That from the report released from allAfrica.com within the last few hours.

The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should be commended for imposing punitive sanctions against Togo and forcing the illegal president to come to his senses and heed international calls for a return to democracy and the rule of law. The stepping down of Eyadema should be a warning and a lesson to other potential despots that the African continent has no time for them.

As posted this morning, the media too is waking from it’s slumber.

afrol reports seven private radio and TV stations are rebroadcasting though several opposition broadcasters are not back on the air. IFEX has more,

A lower court in Lome has withdrawn an order that kept two radio stations off the air for the past two weeks. Radio Nana FM manager Peter Dogbe and Radio Kanal FM manager Modeste Mesavusu-Ekue said their stations were able to resume broadcasting on 24 February 2005. The only other radio station that was still closed, Radio Lumiere, in the town of Aneho, east of Lome, was permitted to resume broadcasting the same afternoon. The station had to use rented equipment, however, because its own equipment, which had been confiscated, was returned in very poor condition, manager Kossigan Zinsou said.

These first steps towards normalization are an excellent excersize for the African Union in preparing for the road ahead.

West African leaders flew into Togo’s capital yesterday in the first high-level visit by regional heads of state since the country’s army-appointed president bowed to fierce international pressure and resigned.

African nations welcomed Togo back into the fold after Faure Gnassingbe stepped down on Friday, ending weeks of diplomatic isolation.