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Annan: Kenyans Close to Power-Sharing Agreement
By Admin.
Feb 8, 2008, 12:55

NAIROBI, Kenya -02/8/08: Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who is mediating talks between Kenya's political rivals, said Friday they were making progress on a deal to end weeks of postelection bloodshed but no power-sharing agreement had been reached yet.

"We are making progress," Annan said, noting that both President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga had agreed that Kenya needs a "political settlement" to the crisis.

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 heavily criticized the vote tallying process.

Odinga originally said that only new elections would bring peace, while Kibaki maintained his position as president was not negotiable. The two came under international pressure to form a power-sharing government.

On Thursday, Odinga retreated from his earlier calls that 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.

Annan said Friday he hoped they would complete their work by early next week, but declined to give further details on what form the settlement might take.

"We had a very good session today. There is no doubt about it. And I think it gives grounds for optimism .... But, the issues are still on the table and we will go back to them on Monday."

The two sides had agreed to call a meeting of parliament next week so that lawmakers could be briefed on progress, Annan added.

Speaking at a prayer meeting in Nairobi earlier Friday, Kibaki said he was "encouraged" by progress in talks and reiterated "my personal support and that of my entire government to this process."

But some opposition supporters insist they will not back down until Odinga is named president.

"We won, we can't agree. We want our rights, we will go back to the streets," said Evans Omogi, a driver in the western city of Kisumu, the scene of much of the worst violence.

Meanwhile, around 5,000 people fled a makeshift camp for those displaced by the violence in the western town Kericho, fearing violence ahead of Saturday's funeral for an opposition lawmaker slain last week. Only about 1,000 people were left in the camp, said Red Cross official Susan Onyango.

Kericho's main street was packed with families hastily piling furniture onto government lorries provided to take them to areas where their ethnic group was predominant.

The slain legislator was killed in what the opposition described as a political assassination, but which police said was a crime of passion by a traffic policeman who believed his girlfriend was involved with the politician. The killing had sparked attacks on the policeman's ethnic group, the Kisii.

On Thursday, the U.S. added to the international pressure by threatening to bar Kenyan politicians and businessmen alleged to have played a role in the bloodshed from visiting the United States, a move that "hit a nerve," the U.S. ambassador said.

Politicians and businessmen are among those accused of financing or backing the violence.

"People are paying 4,000 shillings ($60) to burn down a house," U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said in an interview.

Washington sent letters to 10 politicians and businessmen suspected of supporting or inciting violence, Ranneberger said. U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the letters were sent to eight people. The discrepancy could not immediately be explained. Both declined to name the targets but Ranneberger said the review also would affect the immediate families of those affected.

Casey said the visa reviews probably would take place over the next few days and were directed at "more regional figures" than top officials from both major political movements. Ranneberger said the U.S. could target top officials if the violence that has devastated the economy and undermined Kenya's democratic credentials continued.

Both Kibaki's government and the opposition welcomed the U.S. decision and insisted they had nothing to do with the violence. But Kenyan human rights groups, foreign observers and diplomats say there is ample evidence that both parties helped incite and orchestrate attacks.

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Associated Press writers Katy Pownall in Kericho, and Matthew Rosenberg and Malkhadir M. Muhumed in Nairobi contributed to this report.

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Progress at Kenya's Peace Talks

Kofi Annan has been trying to broker a deal between the rivals Annan's statement Kenya's ruling party and opposition could be just days away from a final political settlement to end post-election bloodshed, officials say. Ex-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told reporters in Nairobi an agreement could be reached next week but that earlier reports of a deal had been premature. The BBC's Karen Allen in Nairobi says it is a significant development which could pave the way to power-sharing. Some 1,000 people have died in clashes since the 27 December elections. Mr Annan said: "We are all agreed that a political settlement is needed, that a political settlement is necessary and we are working out the details of such a settlement." We cannot afford our people using bows and arrows, people being pulled out of buses to be asked 'which language do you speak?' and then being chopped Mutula Kilonzo Government negotiator His comments followed Friday's second face-to-face talks between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga - only the second time they have met since the disputed elections. President Kibaki's side said there had been an "agreement in principle", while the opposition spoke of a "positive development". The apparent breakthrough came as a policeman accused of shooting dead two protesters pleaded not guilty to murder at a court in Nairobi. Footage of Constable Edward Kirui confronting protesters in the western city of Kisumu in January had been broadcast on Kenyan television. 'Shift in mood' HAVE YOUR SAY I think in the present circumstances this is the best solution. The two sides need to put aside their personal ambitions for the sake of Kenya Pacharo, Malawi Send us your comments Our correspondent says there has been a shift in mood in the political process, and the deadlock appears to have been broken, making way for a new sense of optimism. Mr Odinga has previously rejected any suggestion of power sharing, while President Kibaki has insisted he is Kenya's duly elected leader. Speaking at a prayer service in Nairobi earlier on Friday, Mr Kibaki said he was "encouraged by the commendable progress" at the peace talks. Government negotiator Mutula Kilonzo was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: "We cannot afford our people using bows and arrows, people being pulled out of buses to be asked 'which language do you speak?' and then being chopped." Hundreds of thousands have been displaced in the violence Mr Kibaki was declared the winner of the election, which observers said was deeply flawed and the opposition Orange Democratic Movement claimed was rigged. More than 300,000 people were displaced in the ensuing violence as both sides traded accusations of ethnic cleansing. Mr Annan arrived in Kenya last month accompanied by ex-Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and Graca Machel, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela. UN under-secretary for humanitarian affairs John Holmes is due on Saturday to visit Kenya's Rift Valley, which has witnessed some of the worst violence in recent weeks.

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