KENYA'S ELECTORAL CRISIS: KOFI ANNAN - A NEW

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000245 SIPDIS SIPDIS LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KE SUBJECT: KENYA'S ELECTORAL CRISIS: KOFI ANNAN - A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN REF: NAIROBI 200 ¶1. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Nairobi on January 22 with the strong public backing of the United States, the African Union, the European Union, and the United Nations. He gave a press conference upon arrival in which he evinced a no-nonsense, serious and determined approach toward initiating talks between the two principals -- Kibaki and Odinga -- to resolve Kenya's ongoing political crisis. Annan welcomed the fact that ODM and PNU had appointed negotiating teams, but his message was clear: he came to Nairobi to deal with the principals, not their teams. Annan stated that his priority is to facilitate direct talks between Kibaki and Odinga as soon as possible. He would meet individually with each leader to arrange a face-to-face meeting between them with the purpose of resolving the current crisis. He asked both sides to show good faith and enter into a genuine dialogue. ¶2. Annan said that his efforts aim not only to resolve the immediate crisis in the short term, but also to convince the two sides over the medium term to open dialogue on structural issues that underlie Kenya's severe political and ethnic polarization. Annan expressed a sentiment often heard among worried Kenyans - that if his mission fails, then Kenya could suffer severe and prolonged consequences from the present conflict. ¶3. COMMENT: Annan's visit has inspired great hope among Kenyans that at last the two antagonists will sit down and begin to negotiate a deal to conclude this sad chapter in Kenya's history. It is also notable that the government gave ODM permission to hold memorial services in Kisumu and Nairobi on January 23, the first day of Annan's visit. (The Nairobi memorial event was marred by some violence instigated by a few ODM youth. Otherwise, it was largely peaceful as was the Kisumu event.) This conciliatory move is a marked contrast to the government's reaction to the arrival of AU Chairman Kufuor, the last international facilitator to attempt to arrange a dialog between the two leaders. At that time, the government sent the police into the streets to disrupt ODM's planned protests and then named half the cabinet positions. The Ambassador will meet with Annan on January 24 to review the state of play, express our strong support for his efforts, and to promote close coordination. RANNEBERGER