| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| Pressure mounts on Kenya to defuse crisis |
| 2008-01-13 |
| The European Union, United States and United Nations urged Kenya's feuding politicians on Saturday to agree a peaceful and democratic end to violence that has killed 500 people since disputed December 27 polls. A day after the opposition urged foreign sanctions against President Mwai Kibaki, who it says rigged his re-election, Washington and Brussels said it could not be "business as usual" with east Africa's biggest economy without a deal. "All political parties in Kenya should recognize that it cannot be business as usual in Kenya until there is political compromise which leads to a lasting solution that reflects the will of the Kenyan people," the EU said in a statement. The European Union and United States are coordinating their efforts to end the crisis in Kenya, an EU diplomat said. The top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said Washington was "deeply disappointed" that Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga had not yet held face-to-face talks. "Both should acknowledge serious irregularities in the vote tallying which made it impossible to determine with certainty the final result," she said in a statement. "In the meantime, the United States cannot conduct business as usual in Kenya." Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is due to lead a new push for peace in Kenya this week. But the opposition is planning new protests after African Union talks collapsed. An EU source said it was too early to talk about sanctions. |
| Posted by:Fred |