Annan makes final push for Kenya peace deal

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan embarked on a final push for a compromise from Kenya’s feuding president and opposition leader today.

Mr Annan, who has been mediating in the crisis, has set up direct meetings with the men to break a stalemate that has kept the East African country in limbo.

Two months since Kenya’s disputed presidential vote, Mr Annan suspended talks between the two political parties yesterday, saying he would personally appeal to their leaders to strike a deal because talks were “turning around in circles.”

The opposition, meanwhile, has renewed threats for mass rallies tomorrow if no tangible progress has been made by then. Past rallies turned violent as police pushed back crowds.

President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga claim that they rightly won Kenya’s December 27 presidential election. Local and international observers have said the results were manipulated, making it unclear who won.

Mr Annan said he suspended the talks in order “to speed up action,” because the negotiating teams “were discussing issues that the parties seemed incapable of solving.”

He was due to meet President Kibaki and Mr Odinga separately today, according to party spokesmen.

Post-election violence has largely subsided in recent weeks, but attacks that killed more than 1,000 people and forced 600,000 from their homes have left the country on the edge and worried about the potential for more turmoil.

Much of the violence has been ethnic, between supporters of President Kibaki, a Kikuyu, and groups who back Mr Odinga, a Luo. The bloodshed has tarnished the reputation of a country once seen as a beacon of stability in Africa.

The European Union has condemned the lack of progress and threatened to take some sort of action to pressure Kenya’s leaders.

“Individuals who obstruct the ’National Dialogue’ process or who encourage violence will have to face the consequences,” the EU’s commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Louis Michel, said in a statement. “The European Union is determined to take all appropriate measures and all options are being considered.”

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, the current head of the African Union, flew into Nairobi to add to international appeals for a deal. He also is scheduled to meet President Kibaki and Mr Odinga today.

Negotiators for President Kibaki and Mr Odinga have agreed in principle to create a new prime minister’s post for the opposition, but sticking points remain over just how much power such a post would carry.

Negotiators on both sides said yesterday that they were committed to continuing the talks and blamed the suspension on intransigence from the other side.

The delays have frustrated Kenyans, many of whom have seen their jobs and homes destroyed in the chaos.

The government has urged Kenyans to boycott the rallies planned by Mr Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement. Police have yet to say if they will issue permits for the demonstrations.