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Annan outlines Kenya deal
By Carole Landry, AFP
Feb 15, 2008
NAIROBI - Former United Nations (UN) chief Kofi Annan was to
reveal today details of a deal agreed by Kenya’s rival parties to
pull the country out of deadly turmoil, but more tough
negotiations lay ahead.
Negotiators for President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition signed an
agreement yesterday during talks with Annan to end weeks of
violence since a disputed December 27 election in which more than
1,000 people have died and 300,000 have been displaced.
Talks are to resume on Monday when US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice arrives to deliver a US message to Kenya’s
leaders that "there must be a full return to democracy".
Sources close to the talks said the sides had agreed to
constitutional reforms and to bring opposition members into the
government but differences remained, hampering Annan’s efforts for
a comprehensive deal.
Nairobi’s Daily Nation newspaper carried the headline: "Annan’s
team strikes half-way deal in talks," while the Standard sounded a
more pessimistic note: "48 hours later...and no deal yet."
Kenya descended into crisis when Kibaki, 76, was declared the
winner of the vote, which opposition leader Raila Odinga, 63,
maintains was rigged.
Annan has been pushing for a power-sharing deal that would bring
together the government and the opposition to oversee reforms and
pave the way for fresh elections, possibly in two years.
But during talks, Kibaki’s camp balked at proposals for "power-sharing",
saying it would only appoint opposition members to a government
under the strong executive leadership of the president, a top
government official said.
The opposition has pushed for the appointment of Odinga as prime
minister with full powers as head of government, a post that would
require changes to the constitution.
The parties agreed to launch a one-year constitutional review that
could address many of the grievances that fueled the violence -
which appears to have subsided over the past seven days.
But constitutional reforms would be conditional on a deal on the
makeup of the new all-inclusive government, said the official, who
asked not to be named. "We are still talking and we have not
agreed conclusively," said Martha Karua, justice minister and the
government’s lead negotiator.
The text of the agreement signed by the two sides was to be
released during Annan’s news conference scheduled for 5:00 pm
(1400 GMT).
The rival leaders have been under international pressure to make
concessions, with the United States and Britain threatening visa
bans, an assets freeze and other sanctions.
US President George W. Bush announced ahead of a five-nation
Africa tour that he had asked Rice to travel to Kenya - which is
not on his own itinerary - to deliver a strong message. "There
must be an immediate halt to violence, there must be justice for
the victims of abuse, and there must be a full return to democracy,"
Bush said.
Former colonial power Britain angered Kibaki’s camp when High
Commissioner Adam Wood said London did not recognise the
government "as presently constituted."
At the request of the African Union (AU), Annan - who arrived in
Nairobi on January 22 - launched a mediation to end the violence
that saw Kenyans hacked to death by machete-wielding mobs, burnt
in churches where they had sought refuge and driven off their
land.
The turmoil has laid bare tribal rivalries as well as simmering
resentment over land issues and wealth disparities in Kenya.
Kenya’s world-famous safari resorts and beach hotels have suffered
a bruising loss of business while the country’s economic upswing,
with growth at seven percent, could soon flatten out.
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