[kictanet] I stand by the helpless-PEACE CAMPAIGN

[brian]

I personally don't support this statement as I find it to be overly prescriptive and leaning more towards one side of the current situation.

Brian

On Mon, 7 Jan 2008 18:21:55 +0300, Alex Gakuru <alexgakuru.lists at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear All,
> 
> In the same breath forwarding 23-odd Civil Society organisations'
> signed views just received on ke-users list. We need everybody saying
> something. All the is need and your opinion counts. Guys, it's your
> opportunity to help fix your country. Say something.....
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Alex
> 
> ----Begin forward ----
> 
> Saturday, January 05, 2008
> 
> Kenyans For Peace, Truth, Justice
> 
> 
> We speak in the name of Kenya's governance, human rights and legal
> organizations, as well as the concerned citizens who have contacted
> and chosen to work with us over the last week.
> 
> We strongly condemn the violence that has erupted across the country
> following the questionable outcomes of the counting and tallying done
> under the electoral process. We express our deepest sympathy to all
> those who have been injured, raped or killed, those who have lost
> property, those who have been internally displaced as well as those
> who continue to live in fear. We are only too acutely aware that the
> survivors and victims continue to be those with the most to lose from
> the violence as well as those who least deserve to experience it—
> Kenya's impoverished women and men in both low-income urban areas as
> well as in rural areas.
> 
> We are aware that the violence experienced has taken three primary
> forms. First, disorganized protest at the supposed results of the
> presidential tally. Second, instigated and organized militia activity
> particularly in the Rift Valley, but also through the re-activation
> of Mungiki in Central and Nairobi and, now,Chinkororo in Nyanza. And
> third, extraordinary use of force by Kenya's Police Force and General
> Service Unit to the extent of extrajudicial executions violating the
> most fundamental of freedoms and human rights—the rights to life and
> the safety and security of persons. We strongly condemn all three forms.
> 
> We note that the violence experienced is being used to legitimize the
> curtailing of the most basic of freedoms and human rights—the
> freedoms of expression, assembly and association. These freedoms and
> human rights are guaranteed by international law, regional law and
> our own Constitution. They must be upheld at all times—especially as
> the exercise of these freedoms and human rights is the only way for
> Kenyans to legally and legitimately express their protest at the
> alleged presidential outcome of the electoral process. We believe
> that the repression and suppression of legal and legitimate forms of
> protest can only perpetuate further violence.
> 
> It is also clear to us that, at the heart of the violence now being
> experienced, is a violation of other fundamental freedoms and rights
> directly related to the electoral processes. It is clear that the
> electoral anomalies and malpractices experienced during the counting
> and tallying of our electoral process were so grave as to alter its
> outcomes. Some of those electoral anomalies and malpractices were, in
> addition, illegal—thus rendering the supposed presidential outcome
> not only illegitimate but also illegal. We therefore consider Mwai
> Kibaki to be in office still on his first term.
> 
> Our hope lies in Kenyans standing up against the travesty that has
> been made of the electoral process. Our hope lies in Kenyans who
> have, at great personal risk, and without regard to ethnicity, on
> principle provided security, shelter and safe passage to those
> Kenyans targeted by the militia activity in the Rift Valley and
> elsewhere. We note the domestic humanitarian efforts coordinated by
> the National Council of Churches of Kenya with statistical support
> from the Catholic Relief Services—efforts to which many individual
> Kenyans and Kenyan businesses have now associated themselves. We note
> too the domestic peace initiatives being worked on by Amani Focus,
> the 'Ibrahim group' (including Ambassador Kiplagat and General
> Sumbweiyo) and Peacenet. And we now invite other concerned citizens
> to join the 'peace through truth and justice' efforts being carried
> out by domestic governance, human rights and legal organizations.
> 
> In particular, we would like to call on:
> 
> 1. All efforts and initiatives to consistently stress that peace
> cannot and will not be achieved without electoral truth and justice;
> 
> 2. All Kenyans to stand up to be counted not just for peace but also
> for electoral truth and justice;
> 
> 3. The state to respect and uphold the rights to the freedoms of
> expression, assembly and association so as to ensure Kenyans protest
> only legally, legitimately and non-violently;
> 
> 4. All politicians and political parties to immediately desist from
> the re-activation, support and use of militia organizations such as
> those active in the Rift Valley, Mungiki and Chinkororo;
> 
> 5. The Ministry of Internal Security, the Police Force and the
> General Service Unit to exercise their duties within the boundaries
> of the Constitution and the law and desist from any extraordinary use
> of force and, in particular, extrajudicial executions;
> 
> 6. The Electoral Commission of Kenya to immediately resign for having
> participated in and condoned a presidential electoral process so
> flawed as to result in our nation's current crisis;
> 
> 7. African states and the rest of the international community to
> pressurize for mediation between the Party of National Unity and the
> Orange Democratic Movement on addressing the electoral travesty that
> has occurred;
> 
> 8. The mediation process to, as its first priority, agree upon an
> interim electoral oversight body to conduct a forensic audit into the
> polling, counting and tallying process with a view to recommending,
> depending on its findings, a re-count, a re-tallying or a re-run
> within a specified time period;
> 
> 9. African states and the rest of the international community to, in
> the interim, deny official recognition to the man sworn in as President;
> 
> 10. African states and the rest of the international community to
> immediately revoke any and all visas for any and all of the PNU's and
> ODM's leadership—as well as all of their immediate family members—to
> ensure they remain in this country to resolve the electoral travesty
> that has occurred;
> 
> 11. The man sworn in as President to desist from announcing a Cabinet
> and otherwise aggravating and inflaming the current violence.
> 
> Signed:
> 
> Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG)
> Awaaz
> Centre for Law and Research International (CLARION)
> Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD)
> Centre for Rights, Education and Awareness for Women (CREAW)
> (CRADLE)
> Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO)
> East African Law Society (EALS)
> Haki Focus
> Hema la Katiba
> Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU)
> Innovative Lawyering
> Institute for Education in Democracy (IED)
> International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Kenya)
> Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)
> Kenya Leadership Institute (KLI)
> Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR)
> Kituo cha Sheria
> Media Institute
> Muslim Human Rights Forum
> National Constitution Executive Council (NCEC)
> Society for International Development (SID)
> Urgent Action Fund (UAF)-Africa
> Youth Agenda
> 
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