1.
LV PAN of memorial, with crowd massed
0.18

2.
MV PAN VIPs TO Archbishop conducting service
0.32

3.
MV PAN Members of diplomatic corps
0.43

4.
MV PAN Members of Government
0.50

5.
CU President
0.56

6.
MV Archbishop conducting services PAN DOWN TO table
1.07

7.
MCV PAN VIPs
1.22

8.
MCV Members of choir
1.26

9.
MV Archbishop & others move forward
1.36

10.
MLV Memorial
1.38

11.
MV Members of armed forces & VIPs
1.47



Initials SGM/1341 SGM/1415



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Togo President Etienne Eydema said at a memorial service last week (21st June) that he was ready to welcome anyone who would help towards his country's progress, but those who waited in exile to reimpose their opposition could expect nothing.

General Eydema was speaking at the dedication of a monument to 20 Togo rebels who died in June 1957, fighting for the independence achieved 3 years later. The monument was unveiled in a tiny village on the outskirts of Lama-Kara, a town 350 kilometres (200 miles) north of Lome.

SYNOPSIS: In a tiny village on the outskirts of Lama-Kara, 350 kilometres (200 miles) north of Lome, thousands of Togolese attended a memorial service last week in honour of those who died in the fight for independence. The monument commemorates 20 Togo rebels who died in 1957. Independence was finally achieved in 1960. Celebrant at the Memorial Mass was Archbishop Bakpessi, but also present were seven protestant pastors from the surrounding district. There was also a large contingent from the foreign diplomatic corps resident in Lome.

Togolese Government Ministers, officials and military leaders attended, and President Etienne Eyadema took advantage of the occasion to make a major political statement.

Speaking out against subversive forces, he said he was ready to welcome anyone who would help towards Togo's progress, but those waiting in exile to re-impose their opposition to his four-year rule could expect nothing. The President said that since he took over the country in January 1967, he and his regime had not ceased to appeal to all those who could contribute to building a nation. It was a constant comfort to him to see how these appeals had been met. But he said that if there were some downcast souls, nostalgic for the past, still in exile, they should know that the would never be allowed back. They were mistaken if they thought they could one day return to the country to claim their victims.