quit providing military assistance to regimes who gained power via coups détat.