Kenya’s feuding factions came under fresh diplomatic pressure to give mediation another chance, after the opposition threatened rallies to protest disputed presidential polls.
NAIROBI: Kenya’s feuding factions came under fresh diplomatic pressure on Saturday to give mediation another chance, after the opposition threatened mass rallies to protest disputed presidential polls.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claims he was robbed of the presidency in the December elections, that the absence of a negotiated solution would be disastrous. “The potential for further bloodshed remains high unless the political crisis is quickly resolved,” Ban said in a statement. Kofi Annan, who was expected in Kenya to take over mediation efforts from African Union chairman John Kufuor, also appealed for restraint. He called on “all Kenyan leaders, government as well as the opposition in the country, to avoid any measures or steps that would further compromise the search for an amicable solution to the country’s crisis.”
On Friday, Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) called for three days of mass rallies across the country, starting on Wednesday. The protests were promptly banned by Kenyan authorities. The announcement set up a fresh showdown between opposition protesters and police, barely two weeks after Kibaki’s re-election triggered a wave of clashes and tribal killings that left at least 600 people dead and a quarter of a million displaced.
“Police think it is not appropriate at this time,” police chief Major General Mohamed Ali said, shortly after ODM called for demonstrations in some 30 towns across the country. Odinga cancelled previous protest plans as international envoys toiled to broker a political settlement, but when African Union-mediated talks ended in failure on Thursday, the ODM reverted to its initial strategy.
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