The World Court should immediately review the dynamics of the violence in Kenya and take steps to remove Mr. Kibaki to the detention of the World Court for allowing such violence to be organized and supported by his police forces.
On Tuesday, Mr. Kibaki, center, began formal negotiations with Mr. Odinga, right. Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, has been in Kenya for a week trying to bring the two sides together. So far, neither has budged.
Fresh violence began Tuesday after Melitus Mugabe Were, a freshman member of Parliament, was dragged out of his car and shot to death. Mr. Were was an opposition politician who grew up in a slum, became a businessman and then gave back. He sponsored teenage mothers to go to college, married a woman of another ethnic group and resisted his party's often belligerent talk. As Kenya slid into chaos this past month after a disputed election, he shuttled between leaders of different ethnic groups and tried to organize a peace march.
It's happening, isn't it?
A tire burned on top of a truck serving as a makeshift roadblock in Kisumu. The town is now almost completely ethnically cleansed of Kikuyus, and mobs armed with makeshift weapons erected burning roadblocks and searched for the few Kikuyu targets remaining.
Ethnic cleansing and in all places, Kenya.
There needs to be a review of the 'lead up' to the elections in Kenya to determine whom was involved in organizing the post elections violence that has lead to the annhilation so far of the Kikuyus in one town. This type of dynamic doesn't happen in complete chaos. There needs to be weapons and soldiers ready and willing. This was an initiative planned long before the elections took place and disaffected the elections with 'on the street' fear of the outcome.
The Kenya elections need to be re-engaged and a new election planned and carried out by a United Nations third party. The African Union needs to put pressure on the leadership in Kenya to end the violence and bring about new elections because of the post election violence. Anytime there is violence following elections there needs to be a reassessment of the pre-election campaigns and the intent of their messages leading to the post-election violence. Then without delay new elections planned.
No election followed by violence in any country to this scale should be met with acceptance of the newly elected leader and economic sanctions should be an immediate response. Post election violence has to end as a strategy to 'ruling' a country and ridding it of it's competition. Becoming a national leader does not bring the 'pleasure' of power to order the deaths of people that disapprove.
US Envoy Calls Kenya Violence 'Ethnic Cleansing,' Not Genocide (click here)
By VOA News 30 January 2008
A senior U.S. diplomat says "ethnic cleansing" is underway in Kenya's Rift Valley in the aftermath of last month's disputed presidential election, but she says the violence does not rise to the level of genocide.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told reporters Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that the aim of the violence in the Rift Valley is to push certain people out of the region.
Frazer said the United States is reviewing its aid to Kenya in light of the political turmoil there....
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