Annan-led talks now suspended as MP dies
The Kofi Annan-led mediation talks got under way on Thursday, but had to be suspended following the killing of another MP. Members of the two negotiating teams representing their leaders — President Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga — are said to have endorsed a document detailing the rules of engagement. The endorsement of the documents is seen as an acceptance of the name of another mediator who will sit in for the mediation talks should Annan and any member of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities be away.
The Standard reliably learnt that the teams had accepted South Africa ANC party’s Head of Negotiation Commission, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa. However, the teams had not begun discussing the details of the disputed presidential election. Sources said the Panel of Eminent African Personalities discussed an immediate action to stop violence and restore fundamental rights and liberties. This was amongst the agenda set out by Annan in his document, Suggested Agenda for National Dialogue on the Resolution of the Political Crisis in Kenya. The other key agenda in the talks is finding a solution to the political crisis that has engulfed the country since the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) declared President Kibaki the winner of last month’s presidential elections.
The teams are expected to discuss the possibility of power sharing, constitutional review and reforms in the ECK. The PNU negotition team includes:Education minister, Prof Sam Ongeri, Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister, Ms Martha Karua and Mbooni MP, Mr Mutula Kilonzo. The ODM team includes: deputy leader, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, Eldoret North MP Mr William Ruto and Aldai MP, Dr Sally Kosgei. Meanwhile, European leaders have signed a joint statement following talks in Downing Street on Tuesday.
“We welcome the achievement of Kofi Annan in bringing the two sides together to launch the national dialogue,” they said. The statement was signed by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, President Nicolas Sarkozy (France), Chancellor Angela Merkel (Germany) Prime Minister Romano Prodi (Italy) and President Jose Manuel Barroso (EU). At the same time, the PNU Parliamentary Group has told the US it will not accept imposed solutions to the crisis. The group said it would not accept threats.
Led by the secretary to the group, Garsen MP Mr Danson Mungatana, they said the solution is not in Washington DC. The MPs were addressing the Press at Freedom Corner, where they laid flowers as they called for peace. Mungatana and his colleagues, who met in the morning, were reacting to a statement attributed to the US assistant secretary of State, Dr Jendayi Frazer.
“We take exception to the remarks attributed to Fraser whose statement on imposing a solution from outside is uncalled for,” he said. He added that as much as the Government welcomed efforts to solve the current crisis, the international community should support dialogue. “We still want to believe that the remarks were those of Frazer and not the position of the US Government,” said Mungatana. Mungatana was accompanied by MPs Mr Abu Chiaba, Mr Johnson Muthama, Mr Lenny Kivuti, Mr Jeremiah Kioni, Mr David Njuguna, Mr Katoo ole Metito, Mr Peter Mwathi, Mr Clement Wambugu and Mr Abdulkadir Hussein. The MPs called on Kenyans not to succumb to the urge to revenge. They also called to an end to the reported threats to journalists.
East African Standard
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