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Kenya: AU Poised to Launch Diplomatic Effort to Curb Crisis
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The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
3 January 2008
Posted to the web 3 January 2008
Addis Ababa
In an effort to help initiate a process of dialogue and reconciliation to end ethnic riots that have killed almost 250 people, Ghanaian president and African Union chairman John Agyekum Kufuor is planning a mediation mission in Kenya, AU said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ghanaian Foreign Minister Akwasi Osei-Adjei said Kufuor was waiting to speak by telephone with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki before deciding whether to send a delegation to the east African country to mediate or go himself.
He will be leading a high level delegation that includes AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Said Djinit.
The Commission on Monday said dialogue was the only solution to solve the post-electoral crisis facing Kenya.
The African Union and Commonwealth had agreed to try to reconcile the rivals in Kenya's worest political crisis that followed the disputed re-election in a Dec. 27 poll and accusations of vote-rigging triggered the bloodshed.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he had spoken to Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga and urged them to seek a peaceful solution, according to a new report which cited a statement.
"I have urged both Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga to exercise restraint and responsible leadership," Brown was quoted as saying.
Kufuor had agreed to help initiate a process of dialogue and reconciliation, Brown said, adding: "This offers an opportunity to stop the violence and to help Kenyans unite." Britain is Kenya's former colonial power.
"I want to see the possibility explored where they can come together in government. But the first priority is that the violence is brought to an end. It is unacceptable that lives are being lost," Brown said.
Kibaki was sworn in on Sunday after official election results showed he had narrowly beaten Odinga.
Both sides have accused the other of vote-rigging in the presidential and parliamentary ballots. The EU observer mission said in its assessment the votes had "fallen short of key international and regional standards for democratic elections".
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura cancelled a visit to Kenya scheduled for this week due to the unrest, Kyodo news agency reported. The ministry said Japan regretted "confusion" in the ballot-counting and the ensuing violence, Kyodo said.
"Japan calls upon leaders of the government and opposition parties to begin talks aimed at reconciliation so as to avoid a regression in Kenya's democracy," a ministry press officer said.
France and Germany also urged Kenya's political leaders to act responsibly.
"France is concerned by the violence over the last few days in Kenya. It calls on all the political leaders to contribute to restoring calm and avoiding any kind of action that could add to the tensions," the Foreign Ministry said in statement.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier backed a demand by the EU observers for an investigation into the results and urged the political rivals to find a peaceful solution.
"Further violence must be prevented," he said.
The disputed result has ignited long-simmering tribal rivalries in one of Africa's most stable democracies and strongest economies.
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About 30 villagers, including children, were killed on Tuesday when a mob set light to a church near the town of Eldoret where hundreds of Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe had taken refuge.
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