UN speaks on Kenya as its boss expected
The United Nations Security Council could get involved in the post-election crisis engulfing the country. This emerged as international pressure for a quick settlement continued piling, with UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon — who is expected in Nairobi on Friday — warning of impending catastrophe. On Wednesday, the Security Council condemned the violence in the country and has given full support to the mediation efforts led by former UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan.
Reuters quoted Britain’s UN Ambassador, Mr John Sawers, saying the fact that the Security Council had taken up the issue showed how serious the situation had become and that it could be more deeply involved if the violence worsened. At the same time, indications have emerged that international leaders might isolate allies of the Kibaki Government to force them to resolve the crisis. Australia said it would limit contact with Cabinet ministers. Canada has also said that with the absence of progress in resolving the crisis, “it will be very difficult to contemplate the maintenance of prior methods of direct government-to-government cooperation”.
The Canadian Ambassador to Kenya, Mr Ross Hynes, said Canada would not work directly with the Government in the absence of concrete progress toward resolving the crisis and “restoring the confidence of the Kenyan people and the international community in the institutions of the Kenyan government. “With respect to official contact and visits, Canadian law precludes the admissibility to Canada of foreign nationals responsible for subverting democratic institutions and processes,” he said in a statement sent to The Standard. Hynes said they had consistently called on both sides to show willingness to end the conflict.
“The ongoing dialogue under the auspices of Kofi Annan offers the best hope for resolution of this crisis and restoration of Kenya’s standing as a pillar of stability and democracy in Africa,” he said. France, Germany and the United Kingdom, together with the EU, have also said the Annan-led talks should be pursued urgently to put in place a government “representative of the will of the Kenyan people”. While condemning the killing of Embakasi MP Mugabe Were on Tuesday, the EU said the stability of Kenya is not only crucial for its own people, but also for the region.
In a joint statement, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr Javier Solana, and the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Mr Louis Michel, condemned the human rights abuses in which nearly 1,000 people, including two MPs, have been killed.
Search for a political solution
“We were shocked to learn of the murder in Nairobi of a Member of Parliament and we condemn the massive human rights abuses and systematic violence being perpetrated in Kenya,” they said. They urged all parties and their followers to refrain from violence and to show utmost restraint.
The EU called upon all leaders to “live up to their responsibilities by engaging fully and unconditionally in the search for a political solution through dialogue”. Separately, the UK has stated that it has stopped conducting “business as usual” with the Government. Ms Charley Williams, a spokeswoman of British Ambassador Mr Adam Wood, however, said they were engaging leading political figures from both sides to push them to resolve the stalemate.
At the UN in New York, the president of the UN Security Council, Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi of Libya, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Council members deplored the continuing violence following the disputed elections in Kenya.” Security Council members “underlined their full support for the efforts of the panel of eminent African personalities, led by Kofi Annan, in seeking to resolve the crisis in Kenya,” he said.
The US Undersecretary for African Affairs, Dr Jendayi Frazer, on Wednesday said the US could be forced to intervene if a solution would not be found soon. “We’ll find an international mechanism if they can’t find it internally,” she said. The Secretary of State, Ms Condoleeza Rice, echoed her sentiments and stressed the urgency for Kenyan leaders to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
But the UN undersecretary-general for political affairs, Ms Lynn Pascoe, told reporters she did not want to use labels to describe the violence, but added: “I think it’s clear that some of the things have been on an ethnic basis.” On its part, Australia said that it would reduce contact with Cabinet ministers, giving an indication that President Kibaki’s Government is increasingly getting isolated internationally.
Australia’s Foreign Affairs minister, Mr Stephen Smith, said: “We will also be keeping under review our development assistance programme provided to Kenya under our African regional programme. In 2006-2007, this assistance was worth $7.2 million,” he said. No western country has so far congratulated Kibaki on his re-election for a second term, which plunged the country into unprecedented violence.
The developments followed reports that the UK had returned military equipment destined for practice by its soldiers in Kenya. The EU has already suspended direct budgetary aid to the Government, but said it would continue supporting projects not involving the State.
East African Standard
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