|
Kenya opposition calls for mass
protest
Guardian
Mark Tran and agencies
Monday February 25 2008
Kenya's opposition today called for mass rallies after negotiators
admitted failing to resolve outstanding issues on power sharing.
The opposition Orange Democratic Movement has filed papers giving
police the required three days' notice of demonstrations.
Negotiators representing the country's president, Mwai Kibaki, and
the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, said they had gone as far as
they could and the two leaders had to take the hard decisions on
sharing power themselves.
"We have isolated a number of items that require our chairman's
consultations with our principals," the government negotiator,
Mutula Kilonzo, told reporters.
The opposition negotiator, William Ruto, accused the government
side of "changing their mind over sharing power", but declined to
give further details.
Kilonzo denied any change in position. "This is not correct at
all," Kilonzo told the Associated Press. "They thought this was a
picnic where they would walk in and take over the government."
Negotiators for Kibaki and Odinga have agreed in principle to
create a prime minister's post for the opposition, but sticking
points remain over how much power the post would carry. Kofi
Annan, the former UN secretary general, has been mediating in the
talks.
Odinga, who accuses Kibaki of rigging the December 27 elections,
wants the prime ministerial position to carry real power and a
50-50 power split in the cabinet.
Kibaki says he won fairly and accuses the opposition of
instigating riots and ethnic violence instead of challenge the
election through legal channels. He wants changes to be made under
Kenya's constitution.
Widespread fighting that killed more than 1,000 people in the
weeks after the election has largely subsided, but there are fears
of renewed violence if no political agreement is reached.
Police said eight houses were burned in a village near the western
town of Molo in an apparent clash between rival ethnic groups. Two
people — a father and son — were taken to hospital with injuries.
Much of the violence, which has been concentrated in the Rift
Valley, has been ethnic, between supporters of Kibaki — a Kikuyu —
and western groups who rally to Odinga — a Luo.
Most of Kenya's 36 million people appear to want a quick end to
the two-month-old crisis, which many see as a battle between
wealthy political elites being fought at their expense.
As negotiators tried to reach agreement before the planned
protests, a human rights group said the winner of the 2004 Nobel
peace prize, Professor Wangari Maathai, had received death threats
after her plea for a peaceful agreement.
Amnesty International said Maathai was sent three death threats by
text message last week which read: "Because of your opposing the
government at all times, Prof Wangari Maathai, we have decided to
look for your head very soon, you are number three after Were,
take care of your life."
Two people working for her received similar threats. The threats
were signed "Mungiki", the name of extremists belonging to the
Kikuyu tribe, which claimed responsibility for beheadings and
other murders involving mutilation.
Maathai is a former MP. "Number three after Were" refers to the
MP, Melitus Mugabe Were, who was killed outside his home in
Nairobi on January 29. A second MP, David Kimutai Too, was killed
in Eldoret town on January 31.
|
