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SOLIDARITY
WITH THE PEOPLE OF KENYA The violence and
bloodshed that has shaken the neighboring country of Kenya has
saddened the EPRP and the people of Ethiopia who have first hand
experience of electoral fraud and ruthless repression of dissent.
The results of the Kenyan election, as announced, and proclaiming
incumbent president Mwai Kibaki the winner, are justifiably
contested by the opposition ODM led by Raila Odinga. The EPRP has for
long expressed its solidarity with the people of Kenya who have had
to endure the dark years of misrule and corruption under the Arap
Moi regime. The struggle to have a multi party system in the place
of one party rule by KANU cost the lives of many Kenyans and, in
this fight for democracy, the EPRP had stood with the people of
Kenya and its solidarity was not only verbal. With the advent of
Mwai Kibaki there were hopes that things would change for the better
but there is no denying that, despite some changes, the official
corruption that had plagued the Kenyan State has actually
intensified. Surrounded by unstable States in the Horn of Africa,
Kenya's stability had also been made precarious by foreign elements
attempting to fight their battles on Kenyan soil. Ethiopians on
their part have been saddened by the close relations maintained by
the Kenyan government with the repressive regime in Addis Ababa and
the fact that Kenya has deported many refugees back to Ethiopia. The support given
to repressive regimes by the West, for one reason or another, has
worked against the holding of free elections in Africa as a whole.
In Ethiopia, a vicious and genocidal tyrant considered as a reliable
foot soldier in "the war against terror" has been backed
by the West even if he committed electoral fraud and massacred
unarmed protesters. Washington is now referring to the
"irregularities" of the Kenyan election but even such a
mild rebuke was not heard back in May 2005 when the voice and choice
of the people got trampled upon by the regime in Addis Ababa. Be
that as it may, the violence that erupted in Kenya has had bad
repercussions in that civilians and innocent people have been
victimized and the fires of ethnic conflict stroked. This is tragic
as it will eventually divide Kenya along ethnic lines and
destabilize it for years to come. The EPRP calls on
the ODM and the ruling party to try to find a peaceful solution to
the crisis, a solution that will respect the will and choice of the
people and put an end to any fraudulent action that had taken place.
The will and choice of the Kenyan people must be respected and the
wanton violence must be stopped by all parties concerned as this
leads nowhere but to disaster and division. The EPRP expresses its
solidarity with the Kenyan people and calls upon them to stand
united against the forces of dictatorship and tyranny.
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