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Kenya lifts ban on public
rallies
No Kenya peace deal yet, U.N. chief says
February 8, 2008
By TOM ODULA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya's minister of internal security today
lifted the ban on public rallies imposed after an eruption of
violence over the country's disputed presidential election.
Minister George Saitoti said the move came because "security has
generally improved." He urged legislators and others to hold
meetings "to promote peace and national reconciliation" and not
use rallies as "avenues to incite violence."
Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who is mediating talks between
Kenya’s political rivals, said today that claims of a
power-sharing agreement aimed at ending weeks of postelection
bloodshed were premature.
“I sincerely hope ... we will complete our work by early next week,”
Annan told reporters.
Earlier an opposition lawmaker claimed a deal had been reached.
But Annan said that “was jumping the gun.”
More than 1,000 people have been killed and 300,000 driven from
their homes in fighting since the Dec. 27 election that has often
pitted many of the East African country’s myriad ethnic groups
against one another.
International and domestic observers have heavily criticized the
vote tallying process and the head of the electoral commission has
publicly said he does not know who won the election.
On Thursday, opposition leader Raila Odinga retreated from earlier
calls that President Mwai Kibaki should step down.
“We are saying that we are willing to give and take. Initially our
stand was that we won the elections, and Mr. Kibaki lost the
elections, he should resign, and we should be sworn in, but we
have said that we are not static on that point,” Odinga told
reporters.
Speaking at a prayer meeting in Nairobi earlier today, Kibaki said
he was “encouraged” by progress in talks and reiterated “my
personal support and that of my entire government to this process.”
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