United States urges Kenyans to
fight against bad governance
Clinton echoed the remarks made by U.S. President
Barack Obama during his July trip to Ghana, saying:
"the future of Kenya is up to Kenyans"
SPECIAL REPORT BY XINHUA CORRESPONDENT DANIEL OOKO - coastweek.com
NAIROBI, (Xinhua) -- The United States on Thursday called on Kenyan civil society to device new ways of pushing for good governance in Kenya, adding that Washington wants the east African nation to have a leadership role in the 21st century.
Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who engaged in a one-hour dialogue with Kenyan youth and civil society in Nairobi, said Washington would not impose conditions but noted that it was up to the Kenyans to make the leadership role happen.
"We want Kenya to have a leadership role in the 21st century and the people of Kenya to have the potential of your hardworking talent your deserve," Clinton told the forum at the University of Nairobi.
"We believe in you and your potential but we can not dictate to you who you have in your government. You have to determine how you can influence and change this government and do not be deterred by the difficulty," said the U.S. secretary of state.
Clinton also told the civil society to push forward the reform agenda agreed by the Kenyan coalition government, saying it was essential for reforms to be fully implemented not just to avoid a repeat of the previous crisis but to set the stage for a better future.
"The United States cannot resolve the problems of Kenya.
"As a government with many interest and particularly interests in the well being and the future of Kenya, we can take a position as we have from time to time, that is the pretext of democracy, we can impose sanctions but we don’t think that is appropriate at this current situation," she said.
Clinton, who is on her second day of a seven-nation tour of Africa, said the reform agenda should set the stage for a better future worthy of the dynamic people of "this country, a future of economic growth, democratic development, social justice, and the opportunity for every Kenyan child to live up to his or her God-given potential".
The U.S. diplomat engaged the youth and civil society in discussions about development and political reform processes both in Kenya and across Africa.
Clinton echoed the remarks made by U.S. President Barack Obama during his July trip to Ghana, saying "the future of Kenya is up to Kenyans."
She called on the country’s leadership to insulate civil service from politics to enable free and fair elections to take place.
"The United States is willing to help countries which seek its help over reforms.
"We will not dictate to you how to govern but Kenyans have to determine what sort of government they want," she said.
Clinton said Washington was very willing to help Kenya as emphasized by President Obama’s speech in Ghana where he said the future of Africa is up to Africans.
The U.S. top diplomat told the Kenyan leadership to speed up judicial and police reforms to avert a repeat of last year’s post- election crisis which killed over 1,000 people and displaced 350, 000 others.
"The reform agenda is absolutely essential to be accomplished before the next elections in order to avoid the kind of conflict and irregularities which came out of the last elections," she said.
"Nobody can reform the country from outside, it takes the people of the country and particularly the role of the civil society and the private played in trying to deal with the aftermath of the elections.
"We can encourage, we can lecture, we can offer assistance, we can highlight good practices but it has to be done by the people of Kenya," said Clinton.
The U.S. top diplomat met with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Wednesday and urged them to follow through with promised institutional reforms and find ways of prosecuting perpetrators of last year’s post-election violence.
Clinton said the absence of strong, democratic institutions in Kenya has permitted "corruption, impunity, politically-motivated violence, human rights abuses and a lack of respect for the rule of law."
"I think the election reforms, the judicial reforms, the police reforms and the constitutional reforms, all have to be done before the next elections.
"Now how that happens is truly up to the government and the people of Kenya," she stressed.
Clinton said what Washington saw coming out of the elections violence was very disturbing because of the groups and the tribal violence that took place.
"There has to be a lot of outreach, discussions and healing at the local level before you have to believe in one Kenya.
"So anything that can be done to push reform agenda, hold the government accountable are encouraged."
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UPDATE:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
remembers bomb blast victims
NAIROBI (Xinhua) — Top U.S. diplomat on Thursday laid a wreath at a Nairobi memorial park for the victims of the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid the wreath, 11 years after suicide bombers targeted the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in one of the most shocking attacks in 1998.
Speaking at the memorial site, Clinton said Washington should remember the 1998 U.S. embassy attacks to renew their resolve against terrorism, adding that Kenya and the United States should continue partnering to ensure such attacks are not repeated.
"This is an opportunity to renew our resolve and to ensure that we do all that we can so that these attacks don’t take more innocent lives in the future," she said.
Clinton said Washington was open to work with any countries willing to stop similar violence.
"We also renew our commitment to peace and reconciliation to all who renounce the path of violence," said Clinton who was accompanied by her Kenyan counterpart Moses Wetangula.
Wetangula expressed the east African nation’s commitment to fighting terrorism. He said the government will not be cowed by the 1998 attacks in Nairobi and Kikambala, Mombasa in 2002.
The official also said Kenya will continue working with the United States to share intelligence and resources to fight global terrorism to ensure such attacks never repeat themselves again.
Clinton later addressed Kenyan civil society and the youth at the University of Nairobi where she said the United States will impose sanctions on the countries funding terrorist organizations in Somalia.
Clinton termed the many refugees holed up in camps in northern Kenya and Nairobi as "a tragedy".
"There is a lot that Kenyans have to worry about," she said.
Kenya is the first stop of Clinton’s African tour that will also take her to South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.
It was August 7, 1998 when a yellow van carrying five men drove to the underground garage’s entrance of the embassy, which was located in central Nairobi and the surrounding streets and office buildings were crowded with people then, and set off a bomb that shattered the embassy, demolishing the nearby Ufundi Coop House and gutted the 17-story Cooperative Bank.
The blast killed a total of 213 people, including 12 Americans and 34 local embassy staff, prompting Washington to relocate its embassy outside the city center.
