Bush won't dictate to Kenya
2008-02-17 13:00
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Dar Es Salaam - US President George W
Bush said on Sunday he did not want to dictate how to bring an
end to bloody political violence in Kenya, but to help push
along mediation led by former UN chief Kofi Annan.
Bush is sending secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to
Nairobi on Monday.
He said ahead of the trip he and Rice had discussed with
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete "how best we can help the
process. Not what we should do to dictate the process but what
America can do to help the process move along."
Bush, who started a five-nation tour of Africa on Saturday,
has thrown his weight behind a power-sharing deal in Kenya to
end a standoff over President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election
which triggered a wave of ethnic killings.
One thousand people have been killed and 300 000 left
homeless in the crisis, one of the bloodiest chapters in Kenya's
post-independence history.
Annan said considerable progress was made in talks this
week, including agreement for an independent review of the
polls. But, experts say an agreement on power-sharing terms is
the major sticking point.
In an effort to shore up Annan's mediation, U.S. officials
said the United States was ready to sanction any individuals who
sought to obstruct Kenyan peace moves.
- Reuters