February 15, 2008

Bush & Rice Head Into Africa

President Bush embarks on a tour of five African countries tonight and, as the New York Times puts it, the trip will "thrust himself into the role of peacemaker" as he tries to help international leaders address recent crises in the region.

He won't be alone: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be in Kenya, one of the administration's greatest areas of concern. In Nairobi on Monday, Rice will meet with former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has been in the country since mid-January to try to mediate a bloody conflict sparked by Kenya's contested presidential election at the end of last year.

Annan said today that a deal between the two rival factions was "very close," but that a final solution about a power-sharing government had not yet been reached.

But Bush, for his part, is sticking to friendlier territory: Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. At a speech yesterday at the Smithsonian's African Museum of Art, the president offered a rosy view of the five nations: "Each of these countries is blessed with natural beauty, vibrant culture, and an unmistakable spirit of energy and optimism. Africa in the 21st century is a continent of potential.... It's a place where democracy is advancing, where economies are growing, and leaders are meeting challenges with purpose and determination."

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Posted at 12:15 PM
Posted to: Africa, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Kenya, President Bush, Sudan
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January 24, 2008

Freedom Falters Worldwide

If 2007 seemed like a bad year for democracy, that's because it was, according to new data from Freedom House, a U.S.-based organization that monitors and promotes freedom around the world. The group recently released its report on 2007, citing a "notable setback for global freedom" for the second consecutive year.

Freedom House uses its own set of criteria to divide nations into three categories: "free," "partly free" and "not free." In 2007, one-fifth of the world's nations experienced a decline in freedom, the group says. Although the number of countries in the "not free" category did not grow over the last year, "there were many changes within these broad categories" that demonstrate an alarming trend, a press release announcing the report claims. These reversals were seen in countries across the globe -- from sub-Saharan Africa to the former Soviet Union.

Nearly four times as many countries saw declines in levels of freedom as showed improvement. Dishearteningly, several countries that had been experiencing progress toward democracy in recent years, such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Kenya, took steps backward in 2007. Two former Soviet countries that underwent "color revolutions" fairly recently -- Kyrgyzstan and Georgia -- also reversed track last year, Freedom House reports.

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Posted at 2:16 PM
Posted to: Africa, Asia, China, Europe, Iran, Kenya, Middle East, Pakistan
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January 14, 2008

Kenya Death Toll Mounts On Eve Of Annan Visit

Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is headed to Kenya tomorrow to try to lend assistance in the escalating conflict over disputed presidential elections. Violence in the usually peaceful east African country has created hundreds of thousands of refugees and killed more than 600 people, and three days of national protests starting Wednesday could spark more bloodshed.

Last week, negotiators from the U.S. and the African Union left the country without any resolution. The new round of talks led by Annan will try to bring Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his challenger Raila Odinga closer together; in the previous round, the two men refused to meet and blamed each other for the collapse of the talks. The government has already rejected Annan's mediation mission.

Reuters explains the opposing positions of the political factions, and AP has more details on the conflict.

Posted at 8:10 AM
Posted to: Africa, Kenya
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January 07, 2008

Kenya: Odinga Cancels Rallies Ahead Of A.U. Mediation

After a meeting with U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer, Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga today canceled planned protests by his opposition group, the Orange Democratic Movement, saying that he wanted to provide "a peaceful environment" for the mediation process scheduled to begin tomorrow.

"We are now sure that mediation will start. We have consulted and decided that the public rallies we called for are canceled," he said, as African Union Chairman John Kufuor of Ghana was expected to arrive in Kenya Tuesday to lead the mediation effort.

Odinga has signaled that he is willing to negotiate a power-sharing agreement between himself and President Mwai Kibaki, whose hotly contested re-election victory two weeks ago has sparked protests, riots and ethnic violence throughout the country.

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Posted at 10:56 AM
Posted to: Africa, Kenya
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January 03, 2008

Kenya's Kibaki Breaks Silence As Post-Election Crisis Continues

Amid continuing violent protests in the capital today over his contested re-election last week, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki extended an olive branch to his political opponent, Raila Odinga. The results of last week's election, in which Kenya's electoral commission named Kibaki the winner by a slim margin, has sent the country spiraling into violence and chaos.

With more than 300 people killed and tens of thousands displaced, according to BBC News, Kibaki bowed to intense political and diplomatic pressure and made a televised appeal for peace today.

"I am ready to have dialogue with the concerned parties once the nation is calm and the political temperatures are lowered enough for constructive and productive engagement," Kibaki said, breaking his silence on the election results, which the opposition claims were rigged.

Meanwhile, the attorney general has called for an independent inquiry into the election, as Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement continues to demand a revote. The opposition party canceled a planned rally for today but has rescheduled it for Jan. 8 if an agreement is not reached by then.

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Posted at 3:22 PM
Posted to: Africa, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, EU, Europe, Kenya
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