LOME, Togo (AP) – The man the military picked to succeed his late father as Togo’s president was sworn in Monday even as Western diplomats boycotted the ceremony and hundreds of protesting students tried to disrupt it.

Faure Gnassingbe (pronounced “For Nyah-SING-bay”) came to power in a tiny, impoverished country with little experience of rule of law, having spent nearly 40 years under the ruthless rule of his father. President Gnassingbe Eyadema, who died of a heart attack Saturday, was among the last of Africa’s “Big Men” who held power through patronage, the loyalty of their ethnic and regional groups, and military force.

His son promised change, saying Togo is on the road to democracy. Gnassingbe, wearing a blue suit at his 15-minute inauguration, pledged to “devote all my force to the development of the well-being of all Togolese and respect for human liberties in the national interest.”

Security forces set up barricades in Lome to block hundreds of university students who attempted to march to the city center to disrupt the swearing-in ceremony. Three major Togolese opposition parties called on supporters to strike and stay home Tuesday and Wednesday to protest Gnassingbe’s inauguration, officials said.

At dusk, half a dozen rifle shots – a rarity in Togo – rang out near the central market in Lome. It was not clear who fired the shots, which were not close to any important government building, and the city was otherwise quiet.

There was no immediate sign that instability or violence would ensue. But France, Togo’s colonial ruler along with Britain until 1960, put its troops in the region on alert to protect its 2,500 citizens in the West African nation of 5.5 million.

Togo’s land, sea and air borders, sealed since Eyadema’s death, reopened for the first time Monday, Interior Minister Akila Esso Boko announced on state radio. Traders could be seen crossing the border from Ghana.

Many Western diplomats in Lome boycotted Monday’s swearing in, although ambassadors from Ghana, Congo, Libya, China, Italy, Belgium and Gabon were present, along with members of parliament.

Just before the ceremony at the presidential palace, guests bowed their heads, observing a minute of silence for Eyadema. No date for his funeral has been announced.

The military installed Gnassingbe on Saturday, hours after Eyadema’s death, though the constitution stipulates the parliament speaker was next in line for the presidency.

In an extraordinary session Sunday, the 81-member national assembly approved Gnassingbe as speaker by a vote of 67-14, then voted to change the constitution to allow him to fulfill his father’s term, which expires in 2008.

On Sunday, Gnassingbe – who until Eyadema’s death was minister of communications and a parliament member – told the national assembly that “Togo is engaged without reserve in the democratic process, which I will pursue to its logical conclusion.”

His father had claimed sole control in 1967 after taking a leading role in what was sub-Saharan Africa’s first postcolonial military coup four years earlier. He refused to allow multiparty elections until 1993. The presidential votes held that year, in 1999 and in 2003 were all marred by fraud and violence – and won by Eyadema.

The European Union cut aid to Eyadema’s government in 1993 after allegations that security forces fired upon democracy activists. The United States has pronounced Togo’s transition to democracy “stalled.”

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, executive secretary of the Economic Community of West African States, said in Lome Monday it was “encouraging” the parliament had taken steps to address the constitutional questions surrounding Gnassingbe’s succession.

Chambas’ comments could pave the way for badly needed regional support. Chambas left Togo after talks with Gnassingbe, saying little but describing the meeting as “fruitful.”

The African Union had condemned the army’s appointment of Gnassingbe, calling it a military coup.

In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan emphasized “the need for constitutionality and respect for the rule of law,” U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said. “The secretary-general is concerned that the transfer of power that has taken place in Togo following the death of president Eyadema has not been done in full respect of the provisions of the constitution.”

French President Jacques Chirac spoke Sunday to African leaders and “made it known that the time of military coups d’etat is finished in Africa,” said his defense minister, Michele Alliot-Marie.

On Monday, the French Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the constitutional changes that paved the way for Gnassingbe to assume the presidency and pressed for the quick organization of free, democratic elections.

In Paris, several hundred people shouting “Free Togo” gathered near the Togo Embassy to protest the appointment. Police blocked the protesters from reaching the embassy.

The European Union’s head office kept quiet Monday on whether the 25-nation bloc would recognize Gnassingbe.

The army move and the parliament’s endorsement reflected the determination of the Kabye minority, which dominates the army, to hold onto power along with ruling party members who have benefited from decades of Eyadema’s patronage.

Had the army not stepped in, the interim presidency legally would have gone to Fanbare Ouattara Natchaba, the speaker of parliament, who was in Europe when Eyadema died. Natchaba is from the small Tchokossi ethnic group.

AP-ES-02-07-05 1717EST