Kenya on the Brink? Ethnic Violence Continues
Many killed over the weekend, politician assassinated today, protests ongoing.
Jan 29, 2008— -- Hoping to stem the rising tide of violence in Kenya's post-election crisis, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan today began a formal mediation process between the country's two main political leaders.
Annan is in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, where he announced that a "dialogue process" to help resolve the dispute would begin next week.
But hours before the announcement, gunmen assassinated an opposition lawmaker as he was driving home in Nairobi, triggering new flare-ups in the ethnic fighting that has gripped Kenya since its disputed presidential election last month.
To the west of Nairobi, in the ethnically divided Rift Valley, government helicopters fired on crowds of protesters in the town of Naivasha.
President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga appeared with Annan, who said he was confident the "immediate political issues" could be resolved within four weeks and the broader issues causing the crisis could be resolved within a year.
"To the leaders gathered here today I say that the people want you to take charge of the situation and do whatever possible to halt the downward spiral that is threatening this beautiful and prosperous country," Annan said at a press conference.
At least in public, Kenya's feuding political leaders appear to agree on the need for amicable negotiations.
Kibaki declared that he and Odinga, leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), must take a leading role in working together to stop the fighting.
"Our nation is at a crossroads," said Kibaki. "We stand here during the defining moment when we must all make the decision that we must regain the dignity of our nation, and restore the stability."
The opposition, which won the most seats in parliament, accuses Kibaki of stealing the presidential vote.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also appealed today for Kenya's political leaders to broker a peaceful end to ethnic violence.
"There needs to be a political resolution of this conflict. The election was not one that inspired confidence in the Kenyan people," Rice said.
