Kenya next Rwanda?
SilentSAM @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:31 am
I didn't see any post on Kenya so I threw up a topic.
Are we looking at another Rwanda?
$1:
BBCNEWS -
Q&A: Kenya poll violence
Mr Odinga (left) has accused Mr Kibaki of electoral fraud
More than 300 people have been killed in violent clashes across Kenya, following disputed presidential elections.
Kenya's Electoral Commission declared President Mwai Kibaki the winner on Sunday.
But EU observers have said the presidential poll was flawed. Voter turnout in one area was recorded as 115%.
What's behind the violence?
The immediate trigger has been the disputed election results - supporters of Mr Kibaki's main challenger, Raila Odinga, believe he was cheated of victory.
But ethnic tension, which has dogged Kenyan politics since independence in 1963, is widely believed to be behind much of the violence.
With patronage and corruption still common, many Kenyans believe that if one of their relatives is in power, they will benefit directly, for example through a relative getting a civil service job.
The current tensions can be traced back to the 1990s, when the then President Daniel arap Moi was forced to introduce multi-party politics.
Members of Mr Moi's Kalenjin ethnic group - the dominant group in the Rift Valley Province - felt threatened by the move.
Since then the Kalenjins have fought for a federalist system with more autonomy and have supported Mr Odinga to this end in the run-up to the 2007 polls.
Mr Odinga, from the Luo community, has a fairly wide support base ethnically and has portrayed himself as challenging Kenya's political establishment. He promised during his campaign to address the extreme income inequalities in the country.
See Kenya's ethnic divisions by province
President Kibaki, who in 2002 ended the more than two-decade rule of Mr Moi's Kanu party in widely praised polls, has promised economic devolution.
Under his presidency the economy has been growing steadily, but most Kenyans have not yet felt the benefits of this.
In the overcrowded slums around Nairobi, residents have to cope with violent gangs, no sewers (people use plastic bags as toilets and throw them out of the window) and intermittent electricity.
Mr Kibaki depends heavily on the votes of Kikuyus, the largest ethnic group in the country, but also has support from smaller communities.
Q&A: Kenya poll violence
Mr Odinga (left) has accused Mr Kibaki of electoral fraud
More than 300 people have been killed in violent clashes across Kenya, following disputed presidential elections.
Kenya's Electoral Commission declared President Mwai Kibaki the winner on Sunday.
But EU observers have said the presidential poll was flawed. Voter turnout in one area was recorded as 115%.
What's behind the violence?
The immediate trigger has been the disputed election results - supporters of Mr Kibaki's main challenger, Raila Odinga, believe he was cheated of victory.
But ethnic tension, which has dogged Kenyan politics since independence in 1963, is widely believed to be behind much of the violence.
With patronage and corruption still common, many Kenyans believe that if one of their relatives is in power, they will benefit directly, for example through a relative getting a civil service job.
The current tensions can be traced back to the 1990s, when the then President Daniel arap Moi was forced to introduce multi-party politics.
Members of Mr Moi's Kalenjin ethnic group - the dominant group in the Rift Valley Province - felt threatened by the move.
Since then the Kalenjins have fought for a federalist system with more autonomy and have supported Mr Odinga to this end in the run-up to the 2007 polls.
Mr Odinga, from the Luo community, has a fairly wide support base ethnically and has portrayed himself as challenging Kenya's political establishment. He promised during his campaign to address the extreme income inequalities in the country.
See Kenya's ethnic divisions by province
President Kibaki, who in 2002 ended the more than two-decade rule of Mr Moi's Kanu party in widely praised polls, has promised economic devolution.
Under his presidency the economy has been growing steadily, but most Kenyans have not yet felt the benefits of this.
In the overcrowded slums around Nairobi, residents have to cope with violent gangs, no sewers (people use plastic bags as toilets and throw them out of the window) and intermittent electricity.
Mr Kibaki depends heavily on the votes of Kikuyus, the largest ethnic group in the country, but also has support from smaller communities.
Scape @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:35 am
SilentSAM @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:39 am
Scape Scape:
No
haha! .. however.. am pretty sure there are Lions and Tigers in Rwanda too... hmmm?
Scape @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:40 am
Only in Kenya
Tricks @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:47 am
Who cares.
hurley_108 @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:48 am
Scape Scape:
Only in Kenya
Forget Norway.
hwacker @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:23 am
Yep who cares, let them slash and burn all they want.
BartSimpson @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:40 am
Not our problem as it is a Commonwealth nation.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
SilentSAM @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:48 am
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
Not our problem as it is a Commonwealth nation.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Yeah, I don’t expect the US should get involved. Nothing cold about it in a political sense.
But I want to see how UN handles this.
hwacker @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:54 am
SilentSAM SilentSAM:
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
Not our problem as it is a Commonwealth nation.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Yeah, I don’t expect the US should get involved. Nothing cold about it in a political sense.
But I want to see how UN handles this.
The UN
paisley_cross @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:09 pm
I don't think it will be another Rwanda since Kenya has a higher state of political development but it's another African country which held promise but has now slipped into a dictatorship.
BartSimpson @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:20 pm
SilentSAM SilentSAM:
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
Not our problem as it is a Commonwealth nation.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Yeah, I don’t expect the US should get involved. Nothing cold about it in a political sense.
But I want to see how UN handles this.
No doubt they'll want to ban guns and exchange carbon credits.
ridenrain @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:22 pm
It's not genocide but it's not very good either.
It's also definately not poor little Canada's problem.
Where are the colonial big brothers now?
Can't Europe do something this time?
DrCaleb @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:22 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
SilentSAM SilentSAM:
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
Not our problem as it is a Commonwealth nation.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Yeah, I don’t expect the US should get involved. Nothing cold about it in a political sense.
But I want to see how UN handles this.
No doubt they'll want to ban guns and exchange carbon credits.
Followed by a strongly worded resolution condemning Israel's actions.
SilentSAM @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:38 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
SilentSAM SilentSAM:
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
Not our problem as it is a Commonwealth nation.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Sounds awful cold, eh? Well, on Streaker's advice the USA will be sitting this one out.
Yeah, I don’t expect the US should get involved. Nothing cold about it in a political sense.
But I want to see how UN handles this.
No doubt they'll want to ban guns and exchange carbon credits.
No doubt.
