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Situation in Kenya
Statement by Bernard Kouchner
January 31, 2008
We are very concerned about the violence which is continuing to
convulse Kenya, causing many victims and bringing the number of
displaced persons to 290,000 in a very disturbing humanitarian
context. Barbarous acts are being committed; civilians are being
killed in horrifying conditions. Women and children are being
violated. Two opposition lawmakers have also been killed.
We fear lest these excesses plunge Kenya into a deadly conflict of
an ethnic character.
The origin of the present crisis lies in the immense
disappointment of the Kenyan people in the face of an election
result marred by irregularities. The solution is political and
must be swift. Both parties now face a historic responsibility:
choose dialogue or bear responsibility for a political and human
catastrophe.
France reaffirms its confidence in Mr. Kofi Annan to pursue his
mediation. It also reaffirms its support for the efforts of the
African Union and the United Nations Secretary-General to end the
violence and find a political solution to the crisis.
In the name of the responsibility to protect, it is urgent to help
the people of Kenya. The United Nations Security Council must take
up this question and act.
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