Monday, December 31, 2007

democracy?

I wonder if anyone remembers that part of the reason the US bombed Iraq was "to promote democracy." Has anyone checked out the latest results of the Kenyan presidential elections? Ask a few people who know, like my partner and his parents. Kibaki, the incumbent, who has support from Daniel arap Moi (who was notoriously corrupt and whose administration imprisoned and intimidated my partner's parents when their pro-democracy magazine challenged his practices)....anyway Kibaki has been declared the victor only after accusations of early polling-place irregularity, after his administration suspended giving results about half way through (when his opponent Odinga was leading by a large margin and Kibaki's party had been losing parliamentary seats), after they barred all EU election monitors from the tallying place. There are riots in Kenya, maybe a hundred people are dead, because people know they've been cheated.
Just thought it should be on more peoples' radar screens. Voter fraud, intimidation of the press, and corruption are not new there, but this election, with a turnout of around 70%, represented many hopes for positive change. Unfortunately, corruption has won again.
I'm not calling for the US to bomb anyone, but I think if we're going to champion democracy, there ought to be some strong pressure on Kibaki's administration.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Wade,
New Year Blessings and thanks for calling our attention. It reminded me of trying to understand why the US was not coming to the aid of the Tibetan people and government over the course of decades of incursions by the Chinese government. No oil in Tibet as far as we could see. Sigh, our democratic protections globally seem always tied to US corporate and economic gain. Sad for a nation which could truly make a difference by empowering people to have democracy in their own nations on their own terms. Keep preaching my friend. - Your pal, Joellynn

lizajane said...

All my best to Cory's family and friends that may still be in Kenya. I deeply hope that they are safe.