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Kenya: IDPs Not Safe, Lawyer Says
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The East African Standard (Nairobi)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
Robert Nyasato
Nairobi
Calls for displaced people to return to their homes have been dismissed.
The International Commission of Jurists Executive Director, Mr George Kegoro, said on Wednesday that tribal tension was still rife and warned of a resurgence of atrocities if historical injustices and ethnic enmity were not addressed.
Speaking after visiting the Ekerenyo camp for displaced people in Nyamira District, Kegoro said the power-sharing deal between President Kibaki and ODM leader, Mr Raila Odinga, was a cosmetic solution that may not hold the nation together for long.
"Kenyans should not deceive themselves that all is well because the cause of the problem has been grossly undefined. Despite Kibaki and Raila shaking hands, tribalism still thrives and IDPs are still viewed as foreigners in their former homes," said Kegoro.
He also challenged the Government to get a long-term solution to avoid future clashes, pointing out that the problem had afflicted the same people in 1992 and 1997.
He noted that the displaced people were unwilling to go back to their farms because security was not guaranteed and reasons for their eviction had not been addressed.
Kegoro added that tension among communities still simmered.
"Unless the Government wants a holocaust in Kenya, IDPs should not be asked to return to their homes. Let proper statutes to ensure their security be put in place first," he said.
In Kisii, displaced people are in three camps - Ekerenyo, Riatengeya and Keroka - that shelter more than 5,000 people.
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Kegoro added that a truth and reconciliation commission should be set up now to establish the cause of atrocities directed at certain communities.
"We already know the IDPs' story and the agony of their displacement. But nobody has bothered to question their attackers on why they wanted them out of their land. Let them air their views for Kenyans to understand the cause of the clashes," he said.
He also took issue with politicians for rallying their followers against certain communities and sitting on the fence as the nation sought for peace.
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