Phil Arnold's Update January 8, 2008

Everyone,

I found a Rueters article from yesterday, but I do not know if that article is what Ruth was refering to (see the fifth article below). To get current news, I googled Kenya for today's date and found the first three news reports from today 1-8-08. Then I googled Kenya for violence and found the fourth & fifth article.

The first article says that the US, UN and International Community is getting involved for peace. In my opinion, it looks like money is talking. The two Kenyan leaders do not want to lose the roughly $1 billioin a year in aid from the US, so they are calling off their rallies, softening their demands, discussing compromises, and meeting to talk with International mediators.
The second article shows that it is not all 100% peace, but that there are still some pockets of violence, but it is in Western Kenya, where some people are going to Uganda for safety. Our trip would be many miles away from Western Kenya.

The third article basically repeats the first article.

The fourth article was written yesterday (1-7-08) and is has some omissions of the latest events. It also expresses violence still.

The fifth article was also written yesterday (1-7-08) and is similar to the first article. The mediation process is starting.

Here is the link for each article and some quotes from them:

I have tried to be objective and accurate in this research from the press. Hopefully, this helps. It seems to me that because we are in the beginning of the mediation stage and the violence is winding down, it is still wise to wait until Friday to see how the mediation goes. There are strong incentives for it to work, as well as indications that compromises have already taken place (i.e. Odinga calling off the rallies, and Kibaki inviting Odinga to talks).

Prayerfully,
Phil
FIRST ARTICLE:
http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/world/story/2268748/
Rivals Make Concessions in Kenya
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer
Posted: Today at 7:18 a.m.
ELDORET, Kenya —
On Monday, Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga made key concessions under U.S. pressure.
Both sides softened their tones amid the U.S. intervention.
The U.S. also is a major donor to Kenya, long seen as a stable democracy in a region that includes war-ravaged Somalia and Sudan. Aid amounts to roughly $1 billion a year, said embassy spokesman T.J. Dowling.
On Monday, Kibaki invited Odinga to his official residence for a meeting Friday to discuss how to end the political and ethnic turmoil, according to a statement from the president's press service. Just hours earlier, Odinga called off nationwide rallies amid fears they would spark new bloodshed.
Odinga then said he was willing to drop demands that Kibaki resign and was willing to discuss sharing power, but only through a mediator empowered to negotiate an agreement that the international community would guarantee.
It would be nearly impossible for Kibaki to govern without opposition support. In parliamentary elections held the same day as the presidential vote, Odinga's party won 95 of 210 legislative seats, and half of Kibaki's Cabinet lost their seats. It was a sign of people's anger over pervasive corruption and nepotism that favored Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.
SECOND ARTICLE:
http://news.morningstar.com/news/ViewNews.asp?article=/DJ/200801080809DOWJONESDJONLINE000282_univ.xml&Cat=ForMkts
Ugandan Officials Say Kenyans Still Crossing Border -AFP1-8-08 8:09 AM EST
KAMPALA (AFP)--Ugandan officials said Tuesday that Kenyans were still crossing the border amid reports that tribal violence was still raging in some areas following a disputed presidential election.
"We are getting more Kenyans crossing," said Jackson Hashaka, resident district commissioner for the Tororo, a region in eastern Uganda bordering western Kenya.
THIRD ARTICLE:
http://media.www.bgnews.com/media/storage/paper883/news/2008/01/08/World/Kenyan.President.Seeks.Peace.After.Violence.During.Elections-3147150.shtml
Kenyan president seeks peace after violence during elections
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 1/8/08
NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya's president yesterday invited his chief rival to his official residence to discuss how to end the country's election standoff, just hours after the opposition called off nationwide rallies amid fears of new bloodshed.The signs of softening by both sides came after three days of talks with the top U.S. diplomat for Africa. The African Union president, whose trip to Kenya had been delayed repeatedly as the government rejected outside mediation in the disputed vote, was to begin talks in the capital as early as tomorrow.
FOURTH ARTICLE:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801080018.html
Kenya: UN Seeks to Mediate Crisis
7 January 2008 YESTERDAYPosted to the web 8 January 2008
Haider Rizvi
With no imminent end to the ongoing political violence in Kenya that has resulted in some 500 deaths in the past one week, U.N. officials are trying to bring the ruling party and opposition together to find a peaceful solution through dialogue.
"I have been in close contact with Kenyan leaders, including President Mwai Kibaki, opposition leader Raila Odinga, the African Union Chairman John Kufuor, and many other international leaders," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters Monday.
But whether the international intervention is going to produce any positive results is far from clear at the moment.
Still, some observers seem hopeful about the possibility of some kind of compromise. On Monday, Kibaki reportedly invited Odinga for face-to-face talks, which Odinga has not yet responded to.

FIFTH ARTICLE:
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL07118775
Kenya opposition calls off protests, deaths near 500
Mon Jan 7, 2008 5:58am EST YESTERDAY
By Andrew Cawthorne and George ObulutsaNAIROBI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Monday he had called off protests because a "mediation process" to resolve the political crisis that has killed nearly 500 people was about to begin."We are now assured that the mediation process is about to start," Odinga told reporters after meeting U.S. envoy Jendayi Frazer. "We are therefore informing our supporters countrywide that there will be no public rallies (on Tuesday).
While most of the country largely returned to calm, there was an unconfirmed report from Uganda that 30 Kenyans drowned after being pursued by attackers into a river on the border.