No, I have not forgot about Kenya. Ralia Odinga of Kenya's ODM opposition party now has to answer to the Government's charges of Ethnic Cleansing. The more I look into this the more muddy the waters become and even though the current regime stole the election, it seems atrocities are being played out on both sides. As time goes on it gets harder to figure out exactly who the good guys are, if there are any.
So far the numbers are comparatively small: 600 dead is tiny compared to the atrocities in Rwanda a decade ago, but the fighting may have only just begun. The violence in Nairobi has picked up again in the last few days and Kenyan Police are arresting fighters and even foreign journalists. Things started heating up again when an unarmed protester was shot and killed - but these are not all peaceful demonstrations as the mobs throw rocks, carry makeshift weapons and even gasoline to torch buildings.
What started at the political level has broken down to tribal rivalries like similar conflicts throughout Africa. On the surface it is about an election but the violence shows the cultural and ethnic tensions that have been simmering just under the surface in Kenya since at least Colonial times.
January 17, 2008
Ethnic Cleansing in Kenya?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)





0 comments:
Post a Comment