After two months of discord, finally a handshake (Kenya) - CS Monitor

[pinto]

Good 4 part series from the Monitor - pinto

After two months of discord, finally a handshake

In January, one of Africa's most stable democracies was violently ripping itself apart. How was it saved?
In Part 4 of a four-part special report, the key players tell what happened.

By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor



AT LAST, A DEAL: Chief mediator Kofi Annan (l.) applauds as President Mwai Kibaki (c.) shakes hands with his new prime minister, Raila Odinga. On Feb. 28, five weeks of peace talks brought an end to the violence between political and ethnic groups.
ZHU XIAOGUANG/XINHUA/SIPA PRESS/NEWSCOM


Nairobi, Kenya - On Tuesday, Feb. 12, chief mediator Kofi Annan leaves the hotel to address a special session of Kenya's Parliament, where more than 200 newly elected parliamentarians have gathered for the purpose of getting an update on the peace talks.

The two mediation teams are there, too. Both Mr. Annan and Graça Machel, South Africa's former first lady, brief the assembly.

"Africa cares. Kenya's pain is Africa's pain," Mrs. Machel tells them. This is a political crisis. It can only be addressed through a political solution."

A member of Parliament asks Annan where he sees the mediation process heading. Annan responds that a "grand coalition" – a power-sharing agreement between the president and Mr. Odinga's party – is one possibility for resolving the crisis. "I expect that we shall conclude our deliberations ... this week."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0808/p25s04-woaf.html