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Annan team pledges to end
violence in 7 days
Story by BERNARD NAMUNANE and PATRICK NZIOKA
Publication Date: 2/1/2008
The Government and ODM negotiators Thursday gave hope to millions
of Kenyans deeply hit by a political crisis by agreeing that the
ongoing violence must end in seven days.
The talks are expected to be boosted Friday by the arrival of
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to offer support to
his predecessor, Mr Kofi Annan, who is leading the mediation
process.
The two teams will today decide on a proposal to bring on board
former African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Cyril
Ramaphosa as the chief mediator of the talks.
The six-member team, which will henceforth be called the Kenya
National Dialogue Team, emerged from their inaugural meeting
chaired by Mr Annan beaming with optimism at progress of the talks.
In a joint statement, MPs Mutula Kilonzo on the Government side
and William Ruto of the ODM team were optimistic that a peaceful
solution to the political crisis would be arrived at sooner than
later.
Said Mr Kilonzo, the Mbooni MP: “The country would be amazed by
the speed with which this committee has deliberated on the issues
today (Thursday). The committee was discussing the agenda and most
of the things discussed have been agreeable.”
Mr Ruto, the ODM Pentagon member, said the committee was
determined to go through the issues placed before them by the
Annan team with a view to striking a peace deal.
“We are determined to get a solution to the problems facing this
country.
We have covered a lot of ground, which is a positive development.
A peaceful solution is likely to emerge and you can be sure that
nothing will derail us,” he said.
The MP urged Kenyans and the international community to support
the committee in its efforts to find a solution to the crisis
whose subsequent violence has led to the death of more than 850
people.
Speaking after adjourning the session following the gunning down
of Ainamoi MP David Kimutai Too in Eldoret, Mr Annan said he was
happy with the pace at which the two teams had started the talks,
which he described as “constructive”.
“The committee has demonstrated that it is committed to resolve
the issues as quickly as possible. We know Kenyans are waiting for
results but I would urge that we give these leaders time as they
have shown that they can work in reasonable time to resolve the
matter before them,” he said.
The Government and ODM appointed their negotiators following a
request on Sunday by Mr Annan and his team, which is made up of
former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa and Mrs Graca Machel to
take the mediation process into the second stage of talks to end
the crisis.
The Government named Mr Kilonzo and Cabinet ministers Martha Karua
and Sam Ongeri while ODM settled on Mr Ruto, presidential running
mate Musalia Mudavadi and Aldai MP Sally Kosgei.
However, the shooting to death of Mr Too appeared to have
highlighted the urgency of ending the violence, which Mr Annan
stressed has to stop.
However, police described Mr Too’s killing as a crime of passion,
saying he was involved in a love triangle. “The violence must stop.
There is no reason whatsoever for anyone to take the law into
their hands. The Government must move quickly to investigate the
matter and bring those involved to justice,” he said.
Mr Ruto and Mr Kilonzo agreed with the position of the former UN
boss and called on Kenyans to stop killing each other because
their leaders were working on a solution to the crisis.
“The solution to the problem is in this room (the meeting room at
Serena Hotel) and we should be given an opportunity to work on
peace,” Mr Kilonzo said.
Mr Ruto said the violence would not stop the committee from
achieving its target.
“Nothing will derail us; we shall stay the course to find a
lasting solution,” he said.
It later emerged that the committee had set for themselves a
period of seven days to end the violence and intensify the
humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced people who
were in camps, churches and at police stations.
End the crisis
It is understood that Mr Annan said the biggest danger to the
mediation was the spiralling violence, which had to be stopped.
An end to violence was one of the four items on the agenda that
was set for negotiations by the Annan team.
We also learnt that the committee agreed with the agenda that was
set and would Friday start going through the proposals by the
mediation team on how to solve each item.
The items were immediate action to stop the violence, restoration
of fundamental rights and liberties of Kenyans; and immediate
measures to tackle the humanitarian crisis, settlement of
internally displaced people and promotion of national healing and
reconciliation.
The third item on the agenda was how to overcome the current
political crisis, which, he observed, was precipitated by issues
of power and functionality of institutions.
The Annan team has proposed “some form of power sharing” as a
solution to the Presidential elections dispute. He has also
suggested review of the Constitution and electoral laws to avoid
similar occurrences in future.
The fourth item on the agenda involves long-term issues focusing
on land reforms, tackling poverty, widespread inequality and
regional imbalances, unemployment and national cohesion.
Both sides have handed in their responses to the proposals with
ODM calling for a forensic audit into the prevailing circumstance
before and after the elections with a view to finding out whether
a free and fair poll was possible.
They also want President Kibaki to accept that he lost the
elections to Mr Odinga and promptly resign from office to pave way
for a rerun of the Presidential elections.
They also floated as an option formation of an interim government
- to include both PNU and ODM - as the country prepares for fresh
elections.
The Government has countered that President Kibaki validly won the
elections, was constitutionally sworn in and has formed a
legitimate Government.
They also question the failure by the ODM camp to move to court to
challenge his re-election saying only courts of law - as
stipulated in the Constitution - can declare that the President
was illegally in office.
The Kibaki team, it is said, has dismissed the proposal of
power-sharing saying they cannot sit in the same government with
ODM leaders it claims are behind the killings.
Taking charge
On Thursday, sources closer to the talks said the committee
debated the possibility of Mr Ramaphosa taking charge as the chief
mediator because Mr Annan would be in and out of the country.
The proposal by Mr Annan, was backed by the ODM team, but opposed
by the Government side on grounds that there would be a conflict
of interest because the former ANC secretary-general had business
links with some ODM leaders.
Nevertheless, it was said that Mr Ramaphosa would jet in Friday in
readiness for the task ahead of him.
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