PRESIDENT KAGAME'S MEDIA COMMENTS ON KENYA

UNCLAS KIGALI 000106 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV RW SUBJECT: PRESIDENT KAGAME'S MEDIA COMMENTS ON KENYA ¶1. (U) Recent comments made by Rwandan President Paul Kagame about the use of military force to resolve the situation in Kenya have resulted in a series of articles in local and international media, both critical and supportive of his views. In one interview, Kagame expressed a desire to see more action taken by stable Kenyan institutions, in the interest of preventing further violence, while at the same time supporting UN efforts to mediate the conflict. In another, Kagame more explicitly suggested military intervention in the Kenyan crisis. Kagame subsequently sought to clarify and expand upon his viewpoint, saying he supported ongoing dialogues but hoped that action would be taken if conditions on the ground in Kenya continued to deteriorate. Finally he offered three possible non-military solutions to the crisis - another presidential election, a re-count of the first election, or a power-sharing agreement to stabilize the country. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: Kagame supports the UN-led peace process and existing structures in Kenya. However, he also speaks as a former military leader, who watched as a discredited government engaged in wholesale slaughter in Rwanda's 1994 genocide while the international community engaged in "dialogue" and self-serving indecision. We in the U.S. call out the national guard when domestic civil disorder descends into mayhem and bloody conflict (as in a number of our twentieth century urban riots). His comments on the need for intervention if the violence does not stop in Kenya should be seen in that light. End comment. ARIETTI