Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Kofi Annan urges cooperation to end Kenya crisis
11 Jan 2008 15:28:58 GMT
 Source: Reuters
ACCRA, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday called on Kenya's president and opposition leader to cooperate with African mediators to quickly resolve the political crisis in the East African country.

Annan, who said he had a accepted a mission to lead a panel of African personalities to mediate in Kenya, said he hoped to move as quickly as possible, but gave no time frame.

"Political negotiation is not an event, it is a process that can take a very long time, or a short time -- all depends on the cooperation of the leaders," Annan said in Accra after holding talks there with African Union Chairman and Ghanaian President John Kufuor.

Kufuor had announced Annan's role in Nairobi on Thursday after his own mediation trip to Kenya failed to broker an immediate reconciliation between Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition chief Raila Odinga.

Around 500 people have been killed in political and ethnic violence in Kenya after a disputed Dec. 27 poll that Odinga says Kibaki rigged to achieve re-election.

Annan said he had already begun talking with the other members of the panel - Graca Machel, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, and former Tanzanian President Ben Mkapa -- about setting up a secretariat for the Kenya mediation mission.

"I regard it as a great responsibility and we'll take it seriously in order to restore stability and quickly end the humanitarian crisis in that country," Annan added.

"We are not going to impose solutions but work together with (Kibaki and Odinga) to arrive at viable and long-lasting solutions to the problem," he said. (Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  CWS situation report: 2008 winter flooding & tornadoes
CWS

•  Concern responds to Kenyan crisis
Concern Worldwide - Ireland

•  ActionAid supporting relief efforts in the Kenya post-election crisis
ActionAid

•  Nairobi Slum Population Sliding Toward Desperation
IMC - USA

•  CWS appeal: Kenya post-election civil unrest
CWS

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Kofi Annan urges cooperation to end Kenya crisis

•  Kenya opposition calls wave of street protests

•  FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Jan 11

•  Bush ends peace mission without breakthrough

•  China signs deal to build $61 mln AU centre in Addis

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Related articles

Breaking stories
Kofi Annan urges cooperation to end Kenya crisis (1 minute ago)

Kenya opposition calls wave of street protests (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
Kenya crisis jeopardises Africa's emergence from poverty (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
CWS situation report: 2008 winter flooding & tornadoes (1 minute ago)

Blogs
US warns citizens to keep clear of Guantanamo protests (1 minute ago)

Maps
MAP: Kenya presidential elections violence (1 minute ago)


Country information

Facts & figures
Kenya Ghana Tanzania South Africa United Kingdom United States of America

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-11T140756Z_01_AFR14_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA-CRISIS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR14.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-11T140637Z_01_AFR13_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA-CRISIS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR13.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-11T140522Z_01_AFR12_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA-CRISIS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR12.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-11T123718Z_01_AFR10_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR10.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-01-11T123638Z_01_AFR11_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR11.htm

Opposition leader Raila Odinga arrives for a news conference in Nairobi, January 11, 2008. Kenya's opposition on Friday called three days of nationwide protests next week to put pressure on President ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Fri Jan 11 15:27:40 2008