President Obama's Comment on Kenya

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000663 DEPT FOR AF/E Driano SIPDIS E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KCRM KE SUBJECT: President Obama's Comment on Kenya ¶1. I have today sent the following letter to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga pointing out the comment made on Kenya by President Obama on April 3. The comment was also prominently covered in the media. ¶2. Begin text of letter: April 6, 2009 Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister: As I have repeatedly indicated, the United States strongly supports implementation of the reform agenda agreed to by the coalition government. We are increasingly concerned by the lack of movement on key issues: the constitutional review process is moving slowly at best, the Special Tribunal has not yet been set up, decisive steps against corruption have yet to be undertaken, and reform of the police and judiciary have not yet been carried out. In this regard, I want to call to your attention - as the leaders of the coalition government - to the statement on Kenya made by President Obama on April 3: "My father was from Kenya. And when I traveled to Kenya -- I had just been elected to the United States Senate -- everybody was very excited and they greeted me as if I was already a head of state, and there were people waving and lining the streets. I went to speak at a university and I had to be honest, which was, America has an obligation to provide Kenya help on a whole range of issues, but if Kenya doesn't solve its own corruption problem, then Kenya will never grow. It will never be able to provide for its own. And so there's nothing wrong with the developed nations insisting that we will increase our commitments, that we will design our aid programs more effectively, that we will open up our markets to trade from poor countries, but that we will also insist that there is good governance and rule of law, and other critical factors in order to make these countries work. We spend so much time talking about democracy -- and obviously we should be promoting democracy everywhere we can. But democracy, a well-functioning society that promotes liberty and equality and fraternity, a well-functioning society, does not just depend on going to the ballot box. It also means that you're not going to be shaken down by police because the police aren't getting properly paid. It also means that if you want to start a business, you don't have to pay a bribe. I mean, there are a whole host of other factors that people need to -- need to recognize in building a civil society that allows a country to be successful. And hopefully that will -- that approach will be reflected not just in my administration's policies but in the policies that are pursued by international agencies around the world." This statement speaks for itself. I also want to take this opportunity to emphasize our continuing strong support for the engagement of His Excellency Kofi Annan in support of implementation of the coalition agreement and reform agenda. Please accept my assurances of highest respect and warm personal regards. Respectfully, Michael E. Ranneberger End text of letter. RANNEBERGER