SECTOR 1 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 4,5 1.2 The right to freedom of expression is practised and citizens, including journalists, are asserting their rights without fear. There was profound disagreement over the question whether the right to freedom of expression is being exercised effectively and fully. Some panelists argued that the Togolese, long deprived of their right to freedom of speech, are now profiting greatly from new spaces for civil liberties won over the past few years. “It’s as if they were suppressed and boxed in and, suddenly, the floodgates have been opened”. One example cited in support of this view is the proliferation of interactive programmes on radio channels, especially since the presidential elections in March 2010. “Today, in Lomé, people can say anything, anywhere. Just few years ago, they could not express themselves freely, even in their own homes”, said one panelist. He recalled the case of two of his colleagues who were fired during that period, one of them for having established a political party. According to another group on the panel the right to freedom of expression can only be exercised at a superficial level. The scope and effectiveness of this right seem to depend largely on the subject in question, the category of citizen making use of it, the period concerned, the sociopolitical context at the time and the place where the right is being exercised. Examples quoted in support of this view are the numerous interventions by the HAAC in the work of journalists and the media, the complaints submitted by the authorities, and the threats that journalists face. A panelist mentioned the case of journalists who were summoned and severely reprimanded by the HAAC, one of them for having compiled a dossier on the independence of the country. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TOGO 2010 83