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Solidarity with the People of
Kenya
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP)
January 18, 2008 08:23 AM
The violence and bloodshed that has shaken the neighboring country
of Kenya has saddened the EPRP and the people of Ethiopia who have
first hand experience of electoral fraud and ruthless repression
of dissent. The results of the Kenyan election, as announced, and
proclaiming incumbent president Mwai Kibaki the winner, are
justifiably contested by the opposition ODM led by Raila Odinga.
The EPRP has for long expressed its solidarity with the people of
Kenya who have had to endure the dark years of misrule and
corruption under the Arap Moi regime. The struggle to have a multi
party system in the place of one party rule by KANU cost the lives
of many Kenyans and, in this fight for democracy, the EPRP had
stood with the people of Kenya and its solidarity was not only
verbal. With the advent of Mwai Kibaki there were hopes that
things would change for the better but there is no denying that,
despite some changes, the official corruption that had plagued the
KenyanState has actually intensified. Surrounded by unstable
States in the Horn of Africa, Kenya's stability had also been made
precarious by foreign elements attempting to fight their battles
on Kenyan soil. Ethiopians on their part have been saddened by the
close relations maintained by the Kenyan government with the
repressive regime in Addis Ababa and the fact that Kenya has
deported many refugees back to Ethiopia.
The support given to repressive regimes by the West, for one
reason or another, has worked against the holding of free
elections in Africa as a whole. In Ethiopia, a vicious and
genocidal tyrant considered as a reliable foot soldier in "the war
against terror" has been backed by the West even if he committed
electoral fraud and massacred unarmed protesters. Washington is
now referring to the "irregularities" of the Kenyan election but
even such a mild rebuke was not heard back in May 2005 when the
voice and choice of the people got trampled upon by the regime in
Addis Ababa. Be that as it may, the violence that erupted in Kenya
has had bad repercussions in that civilians and innocent people
have been victimized and the fires of ethnic conflict stroked.
This is tragic as it will eventually divide Kenya along ethnic
lines and destabilize it for years to come.
The EPRP calls on the ODM and the ruling party to try to find a
peaceful solution to the crisis, a solution that will respect the
will and choice of the people and put an end to any fraudulent
action that had taken place. The will and choice of the Kenyan
people must be respected and the wanton violence must be stopped
by all parties concerned as this leads nowhere but to disaster and
division. The EPRP expresses its solidarity with the Kenyan people
and calls upon them to stand united against the forces of
dictatorship and tyranny.
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP)
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