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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.
EPRP
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